fisherman's island state park

If you're a rock hound, this is your place! Simply reach into the shallow water and pull out fantastic Petosky stones, charlevoix stones and all sorts of fossils. We spent hours looking for the best specimens and had a great time. The campground is fabulous - well-kept with big trees, and some sites are right on the water or have trails through the forest leading to the beach. Out around the spit, we kayaked in the crystal clear water and enjoyed the serenity. That is, until around noon, when the yachts started pulling in and dropping anchor. Soon we were surrounded by blaring stereos, beer-drinking games and exhaust fumes. At one point, we counted 21 big boats lined up in the bay, making it impossible to enjoy swimming or even a view. Not quite the getaway we were hoping for. We high-tailed it to the south side of the spit, where the beach isn't as nice, but at least we weren't in the middle of a frat party. We would visit again, but definitely on a weekday, and hope to avoid the yacht party scene.

This is a nice area for camping. Relaxing too! I went here with some families to so fall photos and was disappointed in the colors. I expected a lot more, but there were many more pine and evergreens. Still pretty, just not what I expected.

One of the best State Parks around. Pretty non-descript entrance, but once in the park, you'll fall in love. Lots of excellent camping sides with the option of water view or nicely hidden in the trees. Excellent location for a day walk on the trails or a hike along the water. Pack a lunch and spend the day on the beach.

We stopped here to look for Petosky stones, and found a few. But it looks like a really quiet place to camp. Spaces are great along the lake. Nicely spaced, not on top of one another. Very clean too. May come back and camp here.

There are no showers, sinks, or amenities here, but the outhouses are clean and provide hand sanitizer, and the water pump was easy to use.But overall, I loved how quiet this campground was. The beach is rocky on the shores, but sandy in the water and it's beautiful. The water was super clear.If you can't get a waterfront campsite, you can see the water from site #25. It's by the dumpster, which is unfortunate because the raccoons get into it at night, but you can't smell it and the raccoons didn't come near our site.Basically, if you don't mind getting a bit dirty but you want beautiful scenery and easy beach access, I highly recommend this place! It was a great weekend getaway. I really want to come back in the fall.

If you like camping this park has good views and a great beach as well as hiking trails.Good place to cross country ski or snowshoe in the winter. Hope it is not lost in a land swap with the cement plant and I am concerned that this local gem will be lost or degraded by the cement plant in a land swap. I have been following this closely but transparent negotiations and up to date information seem to be missing. I have a feeling that the fate of this park is being determined in a smoke filled room between politicians and corporate power brokers. Perhaps if the cement plant and its jobs were lost a development similar to the one in Petoskey could be developed on the abandoned land. Such a development would certainly have a bigger financial impact than the ground shaking , grit spreading cement plant operation does.

Beautiful rustic park right on Lake Michigan. Lots of walking trails in the woods and one of the best beaches in Michigan at the very end of the park. Hopefully we wont loose it with this land swap the cement plant is trying to achieve. Yes its rustic, yes it has outhouses and that's why I love it so much. Not packed like most "modern" state parks

This is one of the few places my family visits every summer! It is usually pretty quiet and there are not a lot of people, which is great when you just want to relax for a bit. We love walking along the sand, and we almost always find petoskey stones! It's a must visit if you're looking for something peaceful!

wow what a nice park for the money $12.00 per night for camping.. the only down side is the outhouses are need of cleaning but if you can hold your breath you will be ok..

Fisherman's island is based around a road running down the lakeshore. There are tent camping sites along the road with a couple of campgrounds off the land side of the road. It's a gravel road with lots of potholes full of rainwater when we were there. At the end of the road is a beautiful picnic spot with a musical stream running through it into the lake, and a bridge leading to hiking trails, and outhouses. The mosquitoes were moderate when we were there - given that this late June mosquitoes were a problem almost everywhere we were where you were within 100 feet of any kind of standing moisture. But it's a beautiful place which would be great at non mosquito times of the year, whenever that is. We were glad we went there for our picnic, bugs or no bugs.You will need to pay a fee to get in unless you have the annual Michigan state park sticker. The staff are friendly, we only saw staff at the entrance hut.

Absolutely beautiful Campground. We stayed at 2 different sites (both in the South campground area) over the July 4th weekend, and though the entire grounds were booked up it still felt like we were the only people in the entire state park. I'd recommend getting a site that is in the South grounds along the main road. These have the most privacy, though more mosquitos. There are also sites in the North grounds with beach access (these were all full before we booked) though the North grounds is very close to the entrance of the park. Definitely load up on bug spray!

Most beautiful view that I have ever seen while camping. Right along Lake Michigan, quiet, peaceful campground. Incredible sunset views. Only drawback is the toilets...but was planning on that. Luckily McDonald's is just a five minute drive--so we used their restrooms a few times! ;) Overall..a MUST-DO. The walk out to fisherman's island is...buggy..wouldn't recommend. (admiring it from a distance works just fine ;)

We stayed here on a Friday night. Had no problem pulling up and being able to get a campsite right on the water!! Just be aware this is a RUSTIC campground, no electric, no bathhouse!!! Hand pumps & pit toilets available!! If you want a place that is on the water, close to town with a amazing view, this is the place!!! Hiking, kayaking, rocking all available from your campsite.

Was looking forward to visiting this site; however, the road leading in was full of deep potholes and we had to turn back because our car was taking quite a beating:( What we did see was quite impressive. The campsites were spacious, some right on the lake. VERY rustic and peaceful.

I absolutely loved our camping trip to this park. Our site was right next to the beach and we had a lot of privacy from the other sites. It is rustic camping, which I had never done before, and it was better than I expected. The vault toilets were a lot cleaner than I thought they would be. I DEFINITELY recommend hard sole water shoes, though. The beach on the north campground is verrrry rocky. If you want super sandy beach, you drive (it would be a bit of a walk) to the south campground and head to a peninsula south of the beach entrance. It's nothing but sand there :) I can't wait to go back next summer!!!