Walleye and perch boats work the Lake Erie shoreline at sunset while you walk from a paved pad to the sand at Sterling State Park in Monroe. Sterling is the Michigan state park on that lake. Most of the pads look out on the water, and the beach is a short walk from the pavement.
Daylight here is swimming and walking the sand with Lake Erie in front of you. Toward evening the color drops off the lake and boats work the barrier-free launch and the skid piers.
The Sterling Modern Campground has a full-hookup loop and a sanitation station. Michigan DNR sites open six months ahead of arrival, so lock the site before you book the van. Memorial Day through Labor Day is when that loop fills first. If you need more sleeping space than a campervan gives you, Michigan RV rentals use the same parks.
Monroe is on the way south to Ohio. If you keep going along Lake Erie, Ohio campervan rentals cover Toledo.
Proud Lake Recreation Area
The campground at Proud Lake Recreation Area is two loops, one open to Proud Lake and one in the trees along the Huron River in Oakland County. The canoe and kayak launch is at the campground's own boating access, so a river day starts at the overnight. You can lose hours on the Huron and walk back to either loop.
The Huron River is the reason to stay, with wooded sites along that water and open sites looking at Proud Lake if you want sky.
Sites run electric hookups and a sanitation station. You hook up power at the pad and dump tanks at the station.
Pontiac Lake Recreation Area's modern campground is closed for the 2026 season as of September 2026. Holly Recreation Area's McGinnis Lake campground is the overflow, a glacial-woods loop with electric hookups.
West of Detroit, the next woods weekend is an Ann Arbor campervan trip. Use that page when you are heading west for woods.
Belle Isle and the Detroit riverfront
From Belle Isle you look back at the Renaissance Center across the Detroit River. The riverwalk on the city side is a slow loop with Detroit in front of you. You can do the island and the city bank in one day.
The island has no campground. After a riverfront day the van returns to Sterling or Proud Lake to sleep.
Windsor, Ontario is the other skyline across the water. You need a passport and the rental company's written permission to take the van into Canada. That overnight is a Windsor campervan trip.