The most popular and competitive campsites in Michigan’s state parks and recreation areas come primarily from two locations.
In terms of highest occupancy rate, Wilderness State Park in Carp Lake was home to the top eight campgrounds, according to data from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, including sites with availability of 100 nights or more in fiscal year 2024.
Sites 421, 446 and 449 at the West Lakeshore campground were occupied for 160 nights each, a rate of 99.38%, putting them at the top of the list.
All three are lakefront locations on Lake Michigan.
They were followed by wilderness sites 205, 207, 417, 435 and 441, which were each occupied for 159 nights, a rate of 98.76%.
The No. 9 most occupied spot was Site 27 at Fisherman’s Island State Park in Charlevoix. It had 155 occupied nights and a rate of 98.73%.
Coming in at number 10 was location 18 in Lakeport State Park. It had 172 occupied nights and a rate of 98.29%.
If you’re hoping to book one of these sites, be prepared for competition.
Campsites with the most occupied nights
However, in terms of usage, Waterloo State Recreation Area in Chelsea had the top four campsites with the most overnight stays. They were at the Portage Lake campground in the park.
Waterloo has more year-round campsites compared to Wilderness, which explains the difference in peak occupancy compared to most camping nights.
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Location 14 topped the list with 243 occupied nights. The site is located on the outside of the northern loop and is a spot in full sun with a mix of concrete and grass.
Site 14 located at the Portage Lake campground in Waterloo State Recreation Area.
It was followed by locations 51, 136 and 100, also in Waterloo.
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Number 5 came in at location A36 at Muskegon State Park. It had camped for 219 nights.
Locations in Pinckney, Waterloo, Lake Hudson and Sterling rounded out the top 10. See the full list below.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Most Popular Michigan State Park Campgrounds by Night Occupancy, Rates
