Ludington State Park is 7 miles of Lake Michigan sand between Hamlin Lake and the big lake, with a dune path running out to the Big Sable Point Lighthouse. That shoreline is the first half of the up-north week from Grand Rapids. The second half is Petoskey State Park on Little Traverse Bay, and then the long way home down the lakeshore.
A motorhome suits the shape of it, two long stays with the rig set up once at each park, on electric loops that keep the fridge cold and the air on while everyone's down at the water. Give Ludington the first few nights and Petoskey the back half, and the week mostly drives itself.
Ludington State Park, Hamlin Lake to the lighthouse
Ludington has water on both sides of its dunes, Hamlin Lake inland and Lake Michigan on the shore, so the days move between the two without ever getting back in the rig. The dune path out to Big Sable Point is the walk everyone does at least once, and the whole setting is why this is among the hardest campgrounds in the state to book.
The rig sleeps in one of the three modern campgrounds, Beechwood, Pines or Cedar. Beechwood has 147 sites with 20/30-amp power at each, some 50-amp, and pull-through sites for anyone who'd rather not back a long motorhome in.
Reserve the site before the rig, since summer weekends fill and fall color brings a second rush, and the site you land decides which motorhome makes sense. As of October 2026, the Skyline Trail, its connecting trails and the amphitheater are closed into mid-2027, a day-use closure that doesn't include the campgrounds.
Petoskey State Park on Little Traverse Bay
Up at Petoskey the shore bends into Little Traverse Bay, and the Tannery Creek loop puts the week's second camp close to the bay's beach. It's the slower end of the trip, a few nights with nothing scheduled beyond the water and whatever the kids find on the sand.
Tannery Creek is the loop to book for a motorhome, with 98 sites on paved pads, 20/30-amp at each and a handful of 50-amp, plus overflow parking for campground use. Dunes, the park's other modern campground, has 78 smaller sites better matched to tents and compact rigs.
Mackinac and the Straits are the far end of the week if you want one more day north, the ferry crossing to the island and Arch Rock standing over the water. Petoskey can stay the night's pad, and the Michigan RV page covers the bridge's rules for a rig and the Straits campgrounds if you'd rather sleep up there. From Petoskey the week runs back south along the lakeshore to Grand Rapids.
Ionia State Recreation Area on Sessions Lake
From the hilltop loops at Ionia, Sessions Lake shows through the trees, and the wooded sites are spaced far enough apart to feel tucked away. It's the near week, a parked stretch of lake days and campfires without the long drive, and an easy first night when you leave Grand Rapids late and Ludington can wait until morning.
The modern campground has 97 sites across two loops, each with 30-amp power. The park's equestrian and hike-in campgrounds are rustic and aren't rig sites.
Grand Haven State Park, on the sand beside the Lake Michigan pier, and Yankee Springs on Gun Lake are the other weekends close to the city. Both work well for two people in something smaller, and the Grand Rapids campervan page covers them. ArtPrize weeks fill downtown Grand Rapids with art, and they're worth a day in town at either end of the trip.
