Fort Custer Recreation Area Campground

We stayed here for a week to break up our drive between two other places so it wasn’t really a destination for us, but it was a wonderful park! The campground has 227 sites but you absolutely do not feel squished in in really any site from what we saw. Most have trees in between and feel spacious and from what we could tell were very level. Each has a picnic table and a really nice built up fire ring. We stayed in 62 and had a little grass path leading to a large open field behind our site. There is no water or sewer hookup, but dump station and potable water were easily accessible.

In the park, there are three lakes, one of which had a beach with a full service concession stand that also sold floaties and rented kayaks. There were a lot of mountain biking, horse, and hiking trails. We also thought the Kalamazoo River access looked like it would have been a fantastic kayaking spot if we were not waiting for one of our kayaks to get fixed!

The hosts had events with free hot dogs and donuts to close out the season when we were there which was so nice! They also had games for kids during these events.

The showers were slightly outdated, but they are closing early this year to build new ones so next season there would not even be one thing I could think of as a possibility for a con.

We had excellent T-Mobile service to work during the week.

I arrived on a Thursday to get in before all the weekend warriors and it was quite pleasant. Many open sites so it was quiet and peaceful until Friday. While I've been to the park many times to use the trails I'd never actually camped. The campground is set up at two big figure 8's adjacent to each other.

It seems that the larger rigs were headed to the loop with 50 amp sites, 111-219, the "East Campground". In loop 1-110, the "West Campground" the sites were asphalt, dirt, grass, gravel, or a combination. Many tents and popups and smaller trailers were in this section. If you want to know what your surface is, the best way is to check the reservation page for photos of each site. Each loop had a central bathhouse. There were two freshwater spigots on each side of each campground.

It's a big park with access to the North Branch of the Kalamazoo River as well as some lakes with a nice boat ramp. The dump station was fine though I think it is due for renovation. There was recycling and several dumpsters past the dump station. In addition to the MTB trails there are extensive horse trials and a nice equestrian campground.

The trails are very easily accessed from the campground. Even though the trailhead parking lot was full, because of the directional setup of the trails, and several different loops, I didn't run into many other riders. T-Mobile 5G was quite good, even excellent at times. AT&T was ok with downloads averaging 30 Mbps.

This is a beautiful park with many activities and a friendly, helpful staff. However, as others have said, beware the bugs. We thought maybe they wouldn’t be as bad in early May, but we finally needed to set up our screen tent to escape them. There is a lot of brush around the sites, and some close water, so apparently very good breeding grounds.

The other thing to be aware of is the noise. This used to be an Army training facility (thus the name) and there are still active National Guard facilities nearby, including Air National Guard. There were helicopter maneuvers each night, going past 10:00 one night.

We were glad to learn about the park and the area, but we won’t be back to stay again.

I don't want to fault the park for it being hot in the summer and there being bugs but people should know-- there were so many mosquitoes that it ruined my time there. I've done a lot of camping, both in Michigan and out, and the mosquitoes here were really exceptional. The air was thick with them. I couldn't even enjoy the park because there were just so many.

Maybe RV campers fare better, I don't know. I'm a tent camper and in the time it took me to heat a can of food my hands were so bitten up that I couldn't use a keyboard for days. The poor dog (and both of us had on bug repellent) exhausted himself whipping around to bite bugs off his legs and ended up yelping and whimpering while I tried to get us some water. It was truly a pitiful sight and we both had to take a day off from the trip to take benadryl and be groggy.

I'm not sure how this would be addressed. Usually, I'd consider returning during colder months but the campground is a huge circle of drive-in sites and greenery provides all the privacy there. When the leaves fall, it's got to look like a parking lot. If I ever had to stay in this part of the state again, I'd sleep in my car in the Walmart parking lot, I really think that would have been more comfortable.

Honestly, I hate to be this person, and we’re not usually these people. BUUUT, we got there a couple days after heavy rain and the mosquitoes were unbearable. Our site didn’t have a pad so we parked in the grass. Pulling in sparked the mosquitoes to rise out of their slumber. We sat in our rv while the misquotes inspected the exterior of our van, by the thousands. opened the door to plug in to shore and let a few hundred in. Bug spray wasn’t stopping any of them. So we ended up waiting a couple hours until sun down but they didn’t care, they were waiting for us. We unplugged and grabbed a parking lot a few miles away. Could be an amazing spot, we just had bad timing.

Bathrooms were nice. And the sites are very private. No alcohol during summer months.

Fort Custer State Recreation area doesn't get near the acclamation deserved mainly because it is inland from Lake Michigan and not nearly as well known as some of the more popular lake-oriented state parks on the west coast or in northern Michigan.

Probably the main draw of the park besides the many private campsites is the outstanding trail system, well-known for challenging mountain biking as well as equestrian riding. The three lakes provide good opportunity for fishing, kayaking and canoeing, and the large beach at Eagle lake makes for good sun and swimming.

It is comprised of two circular campgrounds with 219 modern sites. Each has 20 and 30-Amp connections and there are a few 50-Amp sites. There are no full hookups sites, which as is common for Michigan State parks. There is one dump station that can accommodate two RVs at a time. This is a common ratio for Michigan State Parks, about 100 sites per dump. However, the campground is rarely full, so waiting at the dump station is uncommon except on busy weekends in season.

This is easily one of my favorite Michigan parks for exercisability. There are so many options from running on pavement with little traffic, to running on the many miles of trails, to mountain biking at various skill levels. When it is warmer, there are several lakes for water exercise as well. Overall, top-notch given the options and quality and privacy of the campsites.

I only live an hour away from this park and had no idea how nice it is. There are two loops in this park. Both have vegetation between sites, but the West Loop where my site was seems to have more than the East Loop. The trees and bushes gives a lot of privacy. They have made backing into most of the sites very easy due to the angle into the site. I was there mid week, and it was not at all busy. The bathrooms were well maintained. The showers were also big and clean although I did not use one so I cannot report on how they worked. There are hiking, mountain bike and equestrian trails. There are also 3 lakes. Eagle Lake has a very large beach and the water was good for swimming. You can also rent kayaks, canoes and paddle boards. As I was hiking, I saw places where people were also able to put in their own kayaks and people fishing from a small pier at Whiteford Lake. I will certainly return when I am looking for someplace close. The rate is $25 a night but I do think you also have to purchase a State of Michigan Recreation Pass. I cannot tell you how much they are because I purchase it when I renew my plates. One more thing which may pertain to you: My Garmin GPS took me to the entrance of the Fort Custer National Cemetery. The entrance to the park is further down a bit off the same road.

Arrived on Tuesday and departed on Tuesday. Handicap site with level asphalt pad, and small amount of shade. Mosquitoes were our biggest problem and they were vicious. Bath house was nearby and well maintained. During weekend, most sites were filled and noise level increased proportionately. Still a very enjoyable and relaxing getaway. The beach is great! Fishing in Eagle Lake is not great but there are fish to catch while fighting mosquitoes. Park is open year round and they will clear snow from your site with reservations.