Irish Hills/Tipton, Michigan: JaDo Park Campground

September 2023, Sunday and Monday night, campsite #5

Reservations and arrival

The park website is not great for making reservations or choosing campsites. I contacted the campground via email to ask a couple of questions, and then I called to make our reservation. Apparently, the only non-primitive campsites that are not seasonal, are sites 1 through 5. These sites have water and 50 amp hookup. Site 5 looked like the most spacious and secluded from what I could see on the map drawing and google maps, so I asked if we could have that site. That is the site we were assigned when we arrived.

View from campsites 5 in JaDo Park Campground

Campsite #5

We thought site 5 was the best campsite of sites 1 through 5. The campground was mostly empty the first night of our stay. There was a camper on site 4 when we arrived, and a tenter arrived on site 3 the second night of our stay. We noticed few seasonal campers arrive/return the second night of our stay.

Campsites (#5 above) from entrance drive in JaDo Park Campground

Campsite 5 is spacious with a decent view, since there was nothing in front of us. I was surprised how well we could hear the traffic when outside though. This campground is just off M-12; however, I expected the trees to muffle the noise more than they did. I suppose the sound carried more since the sites are located on top of a hill.

Campground ammenites

Wifi information was not provided, so I was glad I had asked about this when I made the reservation, and during check-in, since I needed a password. It worked well on our campsite the first night of our stay. The second night, after more people arrived, it slowed down a bit. 

Troll in the tree by our campsite in JaDo Park Campground

There is a short hiking trail at the back of the park that goes around a small pond behind the campsites. If you want to have some fun, look for the trolls hidden around the park. We found only one of them in a tree next to our campsite! This campground also has a bathhouse, and a dump station.

Misc. and overall

This campground worked out well for us, as I was working nearby, and needed to have internet access. We liked the quiet stay during weekdays in the fall. It is close to Michigan International Speedway and Hayes State Park.

Let me know if you have any questions!