Ivan's is once again under new ownership--CD and Melissa--and they're great. They understand the…read morereasons people get outdoors and go camping in the first place: to get away from the rigors and pressures of everyday life, to be with friends, to eat great eats and drink great drinks, and to celebrate a great day with a nice campfire. Sites are spacious and most offer at least mottled shade. The bath house has sinks and showers and toilets, and is centrally located. There's a grocery store two miles to the south in case you forgot mustard or a tablecloth. And if you're enjoying the Pere Marquette River, there's a special relationship with Baldwin Canoe Rental where BCR does pick up and drop off to and from Ivan's. Get outdoors!

So, if you drove past on the highway, or pulled in and took a quick survey of the premises, you…read moremight question the 5-star rating. True, Ivan's is pretty basic: sites set in fairly open woods along sandy roads, some with electric and water, some rustic. Some not too level. There's a playground and a decent picnic shelter, a showerhouse. A fair bit of road noise. But of you came to Baldwin, chances are you're planning to spend most of your time in some outdoor pursuit--fishing, canoeing, hunting, ORV riding, etc. And if you're looking for a base for those adventures, this is hard to beat. Normally when I come to Baldwin I stay in state forest campgrounds, but the ticks have been thick in the area this year and I thought a more developed site might have fewer of them. In fact I only saw one in camp here. For my rustic site at Ivan's I paid only $16/night, less than what state campgrounds charge. Plus I had clean showers/restrooms, a dishwashing sink, firewood and ice right on the premises. I was very close the the 72nd Street fishing accesses on the Pere Marquette (which was the main reason I'd come). The owners were very nice, and aside from the traffic on M-37, the place was very quiet, and even the highway settles down in the evening. I was actually almost alone there until my last night (a Friday). Ivan's offers seasonal as well as group sites, along with some rental cabins, which look like fairly recent construction. There is a pen with some goats and ducks in it, and you can buy some feed to toss in to them. Next to it is a chicken coop, which I suspect is the source of "farm fresh eggs" for sale in the camp office. You can also get snacks, coffee, and neccessities you might have forgotten to pack in the camp office. It looks like Ivan's has special events (including bands) on some weekends. Overall the property looks very well kept.

It was our annual sisters reunion and I arranged a kayak trip through this establishment. Very…read morefriendly on the phone when I called the day before to reserve three kayaks. We loaded up in the bus and listened to the infamous "Kayak Song" to get us in the mood(look it up, it's EPIC!) The kayaks were the sit on type and we were launched with no issues. We were the only humans on the rustic and scenic river and the birds provided a show. We saw a bald eagle three times which was a real treat! Highly recommend this place for kayaking!

The staff members were really nice and the guy driving the bus was really funny They also carry…read morelaws about our safety definitely would come back here

Very close to the dunes with decent trailer parking. Bring your own everything, the only thing the…read morerental campers have are trash bags and two rolls of toilet paper. I expected at least a handful of utensils but absolutely nothing. Price is decent but wouldn't stay again due to it feeling packed and stacked, very little shade during the day, and byoe!

This is a nice quiet campground with grassy sites. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit. The…read moresites have electric and some have water, but there is no sewer. The bathhouse is kept clean several times a day. Staff is very nice and accommodating. The owner, Brian, is nice and understanding when you need to be moved. He has several rental campers, fully stocked, so all you mainly need are your clothes and personal items. Some of the campers have bunks to accommodate families. No pets are allowed in the rental campers. They have a few large sites for a large group of campers, but it is dry camping. The sites are not paved. The sites are narrow. There are a few that are wider. They still can accommodate toy haulers and motor homes. They also provide overflow parking for FREE, for your 4x4s, cargo trailers, flatbeds, extra vehicles, flatbed, etc. Val-du is a little over 1 mile from Silver Lake. Ideal location just away from the busy down town, but close enough to ride bikes. There is a laundry room open 24 hours. The small store has some laundry soaps. The store is well stocked with plenty of Silver Lake memorabilia to take home or give family and friends. They also sell some camping supplies like showing bags, small teens, lawn chairs, ice, firewood, pop, candy, fire starter, lighter fluid, stores makings, including the sticks to put them on over your fire. They sell sweaters, hats, t-shirts, flip-flops, blankets, towels, tarps, ice cream, pop, water, some games, and so much more. We love this campground and will return. They do have quiet hours between 11pm and 8am. This isn't a party place to stay up all night drinking and being loud. The Silver Lake area has a noise ordinance at 11pm. It's the law.

We had a great time! Staff was super helpful and it was well run! Easy pickup & drop offread more

Having rented canoes from several other places across the country, I can't say I've ever been as…read moreimpressed as I was with Baldwin Canoe Rental. They were AWESOME!!! Since we were staying at Bowman Bridge Campground on the Marquette River, my wife and I wanted to avoid driving back and forth between Baldwin at the start and end of our trip, especially after a few delicious river Oberons. I sent them an email and Troy was quick to respond. They were able to pick us up at our campsite the next morning (on time!) and take us straight to the launch. Not needing to stop in the rental office was greatly appreciated as was the fact that they take care of the river permits for you! Even better was that when we got back to the campground, we didn't need to call and wait for a pickup. We simply put the canoe up on a rack and continued on with our day! It looked like they have staff and buses at each of the major stops of the river, ready to help out and transport any groups as they came in and every employee we ran into was super friendly. Seriously, I can't say enough about how great of a livery this place was! It's a seriously well-run operation that made our little weekend getaway so much more enjoyable!

Many activities for the kids! Nice fire pits. Friendly atmosphere. We checked in when we got there…read more Saw the manager drive past a few times, waved every time. Nice to know they were around. But no issues at all. Some sites looked difficult to back into. But ours was great!

DO NOT RECOMMEND!!!! I will never be going back to this Campground. We have camp here my whole life…read more- way back to when it was Steelcase Campground and recommended to everyone but not after this weekend. The new park manager is extremely difficult to work with and I have never been so offended for the way they treated our family with Disabilities!!!! They clearly only care about $$$ over people and it is disgusting!! Between our family we reserved 2 campsites and a cabin for over a week a month in advance, $900 in camping fees. One site had my parent's camper on it and both of my parents are disabled...dad had his leg amputated but both parents need assistance with almost every activity all the time. Called the campground at the time of reservation to make sure we would be able to have a tent on the same site for me and my sister to help with assisting them and was told that would not be a problem. Arrived to the campground at 3 in the afternoon - completely set up camp and tent on that site. 10 PM at night the manager came through the park and stopped us at the site stating we were not able to stay in the tent because we were not under 13. Told us we had to take down the tent and leave or buy another site...when we explained that we called and got approval along with the fact that both parents were disabled we were still told to either take down tent or we were going to be removed from the park!!! WHAT...ARE YOU KIDDING ME. IT WAS DARK!!! Absolutely ridiculous!!!! We ended up having to tear everything down, load up and drive home at 11pm!!! There was only 4 people on the site total...disabled parents, me and my sister! We were not loud or doing anything inappropriate. There was absolutely no accommodation since we already had approval to stay with our disabled parents. THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE EVER!! DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY TO CAMP HERE!!

Love this area! Just north of Ludington with way less traffic and completely different adventures!…read moreYou can walk in and camp basically right on the beach here, which is absolutely dreamy and there are just such wonderful hiking trails throughout that offer you challenges and just the most gorgeous sights as well! This spot definitely isn't for everyone and there won't be any "easy" hikes. Nordhouse Dunes makes you work for it, but the payoff is immense and completely worth it! Uninterrupted access to Lake Michigan and stunning vibes - what more could you ask for?! Love Nordhouse Dunes!!

It's crowded but the hike is nice. We were there the first week of September and I was surprised to…read moresee the campground full of campers. I got some great shots with my cannon and my kids enjoyed the hike...it was longer than we thought it would be!

Here are 12 free sites! FREE! May 1 through October 31, you can escape to Manistee National Forest…read more During our summer week here this was a quiet getaway. Rain scared away three sites so we were one of two groups left, and we couldn't hear a word of the other group down the way. Site 11 is even a pull-through! All sites have a great tree canopy, fire pits, lantern hooks, and picnic tables. There's a pit toilet outside the Angler Trail and a boat launch off the Pete Marquette River, but nothing else. No water taps, firewood, or other amenities are here, but the quiet makes it all worth it. Being free, no one is here to clean up after the Taco Bell/Fireball/ash tray/BB affair of your site's prior occupants, so bring a garbage bag. Then, take it with you!!! If not Fireball caps, you might be the lucky to find the campsite whose prior occupants left a good stash of firewood, a rake, even a wreath, something I've never seen at a campsite. A hummingbird flew through our site, and woodpeckers were seen and heard throughout our stay. Mosquitos are here so bring your bug spray or coils. Michigan DNR says this is also bear country, so don't leave out food or garbage. Take care of your site so Sulak Campground will stay free, and enjoy the woods, song birds, fireflies, wildflowers, the lot.

We camp seasonal here, love it. Sits on Hart lake. Small quiet campground. And the managers are…read morevery nice people. Ten minutes from the silver lake sand dunes entrance. And Hart has much to offer. The campground itself is clean and well kept. The bath house is newer with large showers. We really enjoy camping here.

We have been seasonal at the park for many years. We have loved the environment, the people, the…read moreamenities and the great upkeep. Now, they got new management, the Freed Management Company-- Jennifer Freed. The toilets now go weeks without being cleaned, there is mold in the showers on a regular basis. We complained about it only to be threatened with arrest because we were "causing a disturbance".. I think we have a right to get upset when there is &hit on the toilet seats for weeks and the mold in the shower is making us sick. Freed Management Company decided that they didn't want to take the time to weedwack the grass, so they just sprayed a bunch of grass killer around all the obstacles in the park. Now there are just huge rings of dead grass around all the trees and trailers. We have complained to the City Manager of the City of Hart, MI who oversees the park with no results. As far as I am concerned, the Freed Management Company has ruined this park and the wonderful camping experience it has given us for years. Let's not even mention that Steve Freed was recently held in contempt of court for refusing to show up for Jury duty because he "was way too important and busy" to fulfill his civic duty: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/07/juror_jailed_after_refusing_to.html