To choose a campground, decide what kind of trip you want first (quiet and rustic, or busy with things to do), then check eight things in order: the site type and hookups you need, water on site, activities, bathhouses, rules and quiet hours, the pet policy, the price for your dates, and recent reviews. For a family or a first camping trip, the campground itself usually matters more than what’s nearby, because that’s where you’ll spend the weekend.
This guide walks through each check, with Walnut Hills Family Campground in Durand, Michigan, and our sister park The Oaks in Munith as working examples of two different answers.
1. Start with the kind of trip you want
Campgrounds fall into two broad types. Public campgrounds (state parks, state forests, national forests) are mostly a place to sleep while you enjoy the park around them: basic sites, restrooms, often a beach or trailhead. They’re funded and priced differently (fees, the Recreation Passport and public capital investment) and offer fewer on-site amenities. A private campground pays for its amenity stack, staff and utilities through the site rate, so it costs more and gives you more to do on the property: water features, playgrounds, events, a store, and staff on site. Neither is better; they’re for different trips. If you want to hike all day and sleep, a state park is a great fit. If you want the kids busy from breakfast to campfire without driving anywhere, pick a private park built for that. Our private vs public campground guide goes deeper.
2. Match the site type and hookups to how you camp
- Tent: look for shade, a fire ring and picnic table, and a short walk to the restroom. Electric is a bonus, not a given; at Walnut Hills only 4 of the 18 tent sites have power.
- RV, water and electric: fine for a weekend if the campground has a dump station. Ask whether the power is 30 or 50 amp.
- RV, full hookup: sewer at the site. Worth it for big rigs, long stays or anyone who doesn’t want to pack up to dump. Walnut Hills has 80 full-hookup 50-amp sites and takes RVs up to 45 feet; The Oaks has water and electric (50 amp on short-term sites) and a gray-water drain, no sewer. See what full hookup camping means.
- Cabin: the easy first trip for a family without gear. Check what’s inside. A camping cabin like the two at Walnut Hills has A/C, beds, a fridge and microwave but no bathroom or linens, which is a different trip from a kitchen cabin.
Also check site size. The industry norm is about 33 by 60 feet; sites around 25 by 50 feel tight once the awning is out. The Oaks’ sites run from 35 by 65 up to 55 by 120 feet, the biggest at either of our parks.
3. Water on site is the biggest predictor of a good family weekend
Our team has visited hundreds of campgrounds, and the pattern is consistent: on a hot Michigan weekend, kids need somewhere to swim, and that’s what brings families back. Ask what the water is (a pool, a lake, a river), whether there’s a beach, and whether anything extra sits on it. Walnut Hills has what staff call a natural dual water feature: a spring-fed swimming lake with a sand beach and a 14-piece Wibit floating water park, plus the Shiawassee River for canoe, kayak and tube floats. The Wibit is free for campers Tuesday through Thursday and a paid wristband Friday through Sunday. One note: like most campgrounds, neither of our parks has a lifeguard. The Wibit has a monitor who checks wristbands and life jackets; it’s for ages 7 and up, life jackets are required, and guests under 16 have a parent present.
4. Count the things to do without leaving
A good family campground keeps a 7-year-old and a 14-year-old busy at the same time. Look for a playground, a game or arcade room, courts and a ball field, a dog park, and an events calendar you can actually read before you book. At Walnut Hills, the events page lists a food truck every weekend from Memorial Day through September, kids’ crafts and tie-dye at Pavilion 1 most Saturdays, giant kickball and lawn games by the ball field, and a DJ, karaoke or band at Pavilion 2 on Saturday nights. Three Halloween weekends in the fall book far ahead. Our team’s advice is to stay at least three nights, arriving Wednesday or Thursday, “because you really can’t experience it all by coming in on Friday and leaving on Sunday.” The Walnut Hills events page is the place to check.
5. Look at the bathhouse before anything else
Bathroom cleanliness is one of the most common reasons people rate a campground well or badly. Look for recent photos of the showers, ask when the bathhouse was last renovated, and read reviews for the word “clean.” Walnut Hills rebuilt its main bathhouse with new showers, quality sink bays and private toilet stalls, and it’s one of the things returning guests mention most.
6. Read the rules, especially quiet hours and arrival
Rules tell you what kind of weekend the campground is protecting. Things worth knowing before you book:
- Quiet hours and enforcement. Ours are 11 PM to 8 AM, kids and bikes are back at the site by dusk, and golf carts don’t drive after dark. Those are what make a park where your kids actually sleep.
- Check-in. Some campgrounds still have a Friday-night office line. Walnut Hills uses a license-plate gate: your plate is on file from booking, and you drive to your site. Arriving after hours, call the store to pre-check in.
- Vehicles and carts. One vehicle per site is common. If you bring a golf cart, expect a nightly pass ($25 at our parks) and proof of insurance.
- Firewood. In Michigan, campgrounds can’t accept outside firewood; buy it at the store.
- Visitors. Day guests usually register and pay a day rate.
See the Walnut Hills map and rules for the full list.
7. Check the pet policy and the price for your dates
Pets: most campgrounds take leashed dogs; the differences are whether there’s an off-leash area, where dogs can swim, and whether cabins allow them. Walnut Hills has a fenced quarter-acre dog park (the one off-leash spot) and dogs can swim in the river; the beach, the swim lake and the cabins stay dog-free. At The Oaks, dogs can run off leash on the back trails and in the dog run and swim in the fishing lake.
Price: most private campgrounds, ours included, use dynamic pricing: a base rate plus a premium on holiday weekends and waterfront or full-hookup sites, and a discount on slow dates. At Walnut Hills, RV sites start around the high $40s a night and vary by date and site. The cheapest dates are May before Memorial Day, the weekend after Memorial Day, the weekends around Labor Day, and October. Rates cover 2 adults and 2 kids; extra people are $13 per adult and $9 per child (3 to 17) per night. Check the rates page for your dates.
8. Use reviews the right way
Reviews are most useful for the things a website can’t show: whether the bathhouse is clean, whether quiet hours are enforced, and how staff handle problems. Read the most recent ones first, since a campground can change a lot in two years, and weigh the specifics (“the showers were spotless”) over the stars. A campground employee at Walnut Hills says the phrase returning guests use most is “Walnut Hills never disappoints,” and that return-customer numbers have risen every year since the utilities and bathhouse were rebuilt. That’s the kind of pattern to look for in any park’s reviews.
A first-time camper’s checklist
- Decide: quiet and rustic, or lots to do on site?
- Pick the site type (tent, RV with or without sewer, cabin) and confirm the power.
- Is there swimming? A beach? A lifeguard (usually no), a monitor, or neither?
- What’s on the events calendar for your dates?
- When was the bathhouse last renovated?
- Quiet hours, check-in process, golf cart and visitor rules.
- Pet rules, including where dogs can swim.
- Total price for your dates, with extra-person fees.
- Read the five most recent reviews.
If your answers point toward a resort-style family campground with a lot going on and modern hookups, that’s Walnut Hills. If they point toward big wooded sites, 120 acres of trails and a quieter pace at a lower price, that’s The Oaks. For more Michigan options, see our family-friendly campgrounds in Michigan guide.
