Sand Lake Campground, Irons, MI

Sand Lake Campground is located in the Manistee Ranger District, Huron-Manistee National Forest (1 hr 4 min southwest of Traverse City, MI) with an elevation of 862 feet. There are a total of 44 campsites. The campground is normally open from mid May to the end of August. 41 sites can accommodate RVs and trailers between 34 and 40 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. Fees range from $29.00 to $74.00. Some amenities include shower, boat ramp, swimming, flush toilets. Activities include boating, fishing, hiking trails, floating sports.

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44.16700, -85.93405
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(231) 723-0141 (Information)
(231) 723-0141 (Reservations)
$29 - $74

Campsite Reviews (50)

4.2 out of 5

5 star		52%
4 star		30%
3 star		10%
2 star		4%
1 star		4%

@JeffS4172407 · Camped on Aug 23, 2024 at Campsite #39

We lenjoy camping here a couple times each year with friends.The Lake and Beach are great.

@JohnM1144946 · Camped on Aug 9, 2024 at Campsite #6

We only stayed one night, but look forward to staying again. The sites are spread out nicely and feels very private.

@NoelleWBA1739D · Camped on Aug 9, 2024 at Campsite #31

LOVE THIS CAMPGROUND. My family has camped here a handful of times and its been a wonderful experience! The one thing that kept us coming back was the well maintained bathrooms. However, our last trip they were very poorly kept. Still think this campground is great though.

@DeborahM184134 · Camped on Aug 4, 2024 at Campsite #14

The manager was very rude when I asked about the possibility of changing to another site since there was very little room for my tent. He said I couldnt even though there were numerous open sites. The bathrooms were very dirty and had no soap. The shower had a horrible odor and the floor was dirty No one enforced the quiet hours and there was a group of campers making noise most of the night .

@Leezworld9EDF6 · Camped on Jul 31, 2024 at Campsite #26

Our family has camped at Sand Lake for nearly 50 years. This year we enjoyed the beach, swimming in the clear waters and kayaking around the shoreline in the company of a loon. Campers should be aware this is rustic camping - no electricity or dump station. Water is available at hand pumps. There are two bath houses with electricity, hot water showers and flush toilets. This year the bath houses and toilets were not very clean during our week long stay. There is an excellent food store and a gas station within a mile of the campground.

@JanetS5249327 · Camped on Jul 25, 2024 at Campsite #36

We love this campground. Our family has been coming here for over 50 years...since 1968. This years there were issues right upon our arrival. We have always filled our water tanks at the campgound using a "water only" hose. We were informed that this was against the rules. A rule that I can not find on the website which is why we have all done this for years. First weekend of our stay there was a family reunion which was held at the park. (We have been there in past years when this event takes place. It usually makes for a not so pleasant weekend.) The campground was full. These people reserved campsites for just parking cars upwards to six cars on a lot. During this time we never saw staff informing these people that the campsites were for camping use..not parking. During the Reunion event on Saturday...we never saw the staff at all. We never saw the staff man the booth at the entrance. I wonder how many people just drove into the park w/o paying the fee. Most of our party did not get car passes so they had no idea if we were campers of not. Someone vandalized the one of the shower bathrooms so for the remained of our trip we had one shower bathroom available in the group Handicap area. The available shower did not drain well during a shower so you stood in water for your whole shower. The bathrooms really need to be updated. I can not remember when they were updated last. One of our campers had an emergency and was not able to be there on the first few nights. When we tried to explain to the camp hosts that they were not planning to get a refund for the days they could not be there but would come up later in the week, we were told that they could lose their whole reservation all together because they were not there on the first day of their reservation. We had two camp "hosts" both men both with egos. Bathrooms were good sometimes but not always. Ran out of Toilet paper several times and not refilled for several hours. Not our best vacation

@MattS1245099 · Camped on Jul 25, 2024 at Campsite #37

We were are Sand Lake 7/26-8/4. We had a great experience camping like we always do. We've been coming for over 50 years and the last 22 with a lot of family in the family camping side and always enjoy it.

@BrianF9020222 · Camped on Jul 7, 2024 at Campsite #24

Great campground with a friendly host ( Aaron ). Love the sites and the beach.

@LaceyC38F82D14 · Camped on Jun 21, 2024 at Campsite #19

We stayed at site 19. The beach is small, but lovely if youre looking for warmer waters to swim in. We swam in the rain until the weather sent us back to the tent. The showers impressed our entire group with their cleanliness. If you have Verizon you will not have signal, so plan ahead for that! T-Mobile on the other hand had okay cell signal. Dont bother stopping at Walmart on your way in, we did. We regretted it. The Dublin General store had the same prices and is locally owned. (Within a 15 minute drive of the campsite, set up camp first then go to town for the food & misc) Overall regardless of the rainy weather, we really enjoyed this campground and will be back for a longer stay next summer! If youre looking for an adventurous campground with lots of hiking, this is not it. But if youre looking for a place to relax in nature, and take life slowly. This is definitely it!

@DouglasR824462 · Camped on Aug 18, 2023 at Campsite #GR1

Only regret I had was not brings the kayaks to float around on the lake. First time at this camp ground so still learning the area but was a great experience.

@BryanR3871518 · Camped on Aug 5, 2023 at Campsite #26

Love this campground! The lake is so clean and beautiful the stars at night are amazing! The grounds keepers did a great job of keeping the bathrooms clean and restocked.

@MarshaMFC6A4D8 · Camped on Aug 3, 2023 at Campsite #35

This was a nice place and experience, however, not for us too much. A bit too commercial for our liking, but the campsite was nice and wooded like all NF campgrounds. The host was crazy good. One night there was a very loud late hot-rod type vehicle which was crazy loud and annoying. We were between camping at Lake Michigan Recreation area near Manistee and Sleeping Bear Dunes, so wanted to make sure had reservations, and appreciated that for sure. Love, love, love our National Forest campgrounds, grew up with them, and love their locations, spacious sites, and solitude.

@JessicaW627491 · Camped on Jul 31, 2023 at Campsite #2

This is our second year camping at Sand Lake. The camp hosts Ralph and Chris were amazing. We really appreciate the work they are putting into maintenance around the campground. We like the set up of the campsites and the spaces between them. The beach is clean with lots of soft sand and a volleyball net. The swimming section of the lake is large enough for everyone to have space.

@ThomasS5574085 · Camped on Jul 28, 2023 at Campsite #38

The bathrooms were always clean and smelled good. There were a lot of people there but they did an awesome job!

@DonaldB5279265 · Camped on Jul 14, 2023 at Campsite #17

The hosts and their assistants kept the restrooms and showers clean despite the rain the entire period we were there.

@RandyL2841359 · Camped on Jul 9, 2023 at Campsite #2

Facilities in excellent condition and most sites quiet and private. Campground host helpful and friendly!

@SuzanneS213714 · Camped on Jun 28, 2023 at Campsite #12

We love this campground! The campsites were very spacious and there were plenty of trees for our hammock tents, as well as plenty of room for our large 2 cabin tent. The lake was clean and my family swam in it twice a day. We rode our bikes around the campground and felt comfortable with our 10 and 12 year olds riding around by themselves. We highly recommend this campground!

@AnnD8724949 · Camped on Jun 21, 2023 at Campsite #34

Your reservation states 1:00 pm checkout time. Hosts bring around a letter stating 11:00 am checkout time. I wish someone would take pictures of these campsites with the campsite numbers so you really know what your reserving, alot of sand and can't move picnic tables to arrange your site. Overall grandkids had a great time at the lake.

@JonR4078904 · Camped on May 26, 2023 at Campsite #43

Loved the campground had a great time. the only reason I did not give a 5 star is that there is so little grass of any kind there which made for a very sandy site. But still more than willing to return which I have made reservations for in July. Just plan on your pets getting quite dirty.

@NancyF8422820 · Camped on Aug 14, 2022 at Campsite #12

This is a FAVE campground, the hosts were exceptional, friendly, accommodating and the park restrooms were clean though in need of some updates. Hopefully the National Park System will keep up and invest in the maintenance and needed improvement of the paved roads and trees that need clearing. This is a beautiful Park and a major asset to the State.

@ChadG3236332 · Camped on Aug 5, 2022 at Campsite #12

The campground was super clean. Bathrooms and showers were amazing. Buck, the host, was welcoming and kept each site clean and free of garbage. We were at site 12 and it was pretty uneven. We still enjoyed the site and the location near the swim area. The parking pad was deteriorating. The picnic table was almost completely unusable because of erosion. The beach was clean and the swim area was huge. Fishing from the beach was no good. You will need a boat to get to the drop offs. Overall we enjoyed our time, and will be back, but at a different site. There was little to no cell phone coverage.

@LisaF6268557 · Camped on Aug 4, 2022 at Campsite #40

Awesome campground! We had a big group that stayed in the loop and it was great. The sites were big and wooded. The beach/lake area was wonderful! We spent a lot of time on the beach, playing beach volleyball, swimming and fishing. The owners were very friendly. Bathrooms were decent and clean. Great hidden gem!

@ThomasS5574085 · Camped on Jul 28, 2022 at Campsite #30

The camp hosts were very pleasant and helpful. They kept the bathrooms and facilities clean and well-stocked.

@PauletteN29957 · Camped on Jul 24, 2022 at Campsite #12

This is a nice, quiet, smaller campground with many sites that are large and rather secluded. Bathrooms are always clean and lake is pleasant. One of our favorites. The only drawback is the lack of trails for hiking.

@MichelleS85055 · Camped on Jul 21, 2022 at Campsite #41

The hosts were super friendly and helpful. Even giving us the heads up that bad weather may be coming. The restrooms were extremely clean and very nice. Great hot showered! The campsites were very well maintained. We love the beach! We had a great time.

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