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Reviews

Rifle River Grousehaven Rec Area


User Reviews

Manuel Aguilera

October 17, 2025

Great state park! Clean and amazing trails and views. 10 out of 10 would recommend.

Michael Torrez (CanDoTanker)

August 28, 2025

DeVoe Lake is one of my favorite spots in Michigan. Love that DeVoe Lake has no motorized boats. Great place to kayak, swim and just be with nature.

Calvin LaMoria

August 15, 2025

The Good: Camped at one of the Grousehaven sites for 2 nights. One of the littles got pulled over by the patrolling DNR for riding their bike and wearing their helmet and was given a ticket of safety for a free ice cream at McDonalds. The road through the park is paved with some tight spots depending on how people park. The site was nice with a big firepit and handicapped picnic table and what looked like a new power post at the site I was at. The park was very packed when we were there and it was still enjoyable. I went with family and they had their own camper on the site next to me and the park let me turn my small popup around so our doors faced each other kind of making it a group site (It does not seem they care how you park your rig but I called and asked first). There was a couple communal water spigots around the park that seemed to be kept clean. The beach is average size with a handicapped plastic mat that goes from the grass all the way into the water for wheelchairs and anything else with wheels. The swimming area does not go out too far since there is a drop-off that is marked with buoys. The water was clean with no trash in the water and on the beach. There is a huge area to run around and chill with a swing set play area. There was a mystery PVC pipe with what I hope is clean water draining out right onto the beach area. The trash area was big with 3 big dumpsters and lots of parking with a trailhead near by. There is signing in the park to direct you to where you need to go to find your site. There were trails all over the place but I did not go in them.

Gordon Hanson

July 31, 2025

I been going here for over 30 years. Lots of trails. Lots of wild life. Nice view of the stars. You'll hear faint drums in the distance. You'll hear it better near Ambrose campground. I still have no idea where they're coming from lol. But it's an amazing time.

Dave Woods

July 29, 2025

Well we have camped here every year for the last 12 years. It is one of our most favorite campgrounds. Very clean, the rangers took care of our needs when asked. We stayed in the Devoe campground and the lake is marvelous as always.

Liz Masters

April 29, 2025

I like that it offers full hookup or more private rustic. I hope the rustic stays the way it is. I loved the semi-modern, but I believe they converted it to full hookup up. Many beautiful trails. Clean facilities

David Brasher

March 03, 2025

Very large and fulfilling campground nestled in an ideal location. As with any campground its only as nice as the worst neighbors and unfortunately we had some inconsiderate ones that carried on with generators and loud laughter well past quiet hours (which was obvious). However, it wasn't so obnoxious that we felt the need to mention it to anyone and it appeared somebody else must have because the noise suddenly dismissed. This of course is no fault of Rifle River! We are pleased with our stays here!

Emelia Taylor (Emily)

July 16, 2024

It's a perfect spot if you need a few hours of adventure! Bring your fishing gear, swimsuits, and non-motorized boats. Great spot to rustic camp, the beaches were calm and easy to find. Drive along Ridge Rd to get to the observation tower and fishing pier. It's a bit bumpy and a one-way road for about 2 miles. The DNR ranger we talked to was very friendly and gave us a park map. Definitely stop to grab one!

Jerry Wontorcik

May 22, 2024

We took our kayaks out to the rifle River Recreation Area it had rained torrentially just the night before. The road was paved up to Grousehaven Campground. From there the roads are hard packed rather smooth dirt even after a heavy rain. Even so the truck got all muddy underneath. It was about 2 miles back to Devoe Campground. We pressed on all the way back to the swinging bridge at the far south end of the area. The road on the far south and turns into a one lane still fairly decent but had huge puddles from the recent rain. We backtracked to Devoe and put our kayaks in there. The water was clear we could see the bottom it was like looking into an aquarium. We saw huge turtles and many of them too. Lots of fish were swimming around but they didn't seem to be biting. We saw huge carp over 3 ft long swimming around our kayaks. There is lots of wildlife everywhere. The shore surrounding Devoe lake it's like a shelf that goes out maybe 40 or 50 ft shallow and then drops off dramatically from there. There are deep holes throughout the lake. DNR online descriptions say that Lakes are all "no wake". Signs are posted everywhere though that motors are prohibited. We enjoyed our day filled with beautiful views of nature. We certainly will be returning to explore further in the future.

Tanya Sevcech

July 27, 2023

This is the second year in a row we have camp here. Love the walking bridge and the tower that looks out over at least 3 ponds. So many trails to go on and of course the fishing also. There at least 3 beaches to swim. If you are bored here it would be your own fault. So much to do. The restrooms are pretty clean at the modern campsites. Not sure about the outhouses. Haven't used those one since they are at the rustic sites.