Leelanau State Park, Northport, MI

[mjsmith1223]

We camped at Leelanau State Park near Northport, MI September 21-23.  We got lucky and were there for the fall harvest festival and the Fox Island Lighthouse Association was holding a benefit pancake breakfast in the day use area on Saturday morning.  Breakfast was easy that morning  

The campground is rustic.  No flush toilets, showers or electric hookups.  This gave us an opportunity to work on our boondocking skills.  The camp sites were perfect for a popup or a tent, but a 20'+ travel trailer would have a hard time getting around all the trees.  The campground roads are good gravel but the curves are a bit tight.  The pit toilets were cleaner and nicer smelling than most highway rest areas with flush toilets.  All of the pit toilets had bottles of hand sanitizer mounted in them.  Generally most of the campsites were shaded.  There were a few right on the water that did not have shade.  There was one spigot to get water from.  The water was ok, not great tasting.  The water was naturally soft.  We'll be bringing bottled drinking water next time.  The park rangers were very friendly and quite helpful with whatever questions we had.

The trees around the campground were predominantly cedar with a good mixture of birch, maple and beech thrown in.

The main attraction is the Grand Traverse lighthouse:



It was an extra $4 per adult to tour the lighthouse and climb the tower.  The view from the top is worth it.

Don't let the word "rustic" after campground get you down.  This was the view from our campsite:



The rusticness actually made for a nicer experience.  The campground seemed quieter.  The people that were there tended to stay outside, rather then dive inside their trailer to watch television as soon as it got dark.  It was nice to go to sleep listening to the waves crash on the shore.

Since it was late September some color was beginning to show in the trees:



We had some visitors as well:



This little guy spent the entire day on Saturday trying to figure out how to steal our trash.  A person could see the wheels turning in his head.  He would run around the perimeter of our campsite, then try to sneak back keeping the popup between it and us.  Like a screen.  We moved the trash into the car and that ended the attempted trash thievery.

On the way home we stopped at a township park in Suttons Bay, MI for a picnic lunch and to let our daughters play in the water.  We found a real nice Petoskey stone on the beach which was unusual because the beach was all sand.  The view was nice too:



Leelanau State Park was a great place to spend a weekend.  We'll be going back next summer.

Mike

[ForestCreature]

Nice shots, we have camped there a few times. There are a couple sites thst will accomodate a 25ft or so TT, but those are few.

The only time I can say not to go there is when the Vinyards are ripening in early Sept. Those little fruit flies in massive numbers  can chase you off in a hurry.

[mklawz]

mjsmith - that looks awesome.  I'm starting to plan some trips this coming season.   I sent you a private message asking a few questions, not sure if that feature works though, never used it on this forum.

Do you know which site that is and if it's reservable?  

Thanks!

[ForestCreature]

Do you know which site that is and if it's reservable?  
 
  Thanks!

I think it's site 47 (on second thought it isn't) 47 has more shade with a great lake view..  grab 47 if you can. very nice site and not on top of the light house like it looks.

[haroldPE]

nice pics MJ, thanks for sharing.  Leelanau is on our list to try.

many of the site descriptions state 20 foot max vehicle.  can't help wondering if my 25 foot popup will fit!

[ForestCreature]

nice pics MJ, thanks for sharing. Leelanau is on our list to try.
 
many of the site descriptions state 20 foot max vehicle. can't help wondering if my 25 foot popup will fit!

About the best site for a larger unit is 47. Most sites arent really too deep. Genef got his 23B Kiwi on there with room to spare. I'd call the park and talk to the rangers to get a feel for what sites would be best before making ressies. We were across from 47 and that site would have held it , but 47 is an easier back in for a 25footer.

[ForestCreature]

Another CG that has some awesome bachfront sites is Fishermans Island. Those sites are reservable and they are few so they go fast. Plus they face the sunset as an added bonus.

The beach sites at Leelenau are kind of scraggly, not soft sand.

[haroldPE]

thanks for the info!