Platte River Campground

We chose this location the week of August 18^th because of it’s proximity to the Sleeping Bear Dunes. We were not only in a perfect location right on Lake Michigan, but in the heart of all there is to do in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Forest. Being able to walk to the Platte River to Tub/​Canoe/​Kayak/​Fish or Lake Michigan to Fish, Picnic, have a bonfire on the beach while watching the sunset each night was a bonus. The campsites are amazing and the bathrooms, which you are never far from one are the cleanest I have ever seen.
For last minute items there is Riverside Canoe rental that sells grocery items, which is on the Platte River, so you could walk to it if you wanted. When looking for items that only a bigger store could carry, we were only 20 minutes away from Honor, Michigan.
As you can see from my pictures, the beach is clean, the water is clear and weed free.
We enjoyed it so much we are going back again this weekend for the fall colors.

I’ve stayed at Platte River campground twice. The first time my dad and I went in (late) September and stayed in one of the loops with no electric hook up. We had no trouble getting a site even though we arrived in the evening. The camp ground has four «loops» (some have electric hook ups), one group area and an area with «walk in» sites (all of the sites are hike in to some varying degree). The loop sites vary in size and how close they are/​or seem to other sites.
This year my friend and I went in mid July. We tried to make a reservation a month ahead of time, but all of the reservations were taken (they only allow so many and the rest are first come). We arrived late in the afternoon and got lucky to grab the last site. This happened to be the handicapped walk-​in. This site is right off of the parking lot and close to the rest room. The other sites are more of a walk, and there is only one rest room for this area. The benefit to this area is that the sites are spread apart from one another.
The entire campground is very clean and well kept up. The restrooms are also clean and modern. There is also a room for cleaning dishes. A couple extra costs to be aware of: the showers are paid by tokens ($ 1 a token) and they have strict rules about buying firewood in the area (due to bugs being released). All of the camp sites have access to the beach and the beauty that is Lake Michigan. The sites have a trail though the woods, which is a bit of a walk from some of the sites. The closeness of the beach is the biggest appeal to me. We walked out in the early evening and there were only two other people, making it almost our own private beach.
The camp ground is also close by to several of the small towns in the area as well as plenty of other activities. We rented kayaks and took a lazy trip down the river to the lake, hiked, checked out the local shops and had breakfast at the Platte River Inn. We ran out of time to do everything we wanted to in Sleeping Bear and already planning a trip back next year.

Me and my group of 21 year old friends love it here! We came here the last two summers and plan to come back again this summer! Both times we ended up with the handicap group campsite because it ws the only site available. No complaints here! Nice paved sidewalks and right by the bathrooms. The group site has 5 or 6 flat areas to pitch your tent. Big firepit, bear box for food, nicely wooded, beautiful stars, and just perfect! We always do the kayaking at the platte river and its about $ 36 for unlimited time. We have a blast. There’s also a secluded beach nearby where you can have a fire on the beach and stay there all night. The lady at the front desk of the campground told us about it and said thats where they send the loud rambuncious kids (like us). We stay there from sunset until about 2 am. and we can be as loud as we want. We have no idea what the name of the beach is, and we’ve only seen a select few groups of people there. its usually just us (which is awesome!) Its a pretttttty far walk from the campsite, however we always walk instead of drinking and driving.

Scored a reservation a few days before heading out to the Dunes in July. The campgrounds were packed because it was the summer, and the National Cherry Festival happened to be going on in Traverse City nearby. Camp plots are closer than we would’ve like to one another, but besides that the restrooms and showers are clean, the grounds are a short .8 mile hike away from Lake Michigan (go to the beach at night and start a bonfire), and the rangers were helpful.

So, one day a couple of my friends, my partner and I decided that we wanted to go camping and go to the Sleepy Bear Dunes. After researching, we found the Platte River Campground. We heard that in order to get a spot, we had to get there early. So, we got a tent, rented a Jeep, loaded it up and started our drive from Chicago to Michigan. We left on Friday evening after work and drove up to Michigan for a late evening arrival at a hotel. After a few hours of sleep, we awoke early to drive the rest of the way to the campground. We arrived at the campgrounds around 9am and found that there was only one space left… OMG were we lucky. It was a great spot for the two tents that we had. We got a fire going with the left over firewood at the site and bought some extra at the awesome firewood vending machine. The bathroom and shower (25 cents for a couple of minutes) were a short trail away. Across from our site was a watering spic-​it for drinking water. We were set. =) The campground/​forest reserve was beautiful and perfect for a great weekend away from the big city. We had a great time. The forest rangers were even so awesome to give me 15+ coloring books and badges for my daycare class to learn about Michigan wildlife. So, if you want to get away make sure you get to the campground before 9am or you will miss out on a great adventure…
And as always, Have Fun!!!
Note: If you have extra wood, it is best to leave it for the next person coming instead of just burning it… When we arrived, there was wood for us, so we left our leftover wood for the next person… You should do the same…