orchard beach state park

While its been a few years since I have been here during the summer to enjoy the swimming we do make it out in the fall during the leaf color change and the sandy beaches are wonderful. Recently on New Years Eve I was able to enjoy the final sun set on 2014 while enjoying the view over the beach with my sweet heart.

After arriving for the first night I witnessed one of the best sunsets I have ever seen on Lake Michigan. The campground is just steps away from the beach, but here are a few things I didn't care too much for: The actual beach area is somewhat small (or maybe it was because the lake levels are significantly higher this year?). There is only one area to access the water, by going down steep steps, it's not accessible anywhere else because of how high up the campground sits from the water. So you really cannot see the lake from most campsites either. You have to drive to go anywhere else, but downtown Manistee is nice. The campsites were also too close together, try to get one along the outer edges if you can. Other than that, it's a nice campground, nice views, and right on the lake.

This beach is quiet and less packed than most beaches. We love to walk here in the spring and fall when it is not "peak" season.

Stayed here on our last night. Great site no 43 gave us the most magnificent view of Michigan. The road was not really a problem and the staff were great.

Having stayed at many MI state parks I was a little disappointed with this one. The main road was closer to the campground than I expected-noisy. The sight was described as level but we too had to use firewood in addition to our usual leveling devices. The showers were clean but ancient, and poorly designed. Not sure how you're supposed to get wet when the shower head is 6" from the wall. The water was cold anyway. The beach was small so we went Manistee's public beach -about 10 minute drive. Leaving the park is a must if you want any activities. Just sites beach and bathrooms at this park. There was high level of site turn over, something I've not seen at other parks. The saving Grace of this park were the sunsets and the staff. Very helpful, friendly and informative. I would only recommend this park as a place to rest overnight or stay here and go daily to Ludington State Park where I apparently have been spoiled.

We reserved the camping cabin right on the bluff, and it was wonderful! We had electricity with 2 outlets in the cabin, a microwave and small fridge, and 2 sets of twin bunk beds. One full size bed with bunk beds would be a nice improvement, as Hubby and I couldn't comfortably sleep in the same bed and the beds were a bit too high up for us to feel comfortable with our 6 year old sleeping alone, so he slept in his cot we brought from home. The campground, in general, is cramped and has very little privacy. This is exactly why we chose to reserve the cabin instead of tent camping like we usually do. The only negative thing about the cabin is that there are vault toilets directly behind it, with no clear path for other campers to use. During our stay, the other campers were VERY pleasant and non-intrusive. Some even asked permission to walk past and use the toilets. The other thing is that the toilets did have the nasty smell that you are accustomed to when using outhouses, and when you went to the north side of the cabin while outside, you could smell it. Otherwise, we had a fabulous time and would return again if we could get the cabin! Also, there wasn't a ton for kids to do besides play at the beach. They do have a very small, old playground with a slide and a couple of swings. My son and nephew had fun riding their bikes most of the time.It is a hike getting to and from the beach with all of the stairs, so not ideal for those not in good health. There is a fabulous beach by the lighthouse in Manistee if driving is easier than walking. But the beach there is clean and beautiful. Sunsets were beautiful!

Bad:We reserved one of the new full hook up sites six months in advance. The site was not paved, so it was very dirty. The fire pit was so deep that we were unable to have a fire. There was a busy highway (M 110) less that 40 feet from the back of our trailer. It was very hard to have a conversation with all the traffic noise that continued well into the night. It's a good thing that we had full hook up because the showers were a sight to behold, very tiny. Although we did not checkout the newer looking restrooms near the Ranger Station, there may have been nicer shower facilities there.Our neighbors trailer was about 20 feet from ours. The sites are very cramped like a lot of MI State Parks. There were zillions of kids yelling until quiet hour.If you want peace and quiet-this is not the place for you.Good:Paved roads throughout the campground.Lake MI.Full hookup.Fishing.New dump station.

campsite was ok, the lookout was beautiful, the showers were terrible.. had to take cold showers if there is anyone showering the same time as you not the greatest at 7am. The beach area they have needed cleaned up but it was good to watch the sunsets.

Orchard Beach State Park sure is an upbeat place! The sunsets are amazing and the views of Lake Michigan are breath-taking. The nature walk was excellent- Paths & trees are labeled very well. Nice activities for the kids with the camp hostess. The campground and the bathhouses were clean. I found some good things to say!Okay, I am from PA. In PA & MD the campsites have pavement or gravel to park on. There is also a minimum of vehicles per site. Park rangers also patrol in PA & MD. Maybe I expected too much, maybe I am picky... oh, and I used the online website for Michigan State Parks. When I read about my site online, I expect it to be just that, level and the dimensions to be pretty close. I looked at the pictures of it and it looked great. We stayed on site 99. It was an update site- new sewage hook-up, which was a plus. THE DIMENSIONS CHANGED DUE TO THE UPDATING!!! IT WAS NOT MENTIONED ON THE RESERVATION WEBSITE!!! The campsite went from a width of 50 feet to about 30 feet! Our camper awning almost covered the fire ring. The site was out of level on one side of our travel trailer by 6-10 inches. We had to use firewood to level our camper because we ran out out of lego-like blocking! I needed to use my step stool as a third step to get in my rig! We had a major rainstorm and the water ponded on the site beside us...the water ran down through our site. LEVEL?! I am no engineer, but when water travels from one side to another there is a leveling problem. More gravel sites needed- they added a few, but not enough.(The workers/rangers did not come immediately to help out the flooded neighbor.)The review of the campfire smoke... accurate. The review of barking dogs... accurate as well. The review about quiet... not so close. It was a party campground. People pull and park their campers anywhere they want in the site. They park anywhere they want in the site! We saw campers, larger boats, storage trailers and tents all through the sites. It was like watching the pioneers make the wagon circles- the get togethers would go from one road of the campground to the other! My family witnessed this firsthand. If people couldn't back their campers into a spot, they pulled through other sites to achieve the perfect place. The sites are "cramped gravel patches"! They are a mess! Now, I know families get together for picnics and reunions, but I now know they do get-togthers for camping. I actually counted 18 camping chairs around one campfire ring!!! Believe me, the quiet hour did not start at 11PM. It was a free-for-all the entire week we were there. It was one partying crowd after another- there was no peace and quiet! The alcohol was aplenty- lots of opened, visible containers. The rangers were present, but not heard. The camp speed limit is 5 MPH- not obeyed at all. Little kids are everywhere and yet people drive on it like a regular roadway! Sure, the campground was renovated- updated dumpstations, full hook-ups. But the shower houses are not new. I spoke to a staff member and they will remain the same because of the campground being on the National Historic Registry. This is what was told to me. The showers ran out of hot water. The one shower house gives a person a feeling of claustrophobia. Fire rings- no grates for grilling. Our fire ring was so deep we couldn't even see the fire or feel the heat, thus it was a "smoker". These fire rings do not permit oxygen; and oxygen is needed to get a fire going. ! Maybe they could use the sand from the beach and fill them part way to remedy the problem. Oh yeah, the beach. Nice little beach. What you see on the brochure is all the beach there is at this park!!! A reviewer mentioned walking the beach 20 minutes north. She was correct, you can, but there is no beach to walk on, it is more like a sand walkway/path. It is not like being at the Atlantic Ocean, where one has so much room to stay out of the surf. You have to walk in Lake Michigan to go around fallen trees, rocks or landforms. (Lots of steps down to the beach- keep that in mind.)There is very limited beach access. You need to do some driving to find places. (The water was only 64 degrees when we were there- not sure if that is typical.) If you plan on fishing, take your boat or charter one. Again, you have to go looking for good places to fish. Unfortunately, OBSP does not lend itself to fishing; it is too shallow. But then anyone can get lucky. If you are looking for agates, go to the Upper Peninsula. Petosky stones can be found, but very sporadic at OBSP.Quite frankly, I am surprised that the State of Michigan doesn't take better care of this state park. It is on the National Registry. The cliffs are a hazard that should be monitored better- I saw lots of people getting right at the edge of them. (They have fencing, but that does not stop unmonitored kids or adults that do not know any better.) These cliffs will keep falling away because people are walking on them! The campsites will be mud-messes soon if the rangers don't gain control of the parking/vehicle situation. The beaches of Michigan are eroding, but it seems that nothing is being done to help preserve them. Orchard Beach State Park just may end up in the lake if better care isn't taken immediately.

This park recently underwent 2 million dollars of renovations and it shows! The area around & behind the check in station has all been recently paved, a totally new & extremely nice dump station was added, and the system implemented for routing traffic around the park makes perfect sense. Also, each camp site now has its own electric hook-up so you no longer have to share with a neighbor. The view of Lake Michigan is outstanding!!! I TOTALLY DISAGREE with the previous 2 reviews of this nice park. One claims that the campsites are a " cramped gravel patch of a campsite with heavy campfire smoke" and the other reviews the park but admits that.... "we didn't go in" and thus her review should not even be allowed as it is unfair in no way valid!!! (Much like submitting a review of a motel that you never stayed in.)Our pop-up camper fit very nicely on our site which was about 50x50 with plenty of shade. Each site includes a fire ring & picnic table & we also took along an 8x10 sun shelter (in the event of rain) placed it over our coolers and paper goods on our picnic table and had more than plenty of room.***TIP*** If you fail to use the online campground site maps for any Michigan State Park then you are clearly cheating yourself. These maps usually tell you which sites are level and if the site is paved or is on gravel, tells you the distance to the nearest restroom, and also tells you if the site has shade or is in the sun. These maps will also tell you if you are near the high traffic areas of the park (such as near the check-in station) ect..ect..ect...You can reserve your site up to 6 months in advance so if you wish to blame someone for the site you obtained....go to the nearest mirror!***TIPS*** For a better camping experience in this park: Take a camera or camcorder, sunscreen & hats, sunglasses, flip flops or beach shoes, also extra shoes in case yours get wet, binoculars and a beach umbrella or canopy.If you forget something.... dont panic, there is a K-Mart in town along with a Radio Shack & Dollar Tree across the street, Dollar General, Oleson's grocery store (Family Dollar next door)and another grocery store that has been renamed. One of our favorites (The Bargain Bin) is located just a few miles north on 31 just across the highway from the airport. The Bargain Bin carries a little bit of everything and is like combining Big Lots with a farm store and a dollar store. Plenty of gas stations & restaurants within a few miles. Plane rides available at the airport, a casino ,ship tour, mini golf, ice cream, charter fishing, public beaches and a lighthouse and riverwalk are all within minutes.***Note: Handicapped persons cannot access the beach which has a long staircase but... the view at the top is fantastic. However, if you turn left while exiting the park, a small but nice public beach area is only about 2 minutes at the curve down the road on the left hand side.Use the restrooms at the park as only porta-potties are available at this public beach location. Have a wonderful trip and enjoy!J.

Some sites are better than others (1 and 2 by the DNR station) but all are cramped. The one we stayed at was barren, no trees, and tiny. Campfire smoke clogged the sites along with barking dogs, car alarms, and loud RVs. Bright camper lights stayed on all night. The beach was tiny but you could find more privacy by walking farther down the shore. There are much better places to camp if you don't like to be stacked on top of each other. On the plus side it was clean, and they have bottle and plastic recycling on site. The bathrooms were flush and nice.

The good: great view of Lake Michigan from sites at south end of the park (we stayed at site 112), very helpful park rangers, clean bathrooms.The bad: if showers are busy there is no hot water at all. I think they plan on updating for 2015. Sites are tight with no privacy. Not much for children to do other than the small beach. Updated playground is needed. Stayed July 2014. Overall a nice park and location.

We watched the 4th of July fireworks on the beach, which were absolutely stunning, paired with the beautiful sunset. The beach was very clean and reasonably quiet- especially for the holiday weekend. Also, there are very clean and convenient restrooms on site. Beautiful view, relaxing environment- what more could you ask for?!

Fun activities, clean rest rooms, so much to do nearby. The camp host had snacks and activities for the kids. We had a great hike on the trails across the road. It is pretty close to Lake Bluff Audobon Center, too. Amazing sunsets,

Walked out onto the small pier and watched some boats come in. The next day we went out on the pier by the Coast Guard Center. Which was a little bit hard to find, but worth it.