Plan Your Stay at Walnut Hills: Arrival, Rules and FAQs

Check-in and check-out

Check-in is 2:00 PM and check-out is 11:00 AM. Our team uses the time between to get sites ready, and on busy weekends many sites turn over the same day. If your site is open the night before or after, you can add early check-in (10 AM–2 PM) or late check-out (11 AM–5 PM) for a flat fee. Ask the office or add it when you book.

No-wait arrival: the license-plate gate

There’s no office check-in line at Walnut Hills. We collect your license plate when you book, so you’re checked in before you arrive. Drive up, the gate opens for your plate, and you head straight to your site. The gate also keeps the park limited to registered guests and visitors, which is a big part of why parents feel comfortable letting kids ride ahead to the beach.

Arriving after hours? Call the store ahead of time to pre-check in, and we’ll activate your plate. Driving a different vehicle than the one you booked with? Call with the new plate number. Each site includes one vehicle; extra vehicles park in the lot and are registered and paid for at the store.

The camp store

Our renovated store stocks what campers most often forget: groceries and snacks, ice, firewood, pop, bait and fishing supplies, camping gear, RV upkeep supplies, and hats, shirts and sweatshirts. It also has hand-scooped and novelty ice cream, tie-dye shirts for our Saturday tie-dye events, and an arcade room. Stop at the store for Wibit wristbands, too. The Cheff’s canoe launch is right next door.

Firewood: buy it here

Please don’t bring firewood from home. We sell local firewood at the store and will deliver it to your site. Firewood moved from other areas can carry insects and tree diseases, such as emerald ash borer and oak wilt, that kill healthy trees. The State of Michigan advises never moving firewood more than 10 miles from where it was cut, and beginning January 1, 2027, untreated firewood may no longer be brought into Michigan at all. Our old-growth trees are a big part of what makes Walnut Hills special, and buying wood here keeps them standing.

Campfires belong in the fire ring on your site. Keep them attended and put them out fully before bed.

Golf carts

Rentals: rent a golf cart by the day at the store. Reserve ahead online or by phone, or ask when you arrive if any are left. Rates are dynamic, and multi-day rentals get a much better daily rate.

Bringing your own: electric carts only. Short-term campers pay a $25 per night golf cart pass, show proof of golf cart liability insurance and sign a waiver; we’ll give you a window sticker. The park carries its own costly insurance so guests can have carts, and the pass helps cover it. Gas carts aren’t allowed because of noise and fumes.

Carts park for the night at dark. Headlights shine straight into camper windows, and it’s harder to see kids and walkers after dark. Savvy campers also know about the public nature area around the corner on Reed Road, which runs through the woods to the river and makes a nice golf cart ride. See our golf cart guide for more.

Visitors

Friends and family are welcome. Visitors check in and register at the store, and a small fee applies; there are passes for a day visit to your site, for the beach and water areas, and for overnight guests. Visitors leave by 10:30 PM on Friday and Saturday and 8:30 PM on weeknights unless they’re registered overnight. State rules limit how many people can be on each site and in the park, so registering everyone keeps us within those limits and keeps the gate working.

Dogs at Walnut Hills

• Dogs stay on a leash (6 feet max) in the campground and can run off leash in our fenced dog park, which is just over a quarter acre with shade, tunnels, a fire hydrant and room to throw a ball.
• Dogs can swim in the Shiawassee River (the boat launch area is popular), but not in the swim lake or on the beach.
• No pets in the cabins, the store or other buildings, and please don’t leave a dog alone outside.
• Clean up after your pet. We don’t restrict breeds, but any dog that shows aggressive behavior must leave the park.

Quiet hours and the 5 mph speed limit

Quiet hours are 11 PM to 8 AM. Families with little ones go to bed early, and everyone camps better after a good night’s sleep. Kids and bikes are back at the site by dusk, and night security helps keep evenings calm.

The speed limit is 5 mph everywhere, for cars, trucks, RVs and golf carts. Kids are on bikes and chasing balls all over a family campground, and at 5 mph a driver can always stop in time.

Bikes and e-bikes

Regular bikes are welcome for everyone. E-bikes are allowed for adults only, and only pedal-assist models. Throttle-only e-bikes behave like small motorcycles, and our insurer allows only pedal-assist bikes ridden by adults. ATVs, side-by-sides, minibikes and go-carts aren’t allowed, and motorcycles may be used only to enter and leave the park.

No fireworks

Fireworks aren’t allowed at Walnut Hills, on holidays or any other time. A campground is full of trees, tents, RVs, pets and small children. We celebrate the Fourth with Family Olympics, bike and golf cart parades, trivia and a DJ dance party instead; see the events page.

Cancellations and changes

If you cancel more than two weeks before arrival, you’re refunded minus a cancellation fee of $15 or 15% of the reservation, whichever is greater. Within two weeks of arrival, reservations can’t be refunded or rescheduled, and we can’t refund early departures, weather or no-shows.

Here’s why: most in-season weekends sell out, and many families plan their summer around a specific site. When we hold a site for you, we turn other families away, and with less than two weeks’ notice it’s very hard to rebook. Keeping one policy for everyone keeps it fair. Read more in our cancellation policy explainer.