Platte River Campground — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Beautiful campground with large well treed cites for around $24 with no power. Free showers and dish washing facilities. Amazing rangers with tons of info! Also worth checking out the fish hatchery on the platte.

Platt River CG: Sept 2023 (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer). I rate based on desire for at least a moderate wilderness type experience w at least some camp site privacy. Overall Rating: 3.5 Price 2023: $18 w senior discount Usage during visit: VERY full Site Privacy: Most sites do not have lateral privacy Site Spacing: Sites are close Site surface: Blacktop Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Not bad Road Noise: None Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: Yes Bathroom: Clean Showers: Yes Setting: Adjacent to a deciduous forest. Weather: Hot Bugs: Not bad. However, biting flies near the sand on Pyramid Tr Rig size: There are some large rigs Sites: Some of the better ones are represented in pictures provided.

Immaculate modern campground. Clean and spacious facilities, helpful staff.

Really nice campground. Clean facilities with flushing toilets and showers. Sites had good fire rings and picnic tables. Some sites were nice and secluded from others but some you could see right into their camp but that’s most campgrounds.

When I went it was first come first serve, it was about 2pm on a Monday and I had no problem finding a spot, but there are a couple dozen other campers here. There was still plenty of room to space out, I didn't have neighbors. Even so, there were lots of trees and the sites are fairly spaced out so I felt I had plenty of privacy. Bathrooms were very clean. There's also a trail that connects the campground to lake Michigan, about a 1.2 mile hike which was a nice little hike even in the rain. Site was $31/night but it has electric, water, flush bathrooms, a utility sink, and showers. I'm already looking forward to going back.

Very nice campground on southern end of Sleeping Bear Dunes. Sites very large and spaced so there is privacy. Wooded with trees so beautiful in fall. Very nice bathrooms and private showers with hot water year round! Great hiking trails. Near Lake Michigan-approx 1.2 mile walk to huge beach. Very quiet although could hear some road noise from loop 1. Fire pits have cooking rack. Highly recommend!!

The group hike-to site was phenomenal. Enough of a walk so you feel like you’re in nature but not too far. Every G site has a bear box and you can hear the coyotes howling at night. The bathrooms are extremely clean and modern. Individual showers and there’s a plug in the bathroom for hair dryers. It’s close to a beach and the river is fun to kayak down. My only gripe is that I got stranded needing a jump and rangers wouldn’t jump it… so I need get one of those jump battery packs :-) there’s not much around but there is a bit of Verizon service.

lots of options here from full hookup to walk in tent sites. we prefer the non electric loop which tends to be much more quiet. took a star off for the reservation system which was put in place a few years ago. sites have to be reserved now, no showing up and being assigned a site. because of this people book them up “just incase” making it’s very hard to get a site and resulting in a lot of empty sites. it’s very frustrating. we used to stay here once a year but have since started staying at one of the state forest campgrounds nearby.

My review is limited since I only stopped in for a night to sleep as I was driving cross country via the nearby I-80. The staff is the "Gold Standard" when it comes to working with campers and knowing what they need. I only had a roof top tent on my truck and they catered to my request for quiet and put me back in the corner away from any noises or generators since most of the campers are fifth wheels and tow-behinds.

Unfortunately that is all I can say since I was in late and out early.

Stayed at Platte River the first weekend in June and it was lovely. Not overly busy for weekend. Very quiet at all times of the day. Some of the cleanest bathrooms I have seen in a campground! 10/10 would recommend. We will be back!

Pros: Designated dish-washing sink, as well as shower/bathroom building for walk-in sites specifically. Short 0.8 mile hike from camp to Lake Michigan. Bear boxes are shared between only two adjacent campsites, and are large. 

Cons: Walk-in sites have essentially no privacy and are much less secluded than other walk-in sites where I have stayed at other parks. I was at site A003, which abutted adjacent A-loop sites as well as B-loop sites. The other sites were visible, and folks at a neighboring site were playing music late into the night.

Had a great stay at Platte River Campground. Sites are spacious and wooded. 30 and 50 amp service, but no water. Hiking to Lake Michigan, bike trails, Sleeping Bear Dunes just a short drive away. For those with dogs, Esch Beach, at the end of Esch Road, is about 10 minutes by car and dog friendly. The beach where the Platte River met Lake Michigan was a favorite of our kids.

We had a site with electric.  The park has potable water available and a dump station.  The wifi at the Ranger's station was out of order at the time we were there.  Our site was nice and level.  We were close to the bathrooms/showers which was real nice.  The showers were clean with good pressure and hot water.  Luckily the mosquitoes were not bad at all inside the campground.  They were awful near the lake unless  there was a breeze than they were fine.  We had no problems at all with any of the rangers or camp host.  The campground is in a great location to explore nearby towns and sites.  I would camp here again.

Sites are well spaced. Hot shower and you don’t have to feed it quarters! Campground host was nice enough to lend me a power cord b/c mine wouldn’t reach the tent pad.

I was able to stay at a walk on site, which had a trail attached to it that led directly to the lake. Absolutely incredible being able to watch the sunset while being completely alone on the beach.

The park is beautiful, with lots of scenic trails. The scenic drive is a must!

We went here with a somewhat large group of people, and reserved about 5 campsites together in anticipation of a trip tubing down the Platte River. We were applying sunscreen when another member of our group showed up. We set the closed bottle of sunscreen on the table next to our camper and went to great them 2 sites away. We were gone from our site about 10 minutes and when we returned, we had a "warning" notice that we couldn't leave sunscreen outside for fear of attracting bears. It seemed like overkill, since the park ranger waved as she drove past us at our friends site... why couldn't she have just mentioned something versus leaving a written ticket? Over the course of the weekend, our group got multiple "warnings" for equally ridiculous things (like the tire a truck that was partially on a paved part of our booked ADA campsite, not at all part of the public area, completely on the site, yet it was an offense to be parked on the "sidewalk") and felt like we had to tiptoe the whole weekend. It made it less than enjoyable.

The saving grace of this place was the location. I don't know how anybody would enjoy an experience with the way the rangers hovered. We have since found a campground nearby that we prefer.

I'll be honest that I only scratched the surface of Sleeping Bear Dunes.

I had planned on doing much more paddling and hiking there, but had a tent shock cord blowout the morning before heading there.

So I spent that morning tracking down a repair kit and then 3 hours repairing my tent once I arrived.

Still the beach that was a 1.1 mile walk from the Campground was beautiful and practically empty.

I also check out Esch Beach on my way, which was also gorgeous.

Only rule I thought was interesting was not being allowed to was dishes at your site.

But they did provide a camp sink by the restrooms for communal use!

This campground is situated in a national park so you have all of the park ranger activities and resources. You will need to purchase a National park pass for a day, week, or a year. The sites are spaced very far apart and are nestled under mature trees. bathrooms are pristine and you have a dish washing station, recycling bin and trash bins. There are many touristy site seeing options In the area, and there is a boat launch and beautiful beach area just a couple of miles away. The Platte River is great for tubing, kayaking, and fishing down. The campground has cement pads which makes it nice and clean.

I went camping here with some friends over a weekend and it was absolutely great! The sites were pretty spread and it had an amazing trail to Lake Michigan! Overall super good and would recommend coming here :)

Review for Loop 1, Site 102. We tent camped in the electric area due to cooler temps and wanting to have a space heater. It worked out lovely. Our neighbors were quiet and friendly. We were directly across from a water source and the recycling(!!!) and trash bins. They're designed for bears and critters to not be able to get in, which means less stinky. The bathrooms were just a quick walk away. I will say that they were always so nice and empty. 

They do have walk-in sites as well as non-electric sites too. They were all sold out when we were there, so prepare accordingly! 

One thing we loved about this place: the close access to the beach! There was literally no one out on the beach minus us, so be sure to hike into the beach area from the campground area. It took us an hour or so and that included shell hunting. 

The overall location of this campground wasn't the best as you do have to drive quite a bit to get into the heart of the National Lakeshore area, but it wasn't too horrible.

Special note for this site: it's right across from the camp hosts, but they were lovely!

Super clean. Asphalt as far as the I can see LOL. It’s a National Park so what do you expect. Great for the family and great for those who want to rough it but not too rough Oh!!! And early May is too early if you’re in a tent and don’t mind below 30 at night. Bathroom and showers are very clean.

Although it's been a couple of years, I've lost track of how many times we visited the National Lake Shore and camped at Platte River. It has been a family favorite because the campground is good and being near the lake and the Platte River makes summer visits great. We have always found the campground to be well-maintained, clean, and available to many kinds of campers. There are rustic sites, pull-through sites, and walk-in sites. We really love kayaking or tubing on the river and icecream cones are only a short drive or bike ride away at the livery. The area is very popular for good reason so expect steep competition for camping and parking during the summer.

We loved staying here b/c you are near all these cute towns, yet in a remote wilderness spot (Platte River Campground).

We were able to take a trail from the campground and go on the trail for the dunes.  Challenging walk!

We took a river trip with our own boats, and enjoyed the spectacular surroundings.  The water is crystal clear and you end at the lake.  Epic ending and very picturesque.

Crystal clear, beautiful water.  Nice!  The campground itself had some wonderful trails and was great.

We were able to score a last minute site here on an early October weekend. You must make reservations at recreation.gov. They do not accept walk-ins. The trees were a magnificent display of color. Considerable tree cover (no stargazing from the campsite. Very nice bathrooms. Quiet.

Overall great campground! Beautiful scenery and well kept. Tent sites had plenty of room on them and lots of privacy. Small walk to your site from where you park but that makes it feel a lot more wild and secluded. They provide a lock box to store food in due to bears in the area. Restroom and shower facility by where you park and those are very nice and well kept to! Plenty outdoor activities to do in the surrounding areas.

One of the best campgrounds in Sleeping Bear Dunes area.

We arrived at this campground at about 5 pm on a Friday afternoon in August.  There were several of the 25 or so sites still available.  A quiet place to spend the weekend and great access to the middle stretch of Platte River.

This is NOT the NPS campground associated with Sleeping Bear Dunes NP, but rather a State Forest Campground operated by the Michigan DNR.

Way more rustic than some of the other social campgrounds but I really loved how we felt like we were out in the woods and not crowded. We didn’t spend a bunch of time at the site as we spent our days kayak the river and hanging out where the river feeds into the lake. We made some great memories while camping here and eagerly await the chance to return.

This review describes loop 3 only.

This camp is beautiful with old growth trees and plenty of privacy. Electric sites are paved and clean with a nice fire pit and picnic table. Firewood available at the entrance to the loop (we drove - too far to walk while carrying a bundle of wood) for $5/bundle from a vending machine that only takes cash - $1 and $5 bills specifically. Nearby Riverside Canoe Rental also has firewood available, but theirs was $6.50/bundle and not completely dry; we much preferred the vending machine wood.

Reviews we read mentioned that no bicycles are allowed, which we took to mean not allowed on the grounds. This was not the case - plenty of campers were riding bikes; however, there were signs on the hiking trails banning bicycles.

The hiking trail to Lake Michigan was a disappointment for our family. The trail gives way to sand about halfway in, so it’s a pretty difficult hike to a lackluster beach that isn’t well-maintained. There was a lot of litter and other refuse washed on shore. It was very secluded, which was nice. Next time, we’ll drive to a beach instead.

The bathroom and showers were very nice and clean, and there were a lot of little trails through the woods, shortcuts to access the bathroom without having to walk the paved loop. The girls’ bathroom had three stalls and the boys’ had two stalls and two urinals. Two private showers were on the opposite side of the building, along with a nice deep sink for washing dishes. BYO dish soap and rag.

The company was quite pleasant. Quiet hours started at 10:00 p.m., when the camp became noticeably silent.

The one feature this campground lacks is a playground, which will probably deter us from camping here again with our kids.

Also noteworthy is the Riverside Canoe Rental nearby where you can rent tubes, kayaks, and canoes, as well as stock up on fuel, groceries, beer and wine, souvenirs, and anything else you could probably want. They even have a cute ice cream shop.

This is hands down my absolute favorite spot in Michigan (so far). They have primitive campsites too, if you choose to go that route like we do. Right on Lake Michigan, and you can even see the sleeping bear dunes about 10 miles north of the beach. If you go at the right tone in the fall, you will even see salmon jumping out of Platte River which is really cool!