Indigo Bluffs RV Park & Resort

Barking dogs is the main reason for a low rating.

PROS

Good base camp for Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore Park. Begin at the Visitors' Center just down the road.
Extremely shady campground
Toilet/shower facility very clean and well stocked
Nice small and reasonably priced laundromat on site. 4 top load washers and 6 dryers
Wooden and metal picnic table in good condition on a concrete slab
Sandy gravel parking pad
Metal fire ring with cooking grate
Firewood for sale in campground
Permanent and/or seasonal campsite well maintain
2 bars TMOBILE

CONS

$5 transaction fee charged
No senior, veteran or any club discount
The park rules for dogs are ignored by management especially the rule about leaving a dog alone at a campsite as we experienced non-stop dog barking day and evening
Some road noise from M-72
Site 71 uneven
Take your quarters to the shower and you must pay 25 cents for 3-5 minutes
Campsite water and electric hookups at the rear of the site so may need two hoses
Some streetlights and path lights throughout campground that inhibit dark sky viewing
Weak park WIFI signal

We stay here twice a year. Always off season because we are adults with grown children so we prefer to camp when it’s less busy.
The pros are that the rates are less and it is very serene in the spring and fall.
We love that it is central to everything we like to do in the area (sleeping bear dunes, traverse city, Frankfort, golfing, etc..).
The staff is always accommodating and we like that they offer trash pick up daily, full hook up sites, and they even have a food truck onsite for those days where you just don’t want to cook after exploring the area.
We will continue to come back and wish they were open year round because we actually love winter camping and recreation.

We stayed on the resort side which was very nice. We walked around to the campground side which I thought would be nice if we were with lots of friends. The sites on that side were very close together, but looks perfect for camping with friends. Since we fulltime and work remotely during the day we prefer sites with more space, so in that case the resort side fit our needs. Check in was quick and easy and the lady that checked me in was very nice. Verizon worked very well with 84.3 dl and 6.64 ul, AT&T was 44.0 dl and 9.91 ul and T-Mobile was 26.8 dl and 11.5 ul. We were in site 2 which was nice, but I think site 7 and 11 look like the best.

Indigo Bluffs is 2 completely separate parks. The Resort side looks wonderful. Unfortunately, the RV Park side is not.

We reserved a back in 30/50 Amp site that was advertised as being gravel with a paved patio. I called the office and was assured the site was gravel with a paved patio. Upon arrival, we discovered that our site was 100% loose sand/dirt. I spoke to the ladies in the office about our site, and they both seemed incredibly surprised that there was no gravel or concrete pad. They showed me the park map and tried to convince me I was wrong. I invited them to come take a look at our site and they finally stopped arguing with me. Since there were no other sites available, we couldn't change sites. No refunds, discounts, or apologies were offered by management. (A very caring lady in the office did find us an extra outdoor mat so that we could keep some of the sand out of our trailer. We really appreciated her kindness.)

You need quarters for the showers. The bathrooms were not very clean. Many of the power/water configurations in the center sites are very interesting. The wifi did not work at our site. We were told at check-in that we shouldn't be surprised if we can't connect to it because it's "a work in progress."

Thankfully, Verizon and AT&T both worked well in the campground. Our site was shaded. The laundry room was fine. The food trucks were great. And they do pick up trash every morning.

If you're planning on staying at the RV park, please know you might not get what you were sold. The people in the office don't tell you the truth about your site when you're making your reservation. The website pictures and descriptions are not accurate. Some of the sites are lovely and some truly aren't. It's very similar to an older county/state park but for about twice the price.

I like going to Empire and this campground has everything for sites. On the RV side there is Full hookup pull thru 50-30 amp, back in partial or full HU, tent sites, and cabins. . . and a swimming pool. It is on the pricey side though.
Screaming fast AT&T internet (115 mbps) and T-Mobile (35 mbps) enough to stream and do work. Campground clocked in around 35 mbps down too with not many around Sunday night.
Find your wood outside campground as there are many pvt homes selling. The bundles here ere $7. Also showers are 25 cents per 3-4 minutes.
I would like to see more paved pads with cement patios for the price. Almost all sites are very level. Didn’t see anything that would give anyone any trouble. Some sites to the East end are dirt but with a view of a very nice meadow and farm.

If you are looking for trees of a National Forest Campground with all the amenities, this is for you. Large lots feels spread out, super quiet. Food truck, pool playground and so much more. Close to the loveliest area in Northern Michigan. Sleeping Bear Dunes, hiking, biking, Lake Michigan, Glen Lake. We live only an hour away but this spot gives us time to really explore. We will be back.

We had a great time here. There were lots of families with kids, so our kids wore themselves out every day riding their bikes and playing with other kids. Overall the place was quiet considering how many families with kids were here, but someone that doesn’t like kids might find it a bit noisy during the day. Quiet time in the evening was very quiet.

Bath houses were available and positioned well to be a short walk from most sites. Showers are coin operated.

Sites are not huge, but big enough. There was a surprising amount of shade, as the park is covered by mature trees, most sites had at least a reasonable amount of shade. Sites are very flat and leaves. The soil here is very sandy.

Sewer hookup was conveniently placed behind our camper, but electric and water hookups were placed at the back of the site. My 25’ water hose wasn’t quite long enough to reach, but the camp store had a nice 50’ hose reasonably priced.

Sleeping Bear Dunes and the towns of Empire and Glen Arbor are near by. Downtown Glen Arbor has a nice independent grocery store and some restaurants that looked great.

AT&T wireless data coverage was solid. I was able to work remotely from the campsite without issues, including video calls. I didn’t try the campground wireless.

Most of the sites well shaded. Quiet rv park. Clean and well maintained. We were on the park side not the resort side. Professional and friendly staff. Responded quickly when we had a question. Food truck on site with some of the best burgers we have ever had.Close proximity to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Under 10 miles to trailheads.

We really liked this campground! I was very clean, friendly staff, dog friendly, and quiet even on Memorial Day weekend! The campground was very close to Sleepy Bears Dunes (one reason we chose it) but it was also a quick easy drive to Traverse City. If you bring bikes bring them to the dunes as there is a bike trail (Sleepy Bear Heritage Trail), also if you are bringing pets we went to several breweries in the area that were pet friendly. We also took our pups on the Heritage trail and the Empire Bluff Trailhead! The campground has a burger food truck Tuesday-Saturday, the pool area was nice as well! They do have two sides to the campground one is resort site (more spacious and stamped concrete pads) that area was very pretty they were booked up that weekend so we didn’t get a site over there but anyone can walk around both sides there are gates to go over to that area. We stayed on the other side in a pull though site which had a concrete pad and was surround by trees. It wasn’t as spacious but we still enjoyed our site. If you’re researching a site at this campground they make it pretty clear that there are two sides, not sure why other reviewers were so bothered by that. I’d definitely camp here again!