Straits State Park

This is one of our favorite state parks for just hanging out. We prefer the Lower West campground due to proximity to the water and views of the Mackinac Bridge.

This place can get very busy and the sites are quite varied in terms of size, shape and how unlevel they are. Some sites offer a lot of privacy but others are more open. The sites right along the water are spectacular, but note they do not have electricity.

If you have a van or truck camper, note that even the tent sites have electricity available, so consider those if the RV sites are full.

The Lower West campground isn't the quietest campground but the views and atmosphere make up for it -- and a lot of other noises get overshadowed by the crashing waves anyway. Even when full, the closer you can get to the water, the less crowded you will feel due to the way the sites are laid out.

Bathrooms always seemed to be clean and well-maintained. They have unisex shower rooms that are separate from the bathrooms, which we always appreciate.

If you need provisions on the way in, there is a grocery store right at the end of the road that leads to the state park, so it's quite close. Also note there is good cell service for Verizon and Google Fi (2 to 3 bars LTE with decent data speeds) so if you're looking for a nice place to camp but still need to get work done, this could be it!

We stayed here for the first night of our first time staying in the UP. The sites are OK, kind of close ,we had a 30 Amp hookup. The site had water views through the trees and very easy access to a nice beach overlooking the Mackinac Bridge. The bridge felt like passing a driving test with the wind whipping the rain sideways. So we were more than glad to quit driving for the day. Give me beach access and i give you a god rating.

Not our first stay here. It was a nice overnight on our way home from northern Wisconsin. The site we had abutted trees on the back side, otherwise we were Closely surrounded. The 30 am didn’t work at our site, but we have an adapter so we were good to go and fortunately didn’t need to use the air. Surprisingly there were little to no mosquitoes, making sitting outside pleasant. The site was fairly level. There are showers, a couple dump stations, potable water and firewood available.

The location of this nice state park is hard to beat, located just over the bridge in the upper peninsula on the edge of St. Ignace.

The campground seems more used than other Michigan State Parks we've visited - the sites were adequate and the facilities were clean and functional.

Overall, this is a great location for exploring the local area.

Cellular service was very good on both AT&T and Verizon with good enough performance for basic streaming, even during peak hours.

What I enjoyed about this campground was the plantings surrounding our site and throughout the grounds (a bed of lily of the valley, wild yellow ladies slipper). The grounds were well kept. The bathhouse was well kept. The downside was hearing the jake brakes of trucks descending toward mackinaw bridge through the night.

This site bordered a cemetery and had a privacy screen on the fence, and was very wide.

Michigan state parks require a park pass in addition to the campground fee. Pass was 9 per day or 33 for the year.

To get from Mackinaw City to St. Ignace, you must cross the landmark Mackinac Bridge, which sits on the dividing line between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
Straits State Park is on the northern side along the lakes on the outskirts of the cute little lakeside town of St. Ignace.
One would think that with 270 camping spots there would be plenty of room for everyone, but this place books up on weekends so call ahead to reserve a spot.
We checked in on Friday, August 25, after making a reservation, and there were just a few empty campsites. The campground has sites of many sizes, suitable for tents up to 50 ft. rig pull-throughs. there is an upper and lower campground, the lower being closest to the lake. There is indeed lake shore camping, if you don’t mind being close to your neighbors with lots of kids playing nearby. The water views are beautiful.
We picked Site #249 in the upper campground, which was surrounded on 3 sides by cedar forest, level, shady and lovely, with an electrical hookup.
First thing we noticed was the road noise from Interstate 75, a bit of an annoyance but tolerable.
We headed out on our bikes and looped around all the campgrounds, circling down to the beach and lake access. It was a nice workout with some small hills. We then headed out of the campground to the town of St. Ignace, very picturesque with harbor lights, a boardwalk along the shoreline, and nice water views.
There are several private ferry companies located there which will be happy to take you on the 40 minute trip to Mackinaw Island, where there is a historic fort and museum and the Mackinac Butterfly House and Conservatory. Round trip for the two of us with our bikes was $72, plus admission to the attractions on the island also require a fee. We passed this time but it would be a nice day trip for a future visit.
We picked up a walleye fillet and headed back to the campsite.
Our campsite was $28 per night.