The best family friendly campgrounds in Michigan keep kids busy without anyone leaving the park: a swimming lake or water park, playgrounds, a weekend event schedule, clean bathhouses and a store for the things you forgot. Walnut Hills Family Campground in Durand, between Flint and Lansing, is built around exactly that list, with a spring-fed swimming lake, a 14-piece Wibit floating water park, river floats on the Shiawassee, food trucks every summer weekend and 201 RV sites, 18 tent sites and 2 camping cabins on 42 acres. Its sister park, The Oaks Campground in Munith, is the nature-and-value option next to Waterloo Recreation Area.
What makes a campground good for families?
Parents who camp a lot judge a park on the same handful of things.
| What families look for | At Walnut Hills |
|---|---|
| Somewhere to swim and cool off | Spring-fed swimming lake with a sand beach, plus the Wibit floating water park (ages 7 and up) |
| Things to do without driving | New playground, Kangaroo Jumper, gaga ball pit, ball field, basketball, sand volleyball, arcade room, golf cart rentals |
| Something planned every weekend | Kids’ crafts, tie-dye, lawn games, DJ dance parties, karaoke and themed weekends from Memorial Day through three Halloween weekends |
| Clean restrooms | A renovated bathhouse with new showers, high-quality sink bays and private toilet stalls |
| Food that isn’t another camp meal | A food truck every Saturday from Memorial Day through September, often Friday dinner and Sunday breakfast too; scooped ice cream at the store |
| Evenings that stay calm | Quiet hours 11 PM to 8 AM so kids actually sleep, kids and bikes back at the site by dusk, and a license-plate gate so only registered guests drive in |
| Room for the dog | A fenced quarter-acre dog park for off-leash play; dogs can swim in the river at the boat launch |
One thing you won’t find on that list is a lifeguard. Neither park has one; the Wibit has a monitor who checks wristbands and life-jacket fit and keeps play safe, riders under 16 have a parent present, and parents watch their own kids at the beach.
Why Walnut Hills is one of the best family campgrounds in Michigan
Walnut Hills has been a summer swimming spot since the 1960s, when it started as a canoe-float and swimming-hole business. GatherGrounds took it over in 2022, rebuilt the utilities (80 full-hookup, 50-amp sites), renovated the bathhouse and beach, added the Wibit, dog park, Kangaroo Jumper and a new playground, and kept the old-growth trees. The result is what our team calls a natural dual water feature, a lake and a river on one property, with a modern campground around it. The full list is on the Walnut Hills amenities page.
Family campsites with swimming: the lake and the Wibit
The swimming lake is spring-fed, so the water is naturally clear and stays cool; swim out from the beach and you’ll hit cold pockets where the spring comes up underneath. A lab-designed treatment program keeps weeds, algae and bottom muck away, and the beach was rebuilt with fresh sand.
The Wibit sits on the lake: 14 pieces, including the Action Tower XXL, two slides, monkey bars, a rock-climbing wall, a trampoline and a launch pad that bounces you into the water. It’s open Tuesday through Sunday and free for registered campers Tuesday through Thursday, with a wristband fee Friday through Sunday that only covers the cost of running it. Ages 7 and up, with a campground-provided Wibit life jacket required (personal jackets aren’t allowed on the park). Campers in the row of sites 1 to 15 hold up 1-to-10 scorecards for belly flops off the big pieces, and plenty of parents and grandparents end up on it too. More options are in our guide to campgrounds with swimming in Michigan.
River floats on the Shiawassee
Cheff’s Canoe Rental, an independent business that has run floats on the Shiawassee for decades, works out of the Walnut Hills launch next to the store. Parents with small kids usually pick a canoe so the children ride with them; teens go for tubes. Trips run about two or four hours by canoe or kayak, there’s a two-hour tube option, and a 30-to-45-minute float inside the campground for short attention spans. Life jackets are provided and the bus brings you back. You can also bring your own tubes and use the public access points; see our guide to booking a float trip.
Fun family campgrounds have weekends like this
The entertainment zone at the north end of the park is where Saturday evenings happen: Pavilion 2 for DJ Dave’s dance parties, karaoke and live bands, with the new playground, Kangaroo Jumper, gaga ball pit, dog park and ball field next to it. Staff bring out a giant kickball for a parents-versus-kids game, and summer Saturdays add tie-dye and an 11 AM kids’ craft at Pavilion 1. Themed weekends in 2026 included a Fourth of July Family Olympics, Christmas in July with a Santa social and golf cart parade, a Beach Party weekend, and three Haunted Trail weekends with trick-or-treating on closed roads, a costume contest and a haunted trail that stays mild while it’s light out and gets properly scary later. No fireworks at any GatherGrounds park. The calendar is on the Walnut Hills events page.
Kid-friendly weekend getaways in Michigan: a Walnut Hills weekend
Our team’s advice is to arrive Wednesday or Thursday and stay through Sunday, because you can’t fit everything into a Friday-to-Sunday trip. A typical plan:
- Thursday: rent a golf cart at the store, pick up free weekday Wibit wristbands, and alternate between the water park and the beach, with the arcade and scooped ice cream for breaks.
- Friday: a Cheff’s float or a bring-your-own tube day, then the Friday dinner food truck.
- Saturday: the lake, the kids’ craft, lawn games, the Saturday food truck and the evening event at Pavilion 2.
- Sunday: a breakfast food truck when one is scheduled, so nobody cooks while packing up.
For activities by age, see kid-friendly campgrounds in Michigan.
Family campsites: RV sites, tent sites and camping cabins
Nightly rates are dynamic; RV sites start around the high $40s and vary by date and site, and the rates page has the details.
- Beach sites 104 to 117 sit along the lake and cost a little more. The circle of sites 118 to 131 across the road is cheaper, long and wide, and groups book it out and park sideways to make a big shared center for fire pits.
- North-end full-hookup sites 171 to 178 and 186 to 193 are 50-amp with sewer, near the main bathhouse and across from the entertainment zone. The park’s four electric tent sites are across the road, so mixed RV-and-tent families can stay together.
- Riverfront sites 27 to 42 are right on the water; sites 1 to 26 are river view, above it.
- Camping cabins 43 and 46 sleep four on a double bed and a twin bunk, with air conditioning, a fridge, microwave and coffee maker, and a fire ring and porch outside. Bring your own linens; there’s no bathroom inside, no pets, and a $75 cleaning deposit. They’re popular with grandparents joining a reunion, and a local RV delivery service can set a rental camper on your site if you need a kitchen and bathroom.
The nightly rate covers two adults and two children; extra adults are $13 a night and children 3 to 17 are $9. Groups that book 25 or more sites get one day of free pavilion rental.
Family campgrounds near me: who Walnut Hills is close to
Walnut Hills is at 7685 Lehring Road in Durand, Shiawassee County. Most of our families come from Flint and Genesee County, Lansing, the north Detroit suburbs in Oakland and Macomb counties, and Saginaw, Bay City and Owosso, and the campground itself is the destination rather than a base for day trips. Our city pages have directions from Flint, Lansing and Detroit. Families who do leave the park head to Durand Union Station or the pizza and ice cream shops a few minutes away in Byron, and quite a few camp here while their kids play in youth ball tournaments in Owosso.
The Oaks: a family campground next to Waterloo Recreation Area
Families from Jackson, Ann Arbor and the Detroit area have a second GatherGrounds option. The Oaks Campground in Munith is 155 acres, about 120 of them trails for hiking, mountain biking and golf carts, next door to Waterloo Recreation Area, the largest state park in the Lower Peninsula at more than 20,000 acres. Since GatherGrounds took it over at the end of 2025, it has gained a rebuilt sand beach on its spring-fed swim lake, an Aquaglide floating water park (wristbands at the store) and a free Kangaroo Jumper by the pavilion and playground. Kids fish from the dock on the fishing lake, the store sells bait, and deer and sandhill cranes wander over from the Haehnle bird sanctuary next door.
The Oaks is more traditional camping: water and electric with a gray-water drain (50 amp on short-term sites), no full hookups and no cabins, but the biggest sites in either park (35 by 65 feet up to 55 by 120). Seasonal sites run $2,500 to $3,300 compared with $3,000 to $5,500 at Walnut Hills. Our team sums it up this way: water lovers and families who want a resort-style stay with full hookups choose Walnut Hills; families who want trails, quiet and a feeling of being far from town choose The Oaks. See camping near Waterloo Recreation Area for the area.
Family campgrounds vs Michigan state parks
Michigan’s state park campgrounds are a good, low-cost way to camp near a lake or trail system; they book through the DNR reservation system, and a Recreation Passport covers vehicle entry. Public parks are funded and priced differently (user fees, the Recreation Passport and public capital investment) and generally offer a site, a beach and restrooms rather than a water park, an event schedule and a staffed store. A private family campground pays for its amenity stack, staff and utilities through the site rate, which is why it costs more per night. Guests tell us they choose Walnut Hills for the things to do on site, quiet hours that hold and a well-kept, respectful family atmosphere. Our private vs public campground guide covers the trade-offs.
Why families come back
The phrase our team hears most from returning guests is “Walnut Hills never disappoints.” Generations of families book the same week for reunions, and more than a few seasonal campers who tried other parks have come back because their kids asked to. Part of that is a promise to add something new every year, most recently the Wibit trampoline. As a campground employee put it, our job is “to help our customers create lifelong memories with family and friends.” Book at Walnut Hills Family Campground.
Frequently asked questions
What ages can use the Wibit at Walnut Hills?
Ages 7 and up, in a campground-provided life jacket, after checking in at the store for a wristband, waiver and short safety video. Children under 16 need a parent supervising.
Are family campgrounds in Michigan open year-round?
Walnut Hills and The Oaks run May 1 to October 20. May before Memorial Day, the weekend after Memorial Day, the weekends around Labor Day and October are the lowest-priced windows, with the same amenities.
Can we bring our dog?
Yes, at both parks, and there are no breed restrictions. At Walnut Hills, dogs stay leashed except inside the fenced dog park, and they can swim in the river but not the swim lake or beach. At The Oaks, dogs are leashed in the campground, can run off leash on the back trails and in the dog run, and can swim in the fishing lake (not the swim beach). Dogs stay out of the buildings at both parks.
Do we need to check in at an office?
No. The gate reads your license plate. If you’ll arrive after the store closes, call ahead to pre-check in and drive straight to your site.
