White River RV Park & Campground

Jessie Mae

Very clean facilities. Very friendly staff. Great for family camping. We can send the kids off on their own with a walkie talkie knowing they will be safe.

Shelley Heindel

Since I can’t reply to Mr. Stephen Parent’s review of White River, I will post my response here. I also have an extensive background in Law Enforcement. I have thirty-one years with MSP as a sworn officer, retiring as a First Lieutenant. With that experience, I am keenly aware of what some sex offenders are capable of. I also know that if you have a crappy attorney, you may not get the fairest sentencing. Full disclosure, I am friends with the family that was asked to leave the park. However, when I first found out his status, I did not know them, and was not yet friends. That was 7 years ago. Since that time, I have seen no behavior that concerned me. Their immediate neighbors at the park knew his status, and had no concerns after observing him, and being around him every weekend. Several members of our camping friends knew his status, and had no issues with him. Mr. Parent may or may not know the full details of our friends original arrest, but also has not spent the time with him and his family. I’m not sure why he is blaming White River and Dave, as once Dave was notified, he had a tough decision to make. He finally asked our friends to not return. As far as Mr. Parent receiving a letter, we ALL received those letters. We have also heard (way before this incident) that there was a large, very loud group, up on the hill as seasonals. So, could this be the reason he was asked not to return? Even though Dave made this decision to have our friends not return, none of us in our group agreed with or supported that decision, so I’m not sure what any perceived friendships had to do with it. We come from all walks of life; democrats, republicans, blue collar, white collar, black, white, hispanic, male, female, gay children and straight children. Our common bond? We all love camping and our community. To Mr. Parent, have you ever been to a campground that requires a background check on its campers? Does White River require it on their seasonals or on the weekend campers? Is there even a question on the Seasonal Agreement we all have to sign? Is there anything in the campground rules that say no one who’s been arrested can camp here? I would guess the answer is no. So, form your opinion and you may as well sit home, because that is the only place you can control if you are in the same vicinity as the people you are judging. Our friends departed with grace and sadness, and are heart broken that they cannot be here this year, after 7 years of ZERO issues. In spite of Mr. Parents review, I highly recommend White River Campground and RV as a wonderful place to camp, a safe place to camp, and owners that care.

Stephen Parent JR

As a business owner, I believe reviews—both positive and negative—are important. Negative reviews should be a last resort when all attempts to resolve an issue have failed. After five months of reflection, I want to share my experience at White River Campground in a way that is fair to everyone involved. Our Experience at White River From the moment we first camped at White River, we were hooked. The beautiful setting and sense of community made it an easy choice to become seasonal campers. We followed the rules, built friendships, and participated in campground events—by all accounts, we were model campers, and we had every intention of staying for years to come. But everything changed in a single day. The Discovery That Changed Everything With my background in security and law enforcement, I became aware that a convicted sex offender—not a low-level offender but someone who had served time for serious crimes—was living among us as a seasonal camper. Children, including ours, were unknowingly exposed to this individual daily. I brought my concerns to the owners, who initially reacted with shock and promised to look into it. But as time passed, the individual remained, and updates from the owner, Dave, were vague. We understood he was trying to handle the situation carefully, but the lack of action was troubling. Given the ongoing risk, we informed other families on our hill—many of whom were also deeply concerned. The Shocking Outcome By October, not only was the offender still there, but he was also seen socializing with the owners and staff. It became clear that a personal relationship was influencing the decision. Instead of removing him, White River announced they would be sending letters to certain seasonal campers informing them they would not be invited back—framing it as a way to avoid legal complications. Then came the biggest shock—we received one of those letters. After a summer without complaints or conflicts, we were suddenly told we could not return. When I requested a meeting with Dave for an explanation, his exact words were: “This is a really hard one. Even as I was driving down here to meet with you, my mind was in circles because I don’t really have a reason for it… other than to say it was a board decision, and it may be due to you being too loud about the sex offender.” I was stunned. We had done nothing wrong except raise concerns about a known predator in a family campground. Final Thoughts The way White River handled this situation remains one of the worst business decisions I have ever seen. From what I understand, the offender is not returning as a seasonal, but he has allegedly secured a rental across the street and still plans to be in the campground. If true, I doubt White River will take any action. If you see him, my advice? Keep your concerns to yourself—unless you want a letter of your own. Would I Return? At this point, I doubt they’d let me back even if I wanted to. But if I had assurances that he was no longer in the park, along with a sincere apology, I might consider it. Our kids loved White River, and so did we. But at the end of the day—a campsite is only as good as the company it keeps.

Niv Stern

The White river RV campground is the best campground I have ever visited in my entire life. it is so incredibly relaxing, serene and rejuvenating. I highly recommend it to anyone in the area. The lazy river and cultural diversity was something that attracted me to coming to the campground in Michigan. I can’t wait to bring my grandchildren here when I am old.

Stacey Wendling

We camped here for a week in our RV, nice large place with lots to do, overall quiet and family friendly, large sites, close to various attractions. Went to silver lake sand dunes and lake, rode local mountain biking trails, went to Michigan's Adventure and canoed at Happy Mohawk. At camp the pool is nice, tons of bike trails to explore on site, kids enjoyed playing in the creek and river, RC car track looks fun, staff is friendly. Overall clean and well maintained except the bath house near our site.

Amber Yanovich

We camped with a group of other campers (5 sites) and a cabin. We loved that the campground was on the river as we always kayak and it makes the trip easier to end where you’re staying. Campground was quiet though huge, plenty of amenities and things for the kids to do though riding bikes always seems to win out. Allowing personal golf cars is always a plus too.

Brent Grasmeyer

Great place to get away with the family. Plenty of stuff for kids to do.

Kim Busey

Great Campground. So spread out, full of trees, and lots of beautiful water views

Steve Pee

It's great and they have the bear issue completely under control. Wonderful place for a family to share a lovely time with no bears. Access to the river is perfect and the bears don't even bother anyone. Clean bathrooms and laundry facilities with no trace of bears. This is my go to place for a fun weekend getaway when I've had enough of bears.

Stacie Milanowski

Beautiful place. It's just the right amount of privacy. I'll be back and most likely in the same spot😁