Which state park campground?

Can anyone tell me which campground is the best one out of the following?

Mitchell State Park in Cadillac

Interlochen State Park

Orchard Beach in Manistee

We have two smaller children (4 %26amp; 6), so I was thinking something with an inland lake may be better. We are going in late July for a four day weekend and Ludington and Muskegon State Parks are already booked up (those were my first choices).

Thanks!

Which state park campground?

Jeanine,

I haven%26#39;t stayed at any of the parks you mentioned but I would like to add another one to your list for consideration. Burt Lake State Park Inland lake, nice sandy beach that goes out shallow for a long way. We stayed here when our daughter was 3 and it was perfect. (of course she is 23 now, but we still visit the park). It is within biking distance (1 mile) of Indian River. Putt Putt course across the road and lots of other fun stuff to do. It is also 30 minutes or less to Gaylord, Petoskey and Mackinaw City/Island for day trips.

Which state park campground?

The kids would enjoy Silver Lake if you can get in there.

Take a look at the Jellystone parks, the kids would enjoy those too.

Grand Haven and Silver Lake each have one.

They are a bit expensive but worth it with young children.

I stayed at Interlochen when I was a child and hated the lake with it%26#39;s stony bottom.

And I won%26#39;t even mention the crayfish, oops, I did.

I second Burt Lake State Park in Indian River...perfect for families, great small town atmosphere, lots to do in the immediate area and tons of major Northern Michigan attractions within a half hour drive. Burt Lake is the third or fourth largest inland lake in Michigan...beautiful sandy beach, clean water, great swimming/boating...just an overall great experience.

Of the 3, I would say Mitchell in Cadillac. I personally love Orchard Beach, but the steps down to the beach would be a bit difficult, carrying all of you beach gear, and holding their hands. There is a very nice, sandy beach just down the road though, very little parking, but very accessible. No bathrooms, however. Mitchell is a nice park, a bit crowded, small sites. But they have a camper%26#39;s beach right in the campground, plus the main one across the street, with a nice playground and a lot of picnic tables. You can access by a sidewalk under the bridge, if needed. You can also walk to McDonald%26#39;s or an ice cream store, easily.

Orchard beach is not well wooded.

Mitchell is not great for swimming beaches, and not near Lake Michigan coast.

Interlochen is best; large, wooded, with nice swimming lake, and near a lot of attractions, Lake Mich, and scenic areas.

Two plusses about Interlochen State Park:

1. Walking distance to Interlochen itself, with the possibility of free or nearly free music.

2. Activities within the park itself - we went on a night hike once looking for owls.

One minus:

There are about 500 campsites, so it can get really crowded.

A really nice park near Indian River is Aloha State Park. It is on Mullet Lake, the beach is really nice, you can go out a ways before it gets deep. It is also a sand bottom. What is really nice about this park is the beach runs along the campground. You can even have a site that is right up to the water. However, I would not recommend those sites unless you have a trailer or motorhome. Reason is that it the wind is coming across the lake it can get very windy. We had a site right up against the woods, and it was only a short walk to the beach. If you have a boat, there is a waterway (canel) you can leave it in. Or some people actually anchor it out in the lake, and walk in to the campsite. There is also a little walkway out into the water. Sunsets there are great. Actually, alot of these lakes (Burt, Mullet etc) are all connected, and I heard that you can actually start at one and go all the way up to Lake Michigan/Machinaw. Very nice park with a small store (great for ice, fresh cook donuts in am, pop)--anything big you should drive to city. It is about less than an hour from Machinaw City. I think the kids would really like the beach there. Plenty of it, and it is only the campers that can used it.