If you want camping next to a river in southern Michigan, Walnut Hills Family Campground in Durand sits right on the Shiawassee River. Sites 27 to 42 are true riverfront sites, close enough to the water that when the river is up you can slide a kayak in from your own site.
Sites 1 to 26 are river-view sites on the bluff above it. There is a canoe launch at the front of the park, a float-trip outfitter based on site, a nature trail along the bank and, unusual for a riverside campground, a spring-fed swimming lake and beach as well.
Here is what riverfront camping is really like at Walnut Hills: which sites are on the water, what you can do on the river from your campsite, when the river is at its best, and what to know about camping by moving water with kids.
Which campsites are next to the river?
Not every “river” site is the same, and the difference matters when you book. Our team uses two terms:
| Sites | What they are | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| 27 to 42 | River frontage: the site is right on the water | Premium sites; a nimble paddler can launch a kayak or canoe from the site. In low water there is a drop from the site edge to the riverbed. |
| 1 to 26 | River view: on the bank 10 to 25 feet above the river | You see the river but aren’t on it. Not premium-priced, so often the better value. Trees sit on the back lot line, giving about half a day of shade. |
Both rows are flat sites with the rolling hills and old-growth trees the campground is named for behind them. The campground map is oriented with north at the top; the river runs along the south and west side of the park. Because we use dynamic pricing, riverfront sites carry a premium and holiday weekends cost more, while May, October and the weekends just after Memorial Day and around Labor Day run below base rate. The rates page has the current ranges.
What can you do on the river from your campsite?
Float trips from the campground
Cheff’s Canoe Rental is an independent outfitter that works out of the Walnut Hills launch, next to the store at the front of the park, from April through October. The Cheff family has run floats on this stretch of the Shiawassee for decades. There are two main trips: one starts upriver and floats down to the campground, the other starts at our launch and floats downstream to a pull-out, where the bus and trailer bring you back.
By canoe or kayak the trips run about two hours and about four hours; tubes move at roughly half the speed, so a special tube pull-out on a local farm keeps the tube trip to about two hours.
There is also a short in-park float from one end of the campground to the other that takes 30 to 45 minutes, which a campground employee calls “an enjoyable option for family members with a shorter attention span.” Life jackets are provided. Our guides to tubing at Walnut Hills and booking a float trip have the details.
Bring your own boat
You don’t have to use the outfitter. Campers can launch their own canoes, kayaks and tubes from the campground boat launch, and two of the drop-off and pull-out points are public access sites, so you can set your own shuttle. Cheff’s will also give paying guests with their own gear a ride upriver, though they don’t haul private boats.
The nature trail and the “secret trailhead”
A nature trail runs along the Shiawassee inside the park, an easy morning walk through the most natural-feeling part of the property. Seasonal campers with golf carts also know about a tract of public land around the corner on Reed Road, donated to the City of Durand by a farmer years ago, that runs back through the woods to the river downstream of the campground. It’s a quiet nature ride that doesn’t show up in most guides.
Dogs and the river
Dogs can swim in the river, and owners usually take them down to the boat launch area for that; the beach and swimming lake are for people. Around the park dogs stay on a leash, and the fenced quarter-acre dog park is where they run free.
When is the Shiawassee River best for camping and floating?
Spring runs fastest and suits canoes and kayaks. From June through early August the water is ideal for tubing. Late summer and September depend on rainfall: in a dry year the river gets low from early to mid-August on, and in a year with decent summer rain it stays floatable to the end of the season. You can check current flow on the USGS gauge at Owosso, downstream of Durand, before you leave home; our river conditions guide explains how to read it.
The Shiawassee is part of an 88-mile State and National Water Trail from Holly to Chesaning, which means it is mapped, maintained and regularly cleared of downed trees and strainers. Paddlers who know both rivers often tell our team they prefer this stretch to the Rifle River because the Shiawassee runs deeper, so there’s less scraping in low-water years.
The Rifle River campgrounds are a wonderful option in their own right, with the river as the whole reason to go; they’re just a longer drive north for most Flint, Lansing and Detroit families. Our Rifle River guide compares them fairly.
Riverfront camping with a lake, too
What makes Walnut Hills unusual among riverside campgrounds is that the river isn’t the only water. The park also has a spring-fed swimming lake with a sandy beach and a 14-piece Wibit floating water park, so on a day when the river is too high or too low, or when the kids just want to swim, the lake is a few minutes away.
A campground employee calls it a “natural dual water feature,” and says it’s one of the main reasons the park has been popular since the 1960s, when it started as a canoe-float and swimming-hole business. The lake is the designated swimming area; the Wibit is open Tuesday through Sunday, free for campers Tuesday through Thursday, with a monitor on duty (not a lifeguard) and campground life jackets required. It’s for ages 7 and up, with a parent present for anyone under 16.
Tips for camping next to a river with kids
- Pick the row that fits your kids. Families with toddlers often prefer the river-view sites (1 to 26), where the water is in sight but 10 to 25 feet below the site. Riverfront sites 27 to 42 suit families who will actually use the water.
- Life jackets for every float. Cheff’s provides them for its trips; bring your own for kids if you float on your own gear.
- Check the water level. A low river means a step down from riverfront sites and slow tubing; a fast spring river is for canoes and kayaks, not tubes.
- Calm evenings. Kids and bikes are back at the site by dusk at all GatherGrounds parks, and quiet hours run 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., so the river is the loudest thing you’ll hear at night.
- Save the swimming for the lake. The beach is for swimming, the river for paddling and floating.
Riverside campgrounds near me: who Walnut Hills is for
Walnut Hills is in Durand, which puts it within about an hour of Flint, Lansing, Owosso and the north Detroit suburbs. It’s a full-service park, not a rustic riverside pull-off: 201 RV sites including 80 full-hookup 50-amp sites, 2 camping cabins, 18 tent sites, a renovated bathhouse, a camp store with scooped ice cream, golf cart rentals, food trucks every weekend from Memorial Day through September, and a license-plate gate so you drive straight to your site.
If you want to compare it with lakefront options, see Michigan campgrounds by water access. For the river itself, start at Walnut Hills Family Campground.
Frequently asked questions
Can you camp right on the Shiawassee River?
Yes. Sites 27 to 42 at Walnut Hills are river frontage, directly on the water. Sites 1 to 26 overlook the river from the bank above.
Can you swim in the river at the campground?
The designated swimming area is the spring-fed lake and beach. The river is for paddling, floating and leashed-dog swims at the boat launch.
Do I have to book Cheff’s to float the river?
No. You can launch your own canoe, kayak or tube from the campground launch and use the public access points for your pull-out. Cheff’s is the easy option if you don’t have gear or a second vehicle.
Are the riverfront sites more expensive?
Yes. Riverfront sites are premium sites and cost more under our dynamic pricing, especially on holiday weekends. River-view sites are the budget-friendly way to camp by the river.
Is there fishing in the river?
Ask at the store about current river fishing. Fishing in the campground’s lake and ponds is catch-and-release only, and the swimming lake is fished only at the north end, away from the beach and the Wibit.
