Trailway Campground

We stayed here for a week while meeting up with relatives who were vacationing in Grand Haven.  The campground is owned by the city of Montague but has the look and feel of a small private campground.  We made our reservation via email and then paid half of what we owed for our stay online, paying the rest of it when we arrived.  We were given a campground map with WiFi connection info and the bathroom codes at check-in, and were offered a cable box (which we declined).

The front half the campground is mostly back-in sites occupied by long-term residents.  The back half of the campground begins on the other side of a short, one-lane bridge with wooden beams supported by steel girders underneath.  It's strong enough to handle heavier rigs like ours, but you want you make sure your approach to the bridge is relatively straight if your rig is long.  The sites in the back half are a mix of pull-throughs and back-ins.  All of the sites have gravel pads and grass lawns, and most have a concrete patio with a picnic table.  Most sites have a least one shade-providing tree, but sites 43 and 44 do not.  Our FHU site (43) was level and was more than long enough to fit our 37-foot fifth wheel and 21-foot truck.  But if you have a long RV like ours, you're better off taking the long way around and entering site 43 via a right turn; making the left turn is tricky because it's a sharp turn and the power pole is at the back of the pad.

There are bathrooms at the back of the office building, along with a camp sink.  There is also a public bathhouse associated with the Hart-Montague Bicycle Trail that is easily accessible from the back of the campground.  The dump station and the single large dumpster are along the main road of the campground.  There is a section of grass at the back of the campground that serves as a parking lot for towing/towed cars that don't fit into the shorter sites.  There is no dog park, but there were plenty of places to walk our dog along the bike trail.

When we first arrived (on a Monday), we couldn't get any service on our Verizon Jetpack with MIMO antenna.  The signal strength was weak so I tried bumping it up with my cell booster, with no luck.  But early the next day (without the booster), I got 60 Mbps down and 8 up, and from that point on we had no problem streaming video except for a few brief slowdowns.  The best speed test I ran on my 5G AT&T smartphone showed 94 Mbps down and 16 up.  The campground WiFi was pretty good, with 17 Mbps down and 7 up.

The real appeal of this campground is the location.  It's next door to a large grocery store and an ice cream shop, and within walking distance to multiple bars and restaurants in both Montague and Whitehall.  The Hart-Montague Bicycle Trail which borders the campground on two sides is a great way to get around, and you can see a mix of wildlife along the trail in the early morning (mainly waterfowl, rabbits and deer).  Despite being close to wetlands, we didn't have any issues with mosquitos during our stay.

We would stay here again if we were in the area.

Great little city park. Very convenient to grocery store. Literally right next to the campground. Also this campground is right on a bike trail that is about 25 miles in total (estimate). There was also a cool pedestrian fishing bridge that was right off the paved bike trail. The only downside was the road noise because you are right in the heart of the town but didn't bother us. The couple at check-in were super helpful also. We had a great day trip to Grand Haven which was only 30 minutes away.

The campground host was friendly and efficient. A full-time RV’er herself. My Ollie fit into the smallest space in the campground and was site #45. All sites are pull-through, but even with the 18.5’ Ollie it was a tight maneuver if staying off the bike path was in the initial plan. A wide farmer’s turn would have been more applicable in this situation, but we made it without too much back and forth. Nights were quiet and comfortable, the weather perfect, and no campfires are allowed here except in the one designated group area far away from me. My neighbors were quiet and elderly, their trailer a modest R-Pod they seemed to be very comfortable with. Bob the dog and I took every opportunity (at least three per day) to ride my bike and investigate the numerous miles of bike trails, the quaint old town of Montague, and a daily swim for Bob in the boat harbor as a reward for running so far with his Papa. The Montague Food Market was a mere seventy-five yards across from my site which afforded me easy access to over-priced fresh food. Even though a Walmart was in driving vicinity, I pride myself in not moving my Tacoma at all, if possible, when I camp. The cash saved in gas and aggravation was worth supporting the local economy.

Full hookups are available at this small campground. $40 per night is rather stiff for a typical boondocker, but the bike trails, clean shower rooms, well-maintained sites, quiet campers, groceries and restaurants within walking distance, beautiful scenery, all make this a campground worthy of returning to or taking a small respite from the grit of the road. There is no doubt we will be visiting the area again. Montague is a special place. It is a community that cares about the landscape and quality of life.