Crystal Lake Campground

B. A.

This is a GREAT campground; well maintained and a staff who will accommodate you as best as possible. It is deserving of five stars. One thing that affects me personally ... bandwidth. This campground has trees everywhere which has its advantages; one *disadvantage* is finding a line of sight for Starlink. I had planned on working three days (Mon-Wed) during my stay and it was a challenge to find a connection that was solid enough to hold for Teams calls/meetings. Again, this site rates five stars with the knowledge that anyone planning on a solid high-speed connection should make other plans. The Hog Smoke was GREAT and I would come back for a weekend visit when my online requirements are minimal. John and Marla do a GREAT job with getting folks taken care of, and I commend them for their efforts. I hope to be back for next weekend's Hog Smoke to share my favorite chili and chicken dip recipes.

Lindsay Tuttle

An Affordable Spot for Campers We stayed here for a week in mid-July with our 23-ft camper—2 adults and 1 child—alongside three other families with kids. What We Liked: The grounds are very clean and well-shaded. Excellent location with more affordable pricing than many nearby options. The beach is clean with soft sand, and the lighted pathways and bug zappers along the roads were a nice touch. The paved road allowed kids to safely use chalk, ride bikes, and scooters. During the week, the campground was quiet and sparsely populated, likely due to the high number of seasonal campers. Seasonal sites were well-maintained with tidy setups. There's a game room with a pool table, and the maintenance staff was kind and helpful. One-way traffic throughout the campground made it safer for kids, and we appreciated the general respect for quiet hours, speed limits, and the absence of strong marijuana odors. Areas for Improvement: The bathrooms, while mostly clean, are very outdated. It’s unclear when they’re cleaned—posting a cleaning schedule would be helpful. The playground also needs updates. Laundry facilities are in poor condition: only one washer worked, dryers took two cycles, and something in the machines or water ruined a third of our laundry. Campsites are very small and narrow. I CANNOT stress this enough. (See attached video of THREE sites side by side) It was challenging to have a fire without feeling too close to neighboring units, especially with kids. We even had to ask management where to place the fire ring. Parking is tight if you have more than one vehicle, and we saw many people struggle to back into their sites due to the limited space. The woman managing the office and sites could benefit from customer service training. Neutral Notes: Expect sandy sites—it’s northern Michigan. A camp rug is highly recommended. Cell phone reception is poor. Don’t count on hotspot service if you plan to work remotely. The camp store is small and limited in supplies. Accessibility Considerations: May pose challenges due to dirt paths, older restroom facilities, a steep hill to the beach, and limited access at the store and playground. Overall: It’s a decent, quiet campground if you're not looking for a lot of modern amenities and are okay with a more rustic experience.

Tricia

I'll start by saying we have stayed here twice before over the 4th of July weekend. We've had great experiences. So great that we invited our friends to come over with us this year. We didn't enjoy the site we had the last two years because it was tight. Very tight. Like our slide was so close to our neighbor's awning that a piece of paper might not fit. But aside from the site size, it was wonderful. For year 3, we called on Jul 3, 2024 (during our current stay). We requested a large, specific site. We were told no because it was already reserved. They instead said we could have this corner lot. And our friends would be beside us. It was better than the site we had requested, so we were excited. Then a few hours later, they called to say we couldn't have that site because it's a seasonal site, and that they would be able to give us the site we requested. No loss. Excited either way. We were excited for our third year here. We wanted to be near our friends and they said they can't guarantee right next to us with the requested site but could get them across from us at the very least. We said that we could work with that. A whole near year passes. Just a week or two ago, an email went out about the bike parade. We didn't get it but our friends did. I called because I wanted to make sure we were all set still. It was confirmed that we were booked and still had the site requested. They even got our friends beside us. That's great. We had two, consecutive even-numbered sites. Well....day of. Our friends arrived before us. They call us confused about the site numbers. I'm like they told me just a week or so ago these two. Nope. We now have two odd-numbered sites. We were told we were beside each other vs across. I'm like, I was already told that. They apparently had to accommodate someone who threw a tantrum about the site and wanted to be moved. They had booked their site with a different camper and arrived, unannounced with a larger camper. When they realized the site wasn't big enough, they hurled some swear words at the staff and got our site for it. What I learned from this...our understandability has screwed us over. And then our friends couldn't even fit into the site they were assigned. So we had to switch. It was a complete letdown. We expected that we would be camping here for many years to come. They're dog-friendly. Kid friendly. We come to Ludington every 4th. But unfortunately, this is such a devastating blow that it's just not worth it for us. If you don't guarantee sites....then don't. If their goal is to make more sites seasonal....great. Make that bank. But if I book a site, call and confirm I got said site, then twenty minutes before I arrive I'm told I have a super tiny site.... I'm not happy. I would like to get the spot I booked an entire year in advance and not get bumped, once...twice....BUT THREE times. I don't think this is an unreasonable request. We got $55 back (one of our three nights), a free adult slush (x4 people), and two free bundles of wood for this ordeal. I know the person who booked us last year was new (she confirmed that during our phone call). But during our stay, we did debate whether we should give it another try next year or not. We asked Marla what would be done to guarantee this didn't happen next year and we were told: "I don't know. We don't know what sites will be seasonal or not". I don't want to play site roulette. I also don't want to hurl profanity and disgusting words to get my way. I'm not posting this to trash this campsite. Marla, Cricket, and the wood delivery guy....wonderful. They do have a great staff. They have a nice beach and a lot of activities for kids. The campsite is clean. The bathrooms are okay. Dogs and kids galore. It's perfect for our family. But we will unfortunately not be back.

Richard

Absolutely 💯 % family friendly campground.

Christen Hernandez

Highly recommend this campground for family camping as well as just getting away from the daily chaos! I’ve been here several times throughout the years (with and without kids) and it’s always such a blast! The team on-site are very friendly and helpful. The restrooms, showers, campsites, and beach area are always clean! They offer rental paddle boats, kayaks, and canoes for very reasonable prices (I saw Jet-skis parked at the dock as well but I’m not sure if they rent those out). They have life jackets for all sizes and a game room with pool tables and air hockey (located in the building on the beach)! Near the beach area are several things to keep the kiddos and families active! There are a couple of kids play sets with slides, a 4 person teeter totter/seesaw and a swing set (don’t recall seeing a baby swing for younger kiddos but I also didn’t look for one). There’s a sand volleyball court, concrete basketball court, and a small dock that makes for some amazing views/portraits at sunrise/sunset. Everyone respects each other’s privacy and settles down during the quiet hours. All the basic campsites I’ve rented had fire pits and picnic tables with water/electric (no issues). The road is pretty smooth and well maintained. Note: You must rent a campsite to access the beach, water, and amenities but they are fairly priced!