Barnes County Park Campground

Love love love this campground! Been coming here for years and we come twice a year. Was just camping a week ago, while we were there they put up a new streetlight near the front of the park halfway to the first bathroom. It’s too bright and shines into nearby campsites all night long. It’s very annoying, I wish they would make it so it shines down onto the street and not out into all the surroun... Love love love this campground! Been coming here for years and we come twice a year. Was just camping a week ago, while we were there they put up a new streetlight near the front of the park halfway to the first bathroom. It’s too bright and shines into nearby campsites all night long. It’s very annoying, I wish they would make it so it shines down onto the street and not out into all the surrounding sites…. Beach does NOT allow dogs BUT there are nearby beaches that do allow dogs so we just go to those. If Barnes park allowed dogs on the beach(and I understand why they don’t, some people just ruin it for everyone) this campground would be 100/100!!! Inspection of sites after people have checked out is a joke. Thankfully we haven’t run into any issues left behind by previous campers but I imagine anything would get overlooked by their post checkout “inspection.” Our most recent stay was 8 nights. During that time we heard other campers’ dogs barking constantly. I wish this would be taken care of by campground staff.. it seriously disturbed the peace and was extremely frustrating to listen to. Thankfully these campers were not near us but I feel bad for their neighboring campers. We don’t know how often the showers are cleaned but I doubt it’s daily. The showers in the bath house closest to the beach were less than desirable each time I used them. Other people’s hair, bugs all over the walls, benches covered with sand and water. Regardless, I am grateful they provide showers in the first place. 50cents for 5 mins of hot water. I am extremely thankful they no longer require campers/rvs to book electric sites. Mosquitos aren’t terrible, biting flies are worse. Raccoons are hardly afraid of humans so make sure you lock up your food and garbage and not in your tent! The spiders move in quick and cover all your belongings within a few hours. When we broke down our tent after a week there were hundreds of spiders and webs covered 99% of the tent. Not a deal breaker, just a fair warning to prospective campers. We will bring some form of repellent next time. Ice cream truck visits on weekend evenings which is awesome! Campground beach is beautiful and great for rockhounding. Nothing beats a Lake Michigan sunset.

So far so good, were from WAY down state and even though we traveled up this way some when I was a kid with my family, I honestly forgot how beautiful northern Michigan really is. The lake, the sand, the stars at night...OMG the stars. This is actually a great little campground, I do find it a little odd that you have to pay for hot water in the shower, I've never heard of that before. We were lu... So far so good, were from WAY down state and even though we traveled up this way some when I was a kid with my family, I honestly forgot how beautiful northern Michigan really is. The lake, the sand, the stars at night...OMG the stars. This is actually a great little campground, I do find it a little odd that you have to pay for hot water in the shower, I've never heard of that before. We were lucky enough so visit during the meteor shower so laying on the sand down on the beach watching that was AMAZING.

Barnes is such a beautiful campground right on Lake Michigan and near all the best spots in the area. We really enjoyed our time there but there were some major downsides. Our fire pit was literally right next to our neighbors. We like people but don’t want to mingle the whole time we are camping. It’s awkward to have them so close when there’s plenty of other spots on the site to have it. The b... Barnes is such a beautiful campground right on Lake Michigan and near all the best spots in the area. We really enjoyed our time there but there were some major downsides. Our fire pit was literally right next to our neighbors. We like people but don’t want to mingle the whole time we are camping. It’s awkward to have them so close when there’s plenty of other spots on the site to have it. The biggest problem was the bathrooms. They are rough as it gets. And it wouldn’t take much to get them up to par. I wouldn’t even step foot in the lake bathroom showers. When I saw mold on all the benches, that’s a big no for me. The forest bathroom was a bit better but still pretty nasty. I wish these places just put a little bit of money into their facilities so their patrons actually felt clean after a shower. Overall, it’s a great spot!

Beautiful place to go on the coast of EAst Grand TRaverse Bay. It's a campground but its easy to find parking if you are going for the day. It can be confusing on the way in - need more signs. Easy to wind up in a neighborhood instead of in the park. This is a very popular park for hunting Petoskey stones so its pretty picked over. I got swimmer's itch here from the mergansers, so make sure yo... Beautiful place to go on the coast of EAst Grand TRaverse Bay. It's a campground but its easy to find parking if you are going for the day. It can be confusing on the way in - need more signs. Easy to wind up in a neighborhood instead of in the park. This is a very popular park for hunting Petoskey stones so its pretty picked over. I got swimmer's itch here from the mergansers, so make sure you wash up right after being in the lake!