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    Petoskey State Park

    4.2 (52 reviews)

    Petoskey State Park Photos

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    Liz P.

    This beach was super nice. We went here today to lay out and go into the lake. First off, you need a MI rec pass - if you don't have one, I believe they make you pay the $12 or whatever it is now to get one; luckily my friend has one, and we were in her car. It was pretty windy out today but still nice, around 70-75 degrees out. There are bathrooms on-site and apparently changing rooms. There is also a concessions area and I think I saw some Dippin' Dots for sale too. Overall this was a really nice beach and I'd return when in the area.

    AJ M.

    We hiked through Petoskey State Park on Dec 30, 2023. While it was a bummer there was no snow this season and we weren't able to ski, a hike in this state park was a perfeft substitute. We were lucky enough to walk the trails while it had flurried in the morning so we had some white on the ground. Perfect spot to go on a quick pavement-walk in nature with the family, or take the dog on a woodsy hike. Our puppy had a blast. Excited to come back in the summer and future winters!

    Beach
    Julie B.

    Great place you can swim with the minnows. The waters are clear and cold.you can rent bikes and canoes I think you can also rent paddle boards. cleanish beach (some stupid people littering banana peels, cigarettes butts and a few food wrappers I saw but not many). Tom's of ROCKS and shells to find.

    Dune/beach at sunset
    Becky N.

    This is one of my favorite state parks to camp in Michigan, but I really wish they would find the funds to renovate the campground shower/bathroom facilities as they are terrible. Buy your state park pass each year and help them out, Michiganders! The sites are spacious, feel somewhat private from your neighbor unless you don't want them to be, and are wooded. The beach and dunes that are just a short walk away are gorgeous. There is a swimming area with a bathhouse and kayak rentals, but there's plenty of space down the beach in both directions to have a little more room to spread out! The shore is typically clean though it was a little dirtier this last trip a few weeks ago, possibly owing to a recent storm (keep your garbage out of Lake Michigan, people). You can spend the time hiking, swimming, kayaking, boating, sunbathing, or head into town for ice cream and fun shopping. Plenty of good restaurants, farmer's market, and a brewery nice and close. Expect some traffic in the summer months and if you have to choose between a weekday to be in town vs a weekend maybe go with the weekday! There is a marina in town as well and a water sport rental place on the main drag. And ohhh, the sunsets. Now the shower facilities - gross. Old and gross and why I bought my own camp shower tent. The shower spigots are chest height. Cleaning efforts even at their best (and they are not the best) couldn't make these facilities look much better. The bathroom ceiling is typically a maze of cobwebs and bugs, with dirty stall doors and walls. I know you are camping and I'm no stranger to the general baseline dirty that comes with that but these facilities are beyond that. Many other state parks are much better in this regard. That aside - easily fixed with a shower tent and lugable loo- this is one absolutely beautiful spot to spend your days.

    Petoskey State Park Beach
    Anita G.

    Beautiful, big, clean, sand beach. $9.00 car entry fee. Small park. Went here to search for Petoskey Stones. Water was a bit chilly the end of September, but tolerable for stone searching. A lady nearby was kind enough to let us use her kitty litter scoop for searching.

    My friend trying to look for petoskey stones
    Jessica P.

    Such a beautiful and well kept park! My friend and I visited the beach before we began our long journey back home and we had an amazing time. The beach is beautiful and the bathrooms are extremely clean (which is appreciated during these times!) I plan on coming back and spending a few days here to really explore, rather than a couple hours!

    Carolyn G.

    Great beach, sandy, clean, clear, huge and just plain beautiful. Turquoise water, big sand bar you can walk out for quite a long while.

    K D.

    We went here on a family getaway and fell in love with the area. The highlight of our visit was the breathtaking sunset over Lake Michigan from the beach. We then spent tome playing in the surf and hunting for Petoskey stones. The area around the beach is just as beautiful and we can't wait to return!

    Petosky stones
    Rose S.

    The park itself is beautiful and we loved the beachfront area. We came up here because I was on the hunt for Petsoky stones and wanted to cross it off my Michigan bucket list. Ran across the friendliest people when I was getting discouraged because I didn't see any stones. They gave me a good tip on where to look and when I walked over that way I found tons of stones just laying there, waiting to be collected! The area is clean and well kept, the campsites looked really nice and from the shore you can see the fireworks on the 4th of July. Loved it!

    Megan K.

    Beautiful view. Beautiful beach. It was $11 for an annual pass to get into here. For all you non-michiganders: it's an all access pass to all Michigan State Parks. We stayed at this beach for a few hours. It was peaceful when we walked more to the right. Less crowded.

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    12 years ago

    Great sandy beach, toilets on site, paved parking, clean beach.

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    Review Highlights - Petoskey State Park

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    Jellystone Park™ Petoskey

    Jellystone Park™ Petoskey

    3.6(21 reviews)
    1.0 mi

    Excellent experience!! The park is beautiful and meticulously maintained. It was a pure joy to…read morespend our vacation here. We rented the King bed cabin KL109 with fireplace and we're thrilled when we saw it. Pictures were not on the website yet so we were a little hesitant when we booked it. Oh my goodness it far exceeded our hopes! The paved street, which I believe has 12 units, 6 on each side of the street is lovely. Every unit has a small gravel driveway, and a concrete patio with a table that seats 6, along with a gas bbq. There was a raised porch with brand new outdoor wicker furniture and a gas fireplace WITH a mounted television! I am attaching pictures but please note these were taken after we packed up to check out so the bed is not fully made. The interior was immaculate when we checked in. There was even a loft area with a full size mattress on the floor. Our granddaughter spent every night with us. Our daughter's family was right around the corner on one of the RV campsites. We brought linens just to be safe but didn't need them. Everything was supplied. I have to add that the staff was so friendly and professional and the pool, playground, store, and all amenities were perfectly maintained! I can't wait to go back next summer!

    I went here with my boyfriend and his parents and we all had a wonderful time! The cabins are very…read morecute with swings and grills, very rustic camping feel outside as well as having lots of facilities/things to do for children m! We had a small issue with one of the electrical outlets in our cabin one night and when we told the employees the next morning they immediately came to fix it, comped some money off of our bill, and even brought some goodies for us to make up for it. Wonderful campground and employees all around.

    Photos
    Jellystone Park™ Petoskey
    Jellystone Park™ Petoskey
    Jellystone Park™ Petoskey

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    Fisherman's Island State Park - Sunset at the public area right before entering park

    Fisherman's Island State Park

    4.7(16 reviews)
    20.4 mi

    This rustic state park is one of our favorites. The scenery is gorgeous, with miles of sandy and…read morerocky beachfront, walking trails, 5-mile road for biking and spacious wooded lots and a prized few water front lots. There is firewood and ice at the check-in station which is very convenient. T h e grounds are well maintained and the vault toilet stalls are mostly clean (though can become odiferous when the park is full). It is usually the case that visitors to the rustic parks are more respectful of the quiet. We are bird watchers and always love spying the eagles and variety of other birds in the area. Close to the town of Charlevoix, there are plenty of options for sight seeing, eating and finding supplies. Beautiful area of our state.

    If you love collecting Michigan rocks, come to this lovely state park. You can take the short trail…read moredown to the water, where you will find rocks om the sand. The park is secluded, and we only saw about 5 others there during the duration of our stay. It appears that because this location is not so heabily populated, you can find some Charlevoix and Petoskey rocks in the water as wel as on the rock bed. You just have to know what to look for. I suggest finding a walking stick for the water. It helps guide you, and it helps you move some rocks. The next time I come here I definitely want to bring a sifter because I saw so many cute tiny ones with the rock pile. My twchnique was to pull the ones near the water down, and I found quite a bit this way. James used the stick to look in the water, where you will find medium to large rocks. Overall the secluded atmosphere is soothing and relaxing.

    Photos
    Fisherman's Island State Park - Nothing like Lake Michigan sunsets

    Nothing like Lake Michigan sunsets

    Fisherman's Island State Park - Northern shore is both sand and rock.  Excellent for rock hounds

    Northern shore is both sand and rock. Excellent for rock hounds

    Fisherman's Island State Park - Public beach at south end of the park.  Sandy beach walking

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    Public beach at south end of the park. Sandy beach walking

    Young State Park - View of Lake Charlevoix from Young State Park

    Young State Park

    3.7(12 reviews)
    13.1 mi

    Young State Park. located on Lake Charlevoix, was my first campground of the season this year! We…read morehad a great time here and this state park has a solid campground. You don't get too many views and the campgrounds are all open and organized into 3-4 loops that you can easily see and access from wherever you are by foot or car within the campgrounds and to one side they are all bordered by a line of trees that have walkways cutting through them at each loop to the beach and shore of Lake Charlevoix! Because of this, you can typically see the lake through the trees, but no campsite has direct access or prime views of the lake all that much, so no stress about there being a better campsite closer to the lake over a different one. Given that I camped here in early June, the weather was still a bit rainy, so we didn't get to spend too much time on the beach given that every time we did, it would start sprinkling. We tried a couple of the hikes, but they were all pretty muddy and one in particular was boggy and my friend's foot sank in deep past her knee! So just a few things to watch out for if you've gotten some rain leading up to your camping trip here. Other than that, there is plenty of great beaches here for laying out if the weather allows, plus Lake Charlevoix is wonderful for taking the boats out and they have a boat launch at a different spot within the park. It's wonderful for all the activities with the whole family and the furry family members as well! We had a great time even with the rain!

    Review 1 for State Park 1 on the Circle Tour…read more This State Park is 5 stars all the way. Reason it ranks high is location, location, location. Nestled on Lake Charlevoix this state park was a toss-up when we were choosing. Sleeping Bear Dunes was packed and we were in search of accommodations to reserve so we didn't have to mess around. We opted to come to Young State Park. It turned out to be a diamond in the rough and a perfect place for us to spend our first nights on the escape! Our campsite was spot on, especially having chosen the site without having been there before. It wasn't secluded but it was perfect considering it was the Fourth of July weekend.It was also dog friendly and had some really cool well marked and unmarked trails. Some of the trails were a bit muddy and some were just perfect. There was one trail though that was the best and led us to the perfect view of Lake Charlevoix. There we enjoyed a day of chilling on the beach and watching our mutt romp around. This was truly the biggest highlight and I'd come back for this access alone, time and again. The sunset, the fires and the hustle and bustle of the Charlevoix area all made for a great time. We ventured into town and perused the scene with our pup as well as ventured around the surrounding area to soak up the sites. This State Park was clean and an enjoyable stay for us! Get here, relax and enjoy! Nuff' said!

    Photos
    Young State Park - View of Lake Charlevoix from Young State Park

    View of Lake Charlevoix from Young State Park

    Young State Park - Campsite at Young State Park

    Campsite at Young State Park

    Young State Park - Beach shoreline at Young State Park

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    Beach shoreline at Young State Park

    Petoskey State Park - beaches - Updated June 2026

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