Muskegon, Michigan: Muskegon State Park Channel Campground

June - July 2021, 13 nights, campsite 116

This was our first time staying in the same spot with our camper for so long. We had a few rainy days, and an overall great stay.

View from campsite 116 at Muskegon State Park
Motorhome in the distance is on site 118

Channel campground, second loop, campsite info

We chose this site because it was one of the few sites available that had enough room for our camper and boat, and also is fairly close to the water. We prefer sites 108 and 109, as they are closer to Muskegon Lake; however, both of those sites were reserved when we made our reservation. It probably would have been worthwhile if I had checked the sites every now and then for cancellations, because site 109 was empty during most of our stay. Live and learn!

Campsite 116 at Muskegon State Park

Side view from inside camper
Campsite 115 in distance

Site 116 is a spacious and private lot. There are trees between this campsite and 115 (which is also a decent site), and the two sites are a good distance apart. 

Dune hill from inside screen tent under awning on campsite 116 at Muskegon State Park

A small dune hill on the northwest side of the site creates privacy from the road and from people walking the path between sites 116 and 118. A few people cut through the grass right behind our fire pit, although most people used the paved walkway. The large bush next to the fire ring and road helped prevent people from walking directly through our site.

Campsite 116 at Muskegon State Park

The privacy the dune created was nice; however, this also made the side space on this site somewhat limited. There was barely enough flat area for our picnic table under the awning. When we first arrived, we set up our screen tent under the awning and over our picnic table (it rained several days our first week). Later that week, we moved it to the tar area in front of our camper (no room on the grass). When the sun is out, this campsite gets warm, as there is no shade from the trees. The only trees are located behind the camper and sitting area. We decided we needed our screen roof for more shade the second half of our stay!

Campsite 116 at Muskegon State Park
Looking out from under the awning

We got plenty of rain during our stay, and this site does not flood too badly. We had water around the fire ring during the rain, which quickly dried up when it stopped. 

Looking at campsite 116 from the water spigot next to campsite 144

A fresh water spigot is located across the road behind this campsite next to site 144. The online campground reservation map does not have sites 143 - 147 placed correctly; site 144 is actually behind site 116 across the road.

Above: view out back window on campsite 116
Below: looking toward sites 143 - 147 and Muskegon Lake (truck & trailer are on site 143)

I am sharing a few more campsite photos above. 

Muskegon Lake from state park channel campground 

Recreation: boating, swimming, fishing, hiking 

There is a small beach area on Muskegon Lake, which is very close to the second loop channel campsites. The large main beach on Lake Michigan is just over one mile from campsite 116.

Along the trail between channel campground and Snug Harbor boat launch

There are plenty of hiking trails in this park, and you can find more recreation info in a couple of my previous posts: October 2015, and October 2014. 

Lost Lake in Muskegon State Park

This visit, we hiked the trail between the channel campground and Sung Harbor, and we hiked out to Lost Lake.

Above: Muskegon Lake before dark and the fireworks
Below: sunset over Lake Michigan 

We also hiked up the dunes in the evenings a couple of times to see the sunset over Lake Michigan, and to watch the fireworks over Muskegon Lake (photos above).

The Snug Harbor boat ramp and picnic area is about 2½ miles from the channel campground.

Misc. and overall

Overall, we had a fabulous stay. Most of the campsites in the channel loops are a good size, and offer some privacy. 

The restrooms in both channel campgrounds were new this year. Sadly, someone did a real injustice to these fabulous amenities. When I went to the bathroom one day, I observed a toilet filled with an entire roll of toilet paper (not a small home roll; the large ones that are in public restrooms). That would have been no speedy task to unroll, and the person, or people, who did that are lucky I did not walk in on them! The next day, the entire restroom building was shut down because the sewage system had overflowed and was seeping up through the drains. It took several staff members a couple of hours to get the system up and running again.

The rule about sites needing to be occupied the first night was not enforced at this campground. We observed several people set up their campers during the week, and then return a day or two later. One in particular we noticed was the camper on site 118 (not the motorhome in the photo above; it was the camper the week before) because gas was leaking. Shortly after the trailer had been left, I smelled gas when we walked around the corner on the way back to our site. Then, we heard their alarm beeping, as we walked by the trailer. A woman was walking toward the trailer at about the same time. She told us she had been hearing the alarm for almost an hour. It would beep for about 15 minutes, then stop for about 15 minutes before it started again. My husband was going to turn off the gas on front of the camper, but then we thought maybe we should call the campground, and have them take care of it, instead of us messing with someone else's belongings. After we called, someone arrived in a vehicle (not the people who had left the trailer) and checked the trailer. The alarm was not beeping while they were there, and when they left, we initially thought they had taken care if it. We had not seen them turn the gas off, although we had not really watched them do the inspection either. The alarm started beeping again just a few minutes after they drove off! After this, my husband walked over and turned the gas tank knob off on front of the trailer. The alarm did not go off again after that. More than 24 hours passed before the occupants returned to their trailer.

Happy and safe travels to all ~ Let me know if you have any questions!