Campground amenities fall into four groups: what’s on your site (hookups, fire ring, picnic table, shade), the facilities you share (bathhouse, camp store, laundry, dump station), recreation (water, playgrounds, courts, trails, golf carts) and programming (events, food trucks, themed weekends). Which ones matter depends on who’s camping: a big-rig RVer cares about 50-amp power and sewer, a family with young kids cares about the beach and the playground, and everyone cares about the bathhouse. Below is a checklist for comparing campgrounds, with Walnut Hills Family Campground in Durand, Michigan, and our sister park The Oaks in Munith as two real examples at two price points.
The campground amenities checklist
| Amenity | Why it matters | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Hookups and power | Decides which sites your RV can use and whether you need to run to a dump station | Full hookup or water/electric? 30 or 50 amp? How many of each? |
| Site size and shade | Comfort, awning room, privacy | Site dimensions, max RV length, which sections are wooded |
| Bathhouse | The amenity guests mention most in reviews, good or bad | Renovated recently? Private stalls? How far from your site? |
| Camp store | Saves the drive for firewood, ice and forgotten items | Firewood, ice, RV supplies, groceries, ice cream |
| Water | The biggest driver of a family campground’s popularity | Lake, river, pool or water park? Supervision? Extra fee? |
| Play and sports | Keeps kids busy between swims | Playgrounds, courts, ball field, bounce pillow, arcade |
| Pets | Dogs need somewhere to run | Dog park? Fenced? Where can dogs swim? |
| Events | Turns a campsite into a weekend | Events most weekends? Food trucks? Themed weekends? |
| Arrival and rules | Sets the tone for the whole stay | Gate system? Quiet hours? Golf cart rules? |
Site amenities: hookups, size and shade
Hookups. A full-hookup site has water, electric and sewer at the site; a water-and-electric site uses a dump station instead. Larger and newer RVs usually want 50-amp power. Walnut Hills has 80 full-hookup 50-amp sites, many of them 70 to 80 feet long for RVs up to 45 feet, plus water-and-electric sites and pull-throughs (site 118 and sites 47 to 51) for one-night stopovers. The Oaks has water-and-electric sites with gray-water drains (50 amp on short-term sites) and no sewer, so big rigs that want a full hookup belong at Walnut Hills. Our full hookup guide explains the trade-offs.
Size. A typical campground site is about 33 feet wide by 60 feet long; sites around 25 by 50 are where awnings start to feel tight. The Oaks was built with land to spare, so its sites run from 35 by 65 up to 55 by 120 feet, the largest in either park. Walnut Hills’ sites are flat, with rolling hills between them.
Shade. Ask which sections are wooded. At Walnut Hills, sites 1 to 105 and 132 to 193 are under old-growth trees (the north end has the biggest trees and all-day shade), while the sites nearest the swimming lake, 106 to 131, are open and sunny because the sandy soil won’t support trees. The site map on the map and rules page shows the sections.
Facilities: bathhouse, camp store and laundry
Bathroom cleanliness is one of the top reasons guests say they like a campground, which is why Walnut Hills rebuilt its bathhouse with new showers, high-quality sink bays and private toilet stalls. Guests notice. The Oaks has more than one bathroom building, and its bathhouses include showers and laundry; Walnut Hills has no laundry.
The camp stores at both parks were renovated to carry what weekend campers forget: firewood (outside firewood isn’t allowed at our Michigan parks), ice, groceries, RV upkeep supplies, bait and fishing gear, apparel, and hand-scooped and novelty ice cream. Walnut Hills delivers firewood right to your site. Neither park has Wi-Fi, and that’s worth knowing before you book anywhere: ask, because many campgrounds don’t.
Water amenities: lakes, rivers and floating water parks
Water is the amenity families plan their days around. Among campgrounds on the water in Michigan, Walnut Hills has what our team calls a natural dual water feature: a spring-fed swimming lake with a sand beach, and the Shiawassee River along the park, with a boat launch and float trips run by Cheff’s Canoe Rental, an independent business that works out of the launch. On the lake sits a 14-piece Wibit floating water park; most campground inflatables are one to four pieces. It’s open Tuesday through Sunday, free for campers Tuesday through Thursday and a wristband fee Friday through Sunday. Ages 7 and up, guests under 16 with a parent present, with a campground-provided life jacket (personal jackets aren’t allowed on it) and a monitor on duty who checks wristbands and keeps an eye on things. There’s no lifeguard at either park.
The Oaks has a sand beach on an artesian-spring-fed swim lake, rebuilt in 2026 with hundreds of tons of new sand so you step onto sand instead of mud, an Aquaglide floating water park (wristband fee; the same age, parent-present and life-jacket rules as the Wibit), and a separate stocked fishing lake with a dock where kids can count on catching something. Neither park has a pool. See our guides to waterfront camping in Michigan and Michigan campgrounds with water parks.
Recreation for kids, adults and dogs
A good test of a family campground is what there is to do when the kids are tired of swimming. At Walnut Hills the main entertainment zone sits around Pavilion 2: the Kangaroo Jumper (a bounce pillow, free), a playground installed a few years ago, the gaga ball pit, the ball field where staff bring out a giant kickball, basketball and sand volleyball, and the fenced dog park. The arcade room in the store is the rainy-hour fallback. Golf carts can be rented at both parks, daily and dynamically priced with discounts for multi-day rentals, or you can bring your own electric cart for $25 a night with proof of insurance. No cart driving after dark at any park.
The Oaks adds the amenity Walnut Hills doesn’t have: about 120 acres of trails through forest and grassland for hiking, mountain biking and golf carts, with deer and sandhill cranes wandering over from the neighboring Haehnle Sanctuary. Its own Kangaroo Jumper, playground, basketball court, sand volleyball and ball field cluster near the store and pavilion.
For dogs, the Walnut Hills dog park is just over a quarter acre with premium fencing, open and shaded areas, picnic tables, tunnels, a real fire hydrant and a dog selfie frame. It’s the one off-leash area at Walnut Hills, and dogs can swim in the river at the boat launch (not the swim lake or beach). At The Oaks, dogs can run off leash in the dog run at the front of the park and on the back trails, and they can swim in the fishing lake (not the swim beach); elsewhere in both parks, dogs stay leashed. Both parks are remote enough that stargazing works from any site; Walnut Hills keeps a fleet of telescopes and runs a stargazing event. Our guide to campgrounds with dog parks has the pet details.
Events and food trucks: the amenity most lists leave out
An events calendar is an amenity, and it’s the one that makes families book the same weekend every year. At Walnut Hills there’s a food truck every weekend from Memorial Day through the end of September (always Saturday, often Friday dinner and Sunday breakfast), a kids’ craft at 11 a.m. and tie-dye at Pavilion 1 most Saturdays, lawn games by the ball field, and a DJ dance party, karaoke, a band or trivia at Pavilion 2 in the evening. Themed weekends include Christmas in July, a beach party weekend and three Halloween weekends with a haunted trail and trick-or-treating on closed roads. The Oaks runs a similar program on holiday weekends, with a fishing contest, bike and golf cart parades and DJ Dave at the pavilion, plus one Halloween weekend. Check the Walnut Hills events page before you book a weekend.
Camping amenities that cost extra
Most of a campground’s amenities are included in the site rate, but a few usually aren’t. At our parks:
- Water park wristbands for the Wibit (weekends) and the Aquaglide. The weekend fees cover the cost of running the Wibit, which is what keeps weekdays free.
- Golf carts: rentals, or $25 a night to bring your own.
- Extra people: rates cover 2 adults and 2 children; extra adults are $13 and children 3 to 17 are $9 per night.
- Pavilion rental: $100 a day, with one free day for groups that book 25 or more sites.
- Visitors: day guests register at the store and pay a day-visit or water-area rate.
Our guide to campground fees beyond the site rate lists what to ask about anywhere.
Which amenities matter for which trip?
| Who’s camping | Put these first | Where that points at our parks |
|---|---|---|
| Families with young kids | Beach, water park, playground, bounce pillow, bathhouse distance, events | Walnut Hills sites 106 to 131 near the beach; Oaks lakefront sites |
| Big-rig RVers | 50 amp, full hookup, site length, easy turns | Walnut Hills (80 full-hookup 50-amp sites) |
| Nature and quiet | Trails, wildlife, space between sites, quiet hours everyone keeps | The Oaks, especially the old-growth section (sites 22 to 109) |
| Dog owners | Fenced dog park, dog swimming, clear leash rules | Walnut Hills dog park; Oaks dog run and trails |
| Groups and reunions | Sites together, pavilion, cabins or RV delivery for non-campers | Walnut Hills full-hookup block 186 to 193 or the beach circle 118 to 131 |
| Tent campers | Shade, electric on the site, bathhouse nearby | The Oaks (tent sites T1 to T12 and 178/179 have electric; T13 to T18 are primitive); Walnut Hills has 18 tent sites, 4 with electric |
Quiet hours at both parks are 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., kids and bikes are back at the site by dusk, and a license-plate gate means no office check-in (live at The Oaks for 2027). For RV-specific priorities see our RV park amenities guide, and for families, family campground amenities.
Walnut Hills vs The Oaks amenities at a glance
| Walnut Hills (Durand) | The Oaks (Munith) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hookups | 80 full-hookup 50-amp sites; water/electric; pull-throughs | Water/electric (50 amp on short-term sites, 30 amp on seasonal) with gray-water drain; no sewer |
| Water | Spring-fed lake and beach, 14-piece Wibit, Shiawassee River floats | Spring-fed lake and sand beach, Aquaglide, fishing lake with dock |
| Land | 42 acres, 201 RV sites, old-growth trees, river nature trail | 155 acres, about 120 acres of trails |
| Lodging without an RV | 2 camping cabins (A/C, sleep 4); 18 tent sites | Tent sites T1 to T18 plus 178/179 (T1 to T12 and 178/179 electric); no cabins |
| Kids | Kangaroo Jumper, arcade, playgrounds, gaga ball, ball field | Kangaroo Jumper, playground, gaga ball, basketball, sand volleyball |
| Dogs | Fenced quarter-acre dog park (off leash); river swimming | Off-leash dog run and back trails; fishing-lake swimming |
| Facilities | Renovated bathhouse, store, firewood delivery; no laundry, no Wi-Fi | Bathhouses with showers and laundry, store; no Wi-Fi |
| Events | Food trucks every weekend, DJ nights, three Halloween weekends | Holiday-weekend events, food trucks, one Halloween weekend |
Full lists are on the Walnut Hills amenities page and the Oaks amenities page.
Campground amenities FAQ
Do all campgrounds have full hookups?
No. Many private parks have only some full-hookup sites, and most public campgrounds have none. Check the count, not just whether the park “has” them.
What amenities does a state park campground have?
Michigan state park modern campgrounds typically have electric sites, a bathhouse, a dump station and access to the park’s beach or trails, with far fewer on-site extras than a private park. Public parks are funded and priced differently (camping fees, the Recreation Passport and public capital investment), while a private park pays for its amenity stack, staff and utilities through the site rate. State parks are a good fit when the park itself is the destination.
Are campground bathhouses usually clean?
It varies more than any other amenity, which is why it’s worth reading recent reviews. At Walnut Hills the renovated bathhouse is one of the things returning guests mention most.
Are water parks and pools supervised?
Not by lifeguards at most campgrounds, including ours. The Wibit has a monitor who checks wristbands and life jackets, and guests under 16 need a parent present; parents stay responsible for their kids in the water.
