Northport, Michigan: Leelanau State Park

July 2024, weekdays and weekend, 5 nights, campsite 42

One of the amazing sunsets from in front of our campsite in Leelanau State Park

This was our first time camping in this campground. We absolutely loved it; however, the campsite information online is highly inaccurate. I am sharing some information, and a few photos of campsites to assist future travelers. Getting into the campground is a bit tight, and I would not suggest it for anyone with campers over 25 to 30', even though their website lists 10 sites as accommodating at least a 30' unit (3 of them say 35 to 40'). We previously owned a 30' Montana 5th wheel, and we would not have taken it to this campground. Another thing to keep in mind when choosing your site, is whether you have kids or not. The east end of this campground was definitely more peaceful than the west end during our stay.

Beautiful view out the front window of our camper in Leelanau State Park!

Campsites

We did not choose a site on the water, as all of the water sites, except one, say they only accommodate tents, pickup campers, vans, or trailers less than 20', and our trailer is 25'. We chose site 42, which says it can accommodate a trailer up to 30'. You could only put a 30' trailer on site 42, if you do not plan to use your fire pit, and/or you do not have slide outs. We had to finagle our camper in the position we ended up with, and then we had to back up closer to the fire pit when we departed to make the turn.

Campsite 42 in Leelanau State Park

In order to use the fire pit, we could not back up any farther than we did on site 42, because of our slide out. If we had not wanted to use the fire pit, we could have backed up all the way to it to get off the road farther. Parking parallel to the road would not have worked for us, because there are large trees next to our truck to the left of the screened tent that would have been in the way of our slides.

Campsite 42 in Leelanau State Park

We had an amazing view out our front window, and this campsite is pretty secluded. It was level enough that we did not need to use any leveling bocks for the position we parked our trailer in. We were able to partially extend our awning for partial protection from the sprinkles of rain during our stay and falling tree debris.

Above: Campsite 21 in Leelanau State Park
Below: Partial of campsite 23 in Leelanau State Park

There is more room on several of the water sites (21, 22, 23...) that are listed as only accommodating up to a 20' trailer, than there was on site 42, which says it can accommodate a 30' trailer. The campsites are not actually bigger than campsite 42; there are just not any tree obstructions on most of the water sites.

Above: Campsite 38 in Leelanau State Park
Below: Campsite 47 in Leelanau State Park

Campsite 43 is the largest site near the water (next to the site we were on and across the street from the lake). We were actually surprised to see a very tall 30' motorhome and a pickup truck squeeze onto this site during our stay. I did not get a photo of that site, although I have included a couple more campsite photos above.

Leelanau State Park lighthouse and campground beach

Recreation: hiking, swimming, boating, beaches

This park has a gift shop, lighthouse, fog signal house, and [stony] beach within walking distance of the campground. There is a charge for lighthouse tours.  

Lake Michigan in front of Leelanau State Park campground

It was easy for us to carry our kayaks across the road to the lake, and the water was beautiful--crystal clear and warm! It is stony all the way out, so be prepared with some water shoes. 

Hiking trails in Leelanau State Park

The hiking trails in this park are located about 5 miles south of the campground. The trails are well marked, and the terrain was pretty easy. 

Poison ivy on the path to Manitou overlook in Leelanau State Park

We were unable to get to the Manitou observation deck, as the steps and trail were overgrown with poison ivy. We were able to get around this on the steps; however, after we saw how overgrown the trail was at the top, we decided not to continue.

Beach area near the hiking trailhead in Leelanau State Park

The beach near the hiking trailhead is a short hike from the parking lot. This beach is sandier than the swimming area in the campground. There is a fresh water hand pump, and a couple of picnic tables in the parking area. 

Fresh water in Leelanau State Park

Campground misc.

You may want to bring your own water to this campground, as the fresh water is a nasty brown color. We could see that it came out brown from the spigots in the campground, so we checked the water by the playground and picnic area. The water at that spigot came out clear; however, after we filled our jugs, it had discolored a few hours later. Although this campground does not have a sanitation station or electricity, there are EV charging stations in the picnic area.

Above: Christmas Cove Beach
Below: Overlook at Petersen Park

Area info

We visited Christmas Cove Beach and Peterson Park. Christmas Cove Beach is sandy, and the walk from the parking lot is a lot closer than the hike in the state park. The beach in Petersen Park is stony, like the lakeshore in the Leelanau State Park campground area.

Northport Area Museum

Northport is a cute town to visit with shopping, a free museum, a park with a small beach, a grocery store, and restaurants.

Let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to share this post!