Tag: Manistee
I’ve wanted to camp at the Lake Michigan at Manistee campground in the Manistee National Forest for years now. The campground is located between Manistee and Ludington on the shore of Lake Michigan and borders the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area. The campground has four loops, two of which can be reserved in advance. First-come, first-serve campgrounds make me nervous, but I was able to secure a reservation for the weekend after the fourth of July without much difficulty. All of the sites are rustic (no electric or water) but two of the loops do have flush toilets (the other two have vault toilets) so I chose to stay in the orchid loop.
After two nights at Orchard Beach State Park, we moved to this campground for the weekend. Cell signal is pretty much nonexistent in the campground so this is not a place we would be able to stay when Chris needs to work. The sites here are very big and wooded giving great privacy. Even though we were here the weekend after the 4th of July, it was very quiet and not crowded at all. Every evening, families flocked to the beach to watch the sunset.
There is a hiking and biking trail from the campground to the beach. From the beach area, trails connect to the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area. Nordhouse Dunes is a 3500 acre undeveloped Wilderness Area along Lake Michigan with miles of trails through the woods. It is also one of the few areas in the lower peninsula where you can do dispersed camping. It is always fun to walk through and see the hammocks hanging in the trees along the cliff, looking down at the water.
Overall, Lake Michigan at Manistee is a wonderful rustic campground on Lake Michigan. It is a great place to reconnect with nature. We thoroughly enjoyed our time here and is on our list of campgrounds to revisit. Reservations can be made 6 months in advance at Recreation.gov.
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Since we are coming up on campground reservation season for next summer, I figured it was time to share some campground reviews from last summer. Because we took the big Europe trip, we didn’t get started with our camping season until after the 4th of July this year. Our first camping trip of the year was at Orchard Beach State Park which is a park and campground on a cliff overlooking Lake Michigan in Manistee.
It is important to note that while the park is called Orchard Beach, the beach has been closed for several years due to erosion of the cliff. But, if you are looking for a beach, 5th Avenue Beach is a short drive away. Unlike some Michigan State Parks, Orchard Beach is not far at all from Manistee. It is only a short drive to the shops, restaurants, and riverwalk downtown. If you are hoping to explore Manistee, this is a great place to camp!
Orchard Beach is famous for its sunsets. Campers flock to the edge of the cliff to watch the sun go down over the waters of Lake Michigan (top). Like most Michigan State Park campgrounds, the sites at Orchard Beach are very open to each other and even the outside sites didn’t have much privacy.
We booked Orchard Beach because it is a park I’ve wanted to check out for a while but also because of its proximity to the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area and the Lake Michigan Recreation Area where we were booked the following weekend. While camping here, Chris had to work for two days and the cell signal (both Verizon and T Mobile) in our site was pretty much nonexistent even though the RV Life app said the park has good signal. He ended up having to go to a coffee shop in town to work and the wifi there wasn’t great either. If you need to be connected while camping, Orchard Beach is not a great option.
Overall, the campground was clean and the people were friendly, but the lack of cell service made this stay very difficult for us. While I enjoyed our stay in Manistee, there are other Michigan State Parks that I enjoy more than this one. This is probably a one-and-done for us.
Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. To read campground reviews, check out my Michigan Campground Reviews page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my updated Gear Page.
Over Labor Day Weekend I had the chance to visit Manistee. This was an important visit because it checks the final box on my Lake Michigan beach town checklist. I have been to St. Joseph, Muskegon, Ludington, Traverse City, but I had yet to visit Manistee. There is a lot to see and do in Manistee and we enjoyed exploring the 1.5 mile riverwalk and crossed another State Park off our list at Orchard Beach. Of course, we ended the day watching the sunset at Fifth Avenue Beach. Afterwards, we stopped at House of Flavors for a yummy ice cream treat!
About the Photo:
The Manistee Lighthouse is a popular evening fishing spot so I really wanted to capture the action with my shot. I knew I wanted all of the lighthouse in focus so I went with a small aperture and long exposure. The long exposure caused the ghost effect in a few areas, but I think it shows the story of the fishermen on the pier. I did basic color adjustments in Lightroom but went into Photoshop to create the beam of light.
Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 55-200 kit lens on a tripod
Date Taken:
September 4, 2016
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