Interlochen State Park
Interlochen State Park
Interlochen State Park
4
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
112 reviews
Excellent
52
Very good
40
Average
14
Poor
3
Terrible
3
Karen Z
Davison, MI9 contributions
Jun 2017
Stayed in Interlochen State Park with friends. It's in the center of so much to do. Biking, kayaking, and hiking. Beautiful surroundings. Close to where the fine arts students stay so entertainment options close by. Clean and comfortable.
Written February 21, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andre A
Adrian, MI218 contributions
Jul 2016 • Couples
This State park has over 400 campsites, making it one of Michigan's largest campgrounds. not so much in land mass but in campsites alone. The camping is divided into north/south parks with the north, level ground and south more hilly. the beach area and camp store is located between the two which is all situated along the shores of beautiful Duck Lake. We have stayed at this park years ago and it has improved since with updated showers and restrooms along with a better entrance road leading into the park. the camp store carries many items and souvenirs but there are a couple local grocery stores in the small village on Interlochen, aprox 4 miles away with larger selections. there are also various local pizza, ice cream,party store and other business' along the way. this is a very clean campground with many workers walking daily, picking up litter and staff keeping the showers and restrooms tidy and equipped thru the day, which is nice. All staff we encountered were very friendly and helpful. This is a beautiful state park with many red pine trees, good sized campsites some paved but mostly are sandy and most sites are shaded, altho there are many with full sun. we stayed for 5 days with no problems with noise after 10pm. there were many campers with dogs but no problems either. Interlochen Arts Academy and National Music Camp is across the street and you can faintly hear students practicing their instruments usually at dusk where we were camped.(north end). will definitely be back.
Written July 12, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SusieD55
Manistee, MI29 contributions
Jun 2016 • Couples
Camped on the South side, at site 474. Level, paved site, close to the rest room and water faucet. Super quiet even on the weekend, which is surprising for a state campground at the end of June. Alot of people fishing, walking, bicycle riding.
Written June 27, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
k1111
toronto15 contributions
Jul 2015 • Couples
Let me start by saying I'm from Ontario and I've only ever been camping in Ontario. I'm used to having outhouses, no showers and food an hour away so this park is GREAT! Our site was right between 2 bathrooms, each with showers. Every camp site had electricity so you could charge your phone!! There was a little general store where you can buy a piece of pizza if you want. The lake was beautiful, hardly any bugs!
Written July 8, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sarah R
Grand Rapids, MI7 contributions
Jul 2014 • Couples
We (husband and self) are young adults with no kids. Just keep that in mind, since I can't really speak for families...
That being said, of all the state parks we've camped at (about 5-6 in various states), this has to be my favorite. Checking in was a smooth process and staff was very friendly. The bathrooms were clean. Everyone was mindful of their neighbors. We camped next to a group that brought their dog--we never heard a peep from the dog or the group rowdy...in fact they told us we can eat under their canopy if it rained. It was really crowded one night as a triathlon was going on. But we never had any problems.
Although, we tented our site was big and kind of shaded--they did cut down a tree on our site, which was a bit disappointing since the extra shade would have been nice. It did rain 2/3 days we were camping, but there's a lot of indoor activities so we were able to get out of the rain... we walked across the street to the Art Academy and enjoyed a couple concerts/recital. When we were there we enjoyed a $10 World Youth Wind Symphony concert and the next night we enjoyed a free organ recital.
We drove to Bud's for coffee then Tom's Market to get our food for the day (as we just had a cooler, no fridge). Tom's offers reasonable prices as it's a small town market. The nearest big box store is about 1/2 hour away in TC if you need or forgot any big items. On the lonely sunny day we drove the VERY beautiful 90 minute drove to Charlevoix and rode the Little Traverse Wheelway to Harbor Springs. If you do any long drives, there's small farm stands pretty much everywhere along the county highways that sell cherries (we were in the area during cherry season!) and veggies--making the time worth it!
I can't say anything about the beach, as we didn't swim...but yes, they do heavily warn you about swimmer's itch. They have a camp store near the beach that offers a small selection of sandwiches, ice, firewood and souvenir goodies-we didn't buy anything, but it was nice to know they had "stuff" if we had an emergency or something. BTW, get our ice at Tom's...less than $2/bag as the camp store charges $5. :)
Would I recommend this park to a friend? You bet. Even though it rained for most of the time, we had a very nice experience here!
That being said, of all the state parks we've camped at (about 5-6 in various states), this has to be my favorite. Checking in was a smooth process and staff was very friendly. The bathrooms were clean. Everyone was mindful of their neighbors. We camped next to a group that brought their dog--we never heard a peep from the dog or the group rowdy...in fact they told us we can eat under their canopy if it rained. It was really crowded one night as a triathlon was going on. But we never had any problems.
Although, we tented our site was big and kind of shaded--they did cut down a tree on our site, which was a bit disappointing since the extra shade would have been nice. It did rain 2/3 days we were camping, but there's a lot of indoor activities so we were able to get out of the rain... we walked across the street to the Art Academy and enjoyed a couple concerts/recital. When we were there we enjoyed a $10 World Youth Wind Symphony concert and the next night we enjoyed a free organ recital.
We drove to Bud's for coffee then Tom's Market to get our food for the day (as we just had a cooler, no fridge). Tom's offers reasonable prices as it's a small town market. The nearest big box store is about 1/2 hour away in TC if you need or forgot any big items. On the lonely sunny day we drove the VERY beautiful 90 minute drove to Charlevoix and rode the Little Traverse Wheelway to Harbor Springs. If you do any long drives, there's small farm stands pretty much everywhere along the county highways that sell cherries (we were in the area during cherry season!) and veggies--making the time worth it!
I can't say anything about the beach, as we didn't swim...but yes, they do heavily warn you about swimmer's itch. They have a camp store near the beach that offers a small selection of sandwiches, ice, firewood and souvenir goodies-we didn't buy anything, but it was nice to know they had "stuff" if we had an emergency or something. BTW, get our ice at Tom's...less than $2/bag as the camp store charges $5. :)
Would I recommend this park to a friend? You bet. Even though it rained for most of the time, we had a very nice experience here!
Written July 21, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kevin7088
Muskegon County, MI283 contributions
We were late to reserve a camp sure for July 4th week and were fortunate to get a site. The sure we had backed up to a cabin adjacent to the park. That took away some of the charm but it was still nice to be camping. The park itself is nice. Nice beach area. Earnings of swimmers itch but it didn't keep us out of the clear water. There are kayaks to rent. $30 for two kayaks for two hours. Seemed reasonable. We bought firewood from inside local market- Toms. Great selection of produce meat beer and deli.
We will be back.
We will be back.
Written June 30, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Victor P
Lady Lake, FL12 contributions
Aug 2013 • Family
I am retired and I was happy in parks as a Ranger and Asst. Mgr. and did not revisit the parks for 20 years. But my son and his wife wanted to go camping with their 3 daughters to the cherry festival. I worked in Parks in the South Eastern part of Michigan for most all of my employment. I DID NOT WANT TO GO!!! I spent much of my time trying to quite noisy camps. and figured this would be the same. I also took my 3 sons camping several times before and after I retired and knew the stress that ensued was not fun. Three little girls ( even if they are my grand daughters) NO WAY!!!!! It turns out my wife and I my daughter-in-law's parents both did a fantastic job. ( If the had been bums or criminals people would have blamed us so we will take credit) I had a fantastic time the campground was the most quiet I have ever been
in! That includes my own. The staff was most helpful and we had a fantastic time. This is not because I worked for parks, I am very critical of parks that don't do it right. THIS ONE DOES.
Vicpeters@gmail.com
in! That includes my own. The staff was most helpful and we had a fantastic time. This is not because I worked for parks, I am very critical of parks that don't do it right. THIS ONE DOES.
Vicpeters@gmail.com
Written June 29, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
cherryberry2024
Lansing2 contributions
I have camped all over Michigan throughout my childhood and now as an adult. This was a great Campground. really clean, well kept, warm showers, clean restrooms, friendly staff. we really enjoyed our stay and plan to go back. the lake was really clean, warm, and easy acess. good for families. my only complaint would be those guests that do not control their animals during "quiet time". i think that campers need to be more aware of this!
Written September 7, 2009
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lindsay V
1 contribution
Jul 2018 • Family
The park nice. We stayed at Green Lake North Rustic side of the campground for our annual family reunion. We had 28 people in our group ranging from age 5-65. It was a typical rustic camp.
The outhouses were ok. They were not emptied during our stay. We were there for 8 days. They did come in to spray them out one day.
There was no direct access to the water from any sites. You could walk to the boat ramp, but there was no shoreline. There was another access point on the other side of camp if you wanted to walk down 50+ steps. Again, no shoreline.
The Sherrif was called on us the first night. Rightfully so...we are always excited to see each other when we first get together. He was cool though. Just told us to turn off the music. We did and were fine the rest of the night. There was no "quiet time" posted, only that you must respect other campers at all time. We found out, very quickly, that quiet time must be around 10p, because that's about what time DNR rolled through each night.
The second night, a guy came over at 9:58p and told us his kids just went to bed. Apparently some people that attend the Interlochen School of Arts, which is right next door, camp at the same campground. They go to bed early and get up early. So, we complied and did our best to keep it down.
The fourth night, DNR came by a little after 10p and asked us to turn off our music, which we did. He must have parked his truck at the campsite entrance because about 20 minutes later he walked up to us again. Long story short, we got our final warning and were told if he had to come back, he would kick us out. No one had been drinking at this point and we were not being aubnocious...we were just 28 family members sitting around a fire visiting.
Needless to say, that put a damper on our trip because we could not afford to get kicked out. We still had 4 more nights to get through and we all drove anywhere from 4-10 hours to see each other. We moved to a different family members site and did our best to do our visiting during the day and dispersed early in the evening.
Overall, we did our best to keep quiet and did not get kicked out, but I would not recommend this site for large/loud groups. Or if you are loud, in general, and like to stay up past 10p.
The outhouses were ok. They were not emptied during our stay. We were there for 8 days. They did come in to spray them out one day.
There was no direct access to the water from any sites. You could walk to the boat ramp, but there was no shoreline. There was another access point on the other side of camp if you wanted to walk down 50+ steps. Again, no shoreline.
The Sherrif was called on us the first night. Rightfully so...we are always excited to see each other when we first get together. He was cool though. Just told us to turn off the music. We did and were fine the rest of the night. There was no "quiet time" posted, only that you must respect other campers at all time. We found out, very quickly, that quiet time must be around 10p, because that's about what time DNR rolled through each night.
The second night, a guy came over at 9:58p and told us his kids just went to bed. Apparently some people that attend the Interlochen School of Arts, which is right next door, camp at the same campground. They go to bed early and get up early. So, we complied and did our best to keep it down.
The fourth night, DNR came by a little after 10p and asked us to turn off our music, which we did. He must have parked his truck at the campsite entrance because about 20 minutes later he walked up to us again. Long story short, we got our final warning and were told if he had to come back, he would kick us out. No one had been drinking at this point and we were not being aubnocious...we were just 28 family members sitting around a fire visiting.
Needless to say, that put a damper on our trip because we could not afford to get kicked out. We still had 4 more nights to get through and we all drove anywhere from 4-10 hours to see each other. We moved to a different family members site and did our best to do our visiting during the day and dispersed early in the evening.
Overall, we did our best to keep quiet and did not get kicked out, but I would not recommend this site for large/loud groups. Or if you are loud, in general, and like to stay up past 10p.
Written July 28, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
susieQ49_62
parma,ohio75 contributions
Jul 2018 • Family
We love to camp, with great peaceful views. This place checked all our boxes! I did a lot of research trying to find a great spot sight unseen. Wow!! Feel like we hit the jackpot! We did reserve our amazing spot 6 months in advance. And boy do they go fast! But I see why. Nature at its finest. Close to so many great sights, Traverse City and Old Mission wineries, Sleeping bear Dunes.....we camped for 5 days. Spent one entire day, on the duck lake, with floats and kayaks. Just showered real good, and had no problems at all with the swimmers itch. This is our new favorite spot........and you can see why!!
Written July 14, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
i like to cook over an open fire, and sit around a camp fire,,, can i bring fire wood,,, or how do i get firewood for my visit
Cindy K
Reese, MI4 contributions
Is there extra parking if you have more than 2 cars coming to your site?
susieQ49_62
parma,ohio75 contributions
There are some parking lots, near the office. With lots of room for parking. But on the campsites, don't think you can have more than 2 vehicles. And really too small.
scotti6845
Montague, MI
How much are the sites and do we need reservations during the week
susieQ49_62
parma,ohio75 contributions
If you want a good spot....you must make reservations. There are some really good spots, and some really bad! We made our reservations exactly 6 months in advance. Best spot, directly on the lake.
Roberta B
Chicago, IL41 contributions
A friend from France is looking for a boys' camp to send his son to for 2 weeks. Is Interlochen something he could be interested in? His son is 14 years old.
Rebecca W
McBain, MI29 contributions
It's not a camp, it is a park with camping facilities. Intrlochen school of arts is something that must be applied and accepted to, if that is what you meant. It's a fine arts academy that runs an amazing summer program.
magan44
Dorr, MI
Is there a lot of swimmers itch during the summer? We want to go there for 4 days with little kids and heard there was a summers itch a lot.
flowerhead2
Northville, MI87 contributions
I never got it and I never heard any other campers mention it. You can purchase an overpriced dinky bottle of preventative I've seen at camp stores (and I'm sure online) but I just did what one of the park workers recommended and wore sunblock, which I have to do anyway cuz I burn. I've since googled swimmer's itch and sunblock is indeed recommended. I know people who got swimmer's itch at Higgins Lake and they never got it again after they started using sunblock. Hope this helps!
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