Your Family Will Love Any Type of Camping at Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat
With so many amazing campgrounds in Michigan, it can be hard to know which one is right for your family.
How about one with:
- epic dune hikes
- Lake Michigan shoreline
- Every kind of camping site, including RV, tent, cabins, glamping, group camping & more
- Tons of family activities like mini golf, hikes, kayaking …
- Community friendly atmosphere
Located right on the shores of Lake Michigan near Pentwater, Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat is the camping experience that families look forward to year after year.
Read on to find out how you can WIN up to four nights at Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat!
About Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat
5807 Ridge Rd, Pentwater, MI 49449
Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat is a family and group campground located in Pentwater, MI, just north of Silver Lake.
They offer tent camping, cabin rentals and RV sites with 50/30/20 electric and water hookups.
If you’re looking for more luxury with your tent camping, you can also rent a platform tent for a glamping experience. Each tent includes a covered porch and five cots with mattresses (no bunks).
All sites include a fire ring and picnic table.
Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat is part of the Michigan Area United Methodist Camping family. The campground is open to the public and you do not need to be a member of any church.
Amenities at Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat
Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat offers access to the lake via trail or boardwalks over the dune.
There’s over a dozen activities available at the private beach.
Options include disc golf, field games, gaga ball, hiking, kayaking, mini golf, mountain biking and a playground.
Cabins at Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat
Five cabins are available for rent at Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat.
Each cabin sleeps 3-6 people and has a mini fridge, window air-conditioning unit and ceiling fan.
Larger groups may want to rent one of nine bunk houses instead.
Each of these has four twin bunks and one twin-over-full bunk bed, sleeping up to 8 people.
Both the cabins and the bunk houses have electricity, but no kitchen or bathroom. Bathroom facilities are nearby.
Each cabin or bunk house also has its own fire ring and picnic table.
Really step up your camping game and see if the Pastor’s Cabin is available.
This special cabin is available to anyone, but active United Methodist pastors have booking priority.
The deluxe cabin sleeps 3 – 4 people and has one queen bed and one twin bunk bed.
The cabin has electricity, heat/air-conditioning, a full kitchen, bathroom with shower, and a table/desk with chair.
Outdoor amenities include a grill, picnic table, fire pit, two chairs on the porch and an accessibility ramp.
WIN Up to Four Nights at Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat
Does this sound like an amazing place to take your family camping?
Lake Michigan Camp & Retreat is giving away up to FOUR nights of camping to one lucky reader.
The winner has their choice of four (4) weekday nights (eligible Sunday through Thursday nights) or 2 nights on non-holiday weekends (Friday and Saturday nights).
Plus a bundle of firewood for your first campfire!
This is a prize valued at $77 – $224.
How to Enter
To enter, comment at the end of this article with your favorite camping or summer vacation memory.
Prize Details:
FINE PRINT:
This giveaway will close on May 26, 2023, at 7 pm and the winners will be notified via email. The winner will have 24 hours to respond by email accepting the prize. No purchase necessary to enter the contest. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You are providing your information to grkids.com and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used to enter the contest and notify winners. Entrants will release Facebook from all liability. Entrants must be at least 18 years of age and reside in Michigan. Only one entry per household or IP address. Grand Rapids Kids’ liability is limited to the value of the prize.
I remember visiting family for a summer family reunion. It was nice to have everyone in the picture.
My favorite time was with my family when I was young. I have never been since then and I want to take my Grandkids too experience what it’s like to enjoy camping.
I love the special time with my family ❤️
Family camping at Hoffmaster growing up.
Sitting around the campfire, and telling those stories you feel the parents are finally ready to hear…
As a kid my whole family would go to Bitely Michigan camping. Best memories of my life. I want to create those memories for my kids too!! A chance to enjoy nature and get away from tablets, phones, and work!
I love camping my favorite thing is making s’mores! Eating your worries away by sitting by a camp fire with the kids!
Card games in the tent are always a family favorite on camping trips!
Reservation at a state park getting mixed up and accidentally staying a day later than system showed I was supposed to stay. The new occupants arrived and chose to offer to share the site with us! We made amazing friends and my children were shown what true understanding looks like! ❤️
My favorite camping memory is Silver Lake sand dunes with huge groups of young adults.
Growing up my grandparents used to take us camping for the entire summer. My mother would visit on the weekends. These trips would include myself, my grandmother, my grandfather, my brother, as well as my three cousins. We would stay in a camper with multiple air mattresses on the floor, the table would fold down into a bed, and we would always fight over who got the pull-out couch. My favorite memory camping with my grandparents from childhood was fishing with my grandfather. I was the only child that was an early riser; therefore, every morning rain or shine my grandfather would come down the step with his finger to his lips (shhhh), I would jump out of bed, and we would go and get a banana nut muffin from the gas station. Then we would spend the morning fishing until the sun came up. My grandfather is my role model and memories like these are why I would love to take my children on their very first camping trip.
My favorite camping memory is our very first time camping 3 summers ago in Pennsylvania. My family had such a fun time, my kids were running free all day and passed out in their tent by 8pm. It was so relaxing and everyone was so friendly. The kids loved being outside and all the activities they got to do. I would say it was our best family vacation. We havent camped in Michigan yet since moving here and hope we can do that this summer!
My favorite summer memory is camping with my family and having bonfires at night. I love looking at the night stars and smelling the fire. Oh and swimming in Lake Michigan is up there as well!
S’mores!
We used to camp for 2 weeks as a family until the campground shut down. This started before we had children and continued into their early years. They loved it! We haven’t really had a chance to explore other places to camp since and would love to find a new home away from home.
One of my favorite memories is sitting around the campfire with family!
The time we ever went camping with our 5 children 4 of them were 6 and under … while camping we went canoeing didn’t realize it was a four hour ride with no food no drink no nothing for these kids but it was such a great time, we talk about all the time…
My first real camping experience was when my dad took my 2 little sisters and a friend of mine up to the U.P. with a pop-up camper and we camped at various campgrounds and went to Pictured Rocks. That was a favorite memory of mine growing up! Then when I met my husband, I fell in love with camping thru joining his family every summer at church camping. Now getting to take our son with us will create even more fun memories
My favorite camping memory is when four of us friends decided in our late 50s to start camping together for the first time. We met in the UP with our kayaks and tents. The river we chose had experienced a storm that downed trees unbeknownst to us. There were a bit of whitecaps and rough areas that twisted us under and over tree, branches and trunks. We laughed so hard through it all. Even when having to put our kayaks over our head and walk over logs.
Favorite camp memory was with college friends (4-8 famlies) in da UP (halfway for everyone) — after while, we would have all the kids line up each year by birthdate w/o talking…. great to see how much each child had grown in the past year and then at night – talent show! always looked forward to that weekend.
My favorite summer memory is watching the fireworks! Weather at the ball park, camping, fourth of july, etc. It is such a fond memory for me!
We go camping every year at Lake Michigan! We love spending time together as a family!
Silver lake Sandy shores campground camping with the family such great times priceless fun and fantastic memories.
Favorite camping memory was at the Platte river campground when it was a natural park, before all the upgrades. Which are nice. It’s just that my dad was still with us at that time and those are precious memories
Every summer we take our kids on a long camping trip in the UP, staying at a few different state parks. Our kids’ favorites are Taquamenon Falls and Fayette. Our favorite memories are walking through the “ghost town” at fayette when it’s dark out!!
My favorite camping memory is probably the very first time I went camping with my girls. It was early Spring and we were so cold but it was so fun! First time out in our new (vintage) camper. Lots of memories made and the first of many camping trips!
My favorite summer vacation memory was a year my husband and I were able to take our 3 children on a trip to Niagara Falls. My husband is a dedicated and hard working man, for this reason he has missed out on alot of family time. We have never been to Silver Lake. I would love to make another family memory, closer to home this time. Everyone tells me it’s beautiful.
I loved camping at ludington state park as a kid . I have a picture of my favorite memory from the dunes on my wall. Its of my little brother, some close family friends and myself all buried in the sand up to our necks grinning from ear to ear. 🙂
My favorite camping memories (so many of them!) were made in Pentwater, MI. We know those dunes well! Face planting in the sand while running down Old Baldy in Mears State Park.
Kids would love this! Mom too!
As a kid myself, coming home and parents developing those 110 rolls to find a textbook perfect photo of poison ivy. (Luckily we didn’t get it) Currently with my youngest, watching him find a forked tree and see if it was possible to climb with no hands.
And one of my favorite camping memories is when we were making s’more’s around the campfire and a bug scared my daughter, and she flung her marshmallow that was almost done onto a tree. It was still there for the next three days.
My favorite camping memory is taking my two little nephews tent camping for the first time – I had no idea how to set up the tent but we all figured it out together and had so many memories in the process:)
When my husband and I started dating, we spent summer holiday weekend camping with his extended family. I loved stories around the campfire and the big potluck on Sunday!
I have done camping all over the world my first memory of camping was in Baja And Catching Fish Hopefully Camping Here In Michigan Again This Year
Swimming and s’mores around the fire! So excited and summer and more memories camping with the family!
Campfires with my kids
One of my favorite camping memories is hiking in Ludington. I also loved having camp fires and Smores!
Our family loves to camp! We have spent so many summers in campgrounds – our favorite memories are when the weather doesn’t cooperate and we have to come up with new plans – often ends up being better than the original plan! With two teenagers, our camping summers together are limited, we would love to get out for another trip!!
Our favorite memory are the ones we are making with our grandchildren camping up at Silver Lake. No matter what age they are, they all look forward to spending the week with Grammy and Poppy.
Running the dunes in silver lake is by far my most favorite childhood camping memory!
My family used to camp every weekend in the Summer at a camping resort in Baldwin (Lake Cecelia). I had a job at Bozo’s Ice Cream shop. There are too many memories to list, but it’s one of my favorite parts of my childhood!
My family loves to camp. My favorite memory is our camping trip out west that we took last summer. It was amazing and so beautiful!!
I have so many cherished camping memories on the shores of Lake Michigan- as a child and also as an adult with my own kids. Swimming all day, sun kissed, bonfire, watching the sunset from a dune- nothing like it!
Our favorite summer camping memory was taking our children on a 6 week cross-country adventure to explore state and national parks throughout the United States. We traveled over 8,200 miles and hiked 18 parks. The topography, scenery, wildlife, and weather varied greatly and it was incredible!
Camping right on the sand at Lake Erie and waking up to the sound of the waves.
My favorite camping experience so far has been at Bertha Brock Park. We went at the very end of the season and were the only campers there. We hiked all around and explored all the camp sites, played in the creek, cooked over the fire, and loved our time there! My daughters are already asking to go back again this year!
My favorite camping memory is going with my little sister when we were in elementary school. We rode horses, played capture the flag, tie dyed shirts and a ton of other activities. But I really enjoyed singing and dancing in the rain.
Favorite camping memory is pentwater! Mears state park, we go every summer, it’s our last trip before school starts. I love the little town and being right on Lake Michigan. So close to my family’s favorite restaurant, the chicken shack!
My favorite camping memory is setting up the tent with my fiancé in the dark at Traverse City state park. The next morning it was raining and we just laid there listening to the rain hit the tent. It was so peaceful.
Last summer we camped next to an amazing hiking trail on Lake Michigan. Would love to explore another spot!
I’ve never been and would
Love to see it
My favorite camping memory was camping with my husband and we went white water rafting. Our tent was set up right next to the river. Now that we have kids it would be fun to camp in MI with them.
Having family time on our boat and relaxing!
This will be something new for my daughter (8) and I, as we have never camped before. We were in an abusive relationship and now that I’m divorced (Thank God), I would like to take her on the adventure of a lifetime where we can make the best of memories. We have been to the Pier Market Beach before once and she absolutely loved playing in the sand and water! Our favorite summer memory was walking to the library often and enjoyed an ice cream cone while reading in the park. We both enjoy the nature and can’t wait to someday be able to camp someday 🙂
One of my favorite memories of a family vacation was the time it snowed on the 4th of July and we wore mittens to grill our dinner. But we still managed to have fun all being all together!
Jet ski’s on the campground lake was my favorite memory!
My Favorite summer memories are all of spent outside camping, walking trails, camping all over Michigan and geocaching!
My favorite memories are the ones I’m making with my kids. Seeing the amazement through their eyes on every family adventure we take.
As a child we would go camping all of the time, now I would love for my son to have those awesome memories!
Our family lives to camp close enough to hike to Lake Michigan. We especially love trying to cook new things over the campfire.
My 9 yr old daughter has never been camping due to allergies, since the beginning of this yr she has lost quite a few and wants to go camping this year. It would be a blessing if we won.
I loved camping during college with friends before the semester started each year! So many fond memories of hiking trails, cooking our food, singing songs, and starting out the new yaer!
Fave thing about camping is making s’mores around the campfire 🔥
I’ve been camping since I was 2 weeks old on the 4th of July. It’s hard to pick a favorite memory because there are so many. To me, camping=family time, including friends that feel like family. Spending time with them around a fire, swimming, hiking, and eating all the yummy camp food was so much fun.
We love Michigan and have spent summer weeks there every year I can think of! The one thing I’ve never done is camped! Thanks for sharing all this great information!
We love swimming and roasting marshmallows for smores!
My favorite camping memory is making pizza “pies” over the fire!
My favorite camping memory was when we went camping in the UP and I was proposed to at pictured rocks!
Growing up, we used to spend the summers up in Ludington. Those are some of my favorite childhood memories. From creating new recipes on the campfire to spending hours in the lake. My own family and I just bought our first camper and I can’t wait for our daughter have those same memories.
I’ve been camping all of my life. Michigan has the best campgrounds. My parents used to come with us but are both gone now. So many great memories of swimming, bonfires and hiking.
I grew up camping since I was 2 weeks old on the 4th of July. Camping=family time, including friends that felt like family. The smell of a campfire is one of my favorite things because it brings back all of my happy memories of camping with my family; memories like swimming, roasting marshmallows, and bikes rides to a camp store for candy.
My favorite camping experience was in Turkey Run IN; tent camping at night and climbing the ladders near waterfalls on the awesome hikes during the day.
Michigan camping memories – our late night bonfires, roasting and playing cards, especially euchre.
As a kid, summers were full of camping and boating with family and friends. Exploring new places is the best part!
A favorite camping memory is hiking with my family and watching my kids delight in the treasures they found along the trail (feathers, rocks, acorns, etc).
When my kids were little we would go camping and so enjoyed watching the kids play and sit by tge fire and be outside enjoying life
I remember I went camping with the ymca summer program and I met friends that I still contact to this day! I would love for my children to experience that same thing as me! More importantly as a family!
We were heading to PA in our 20 year old motorhome with our 3 year old granddaughter. Unfortunately we broke down delaying our trip. When we were finally on the road again we happened to be behind a very luxurious motor home. From a rear seat our granddaughter yelled to grandpa, “buy one like that and we won’t have to stop ever again.”
My favorite thing to do in the summer is travel to Mackinac Island with the family. We always have a fun and adventurous time. My son looks forward to it every year.
We love camping! Our favorite memories are exploring all of upper Michigan with cousins and friends while traveling. Love taking our kids to our favorite campgrounds growing up like Petoskey and Pentwater!
Fav camping summer memory is camping at Tahquamenon Falls and hiking to the falls 🙂
I loved camping at Cornerstone Music Festival back in the 90s. Not a traditional camping experience, but still so much fun and SO many people camping!
The last time I went camping I had a torn meniscus and my wife had rhabdomyolysis with strep throat. Needless to say it was a rough go, but it was still a good time being in nature. I cannot wait to take our boys out camping in the future.
I would love to start making memories with my own family of 5 that involve camping. I never went as a kiddo!
Hiking and fishing on Lake Michigan.
Our favorite camping memory is in Marquette, jumping off of Black Rocks.
When I was a child, my family had a trailer in a park at Craven’s Campground on Big Star Lake in Baldwin, MI. We went there every weekend during the summer time & it was so much fun. I now have a family of my own which consists of 3 boys all under the age of 6. I would love to start making camping memories with them!
We love Higgins Lake State Park! S’mores at night is on of our favorite memories – even as adults!
We love camping – open fire camp suppers, card playing, s’mores, hiking!
My family hasn’t had many chances to camp since having kids. Like once in the last nine years. When we did go, Both kids loved it and we need to go again.
This location looks amazing.
I learned how to ride my bike while camping as a kid! It’s my hope that my kids can build memories like that as we camp!
My favorite camp memory of camping is when I was a kid each year my mom would send me to camp & I met kids I would see each summer. Now I’m older with my own kids & we love going to the beach to play in the sun.
Mill Creek in Mackinaw City when my boys were young. Stayed in a cabin right on the lake, amazing views, such a great time with the family!
I loved going to camp at Leidy Lake with my grandparents every summer! Nothing beats a fire cooked s’more and lake fishing ❤️
Making memories around the campfire making s’mores and swimming!
Growing up I was so jealous of my older brothers who got to go camping all the time as part of Boy Scouts. Now that I’m a mom, I’m excited to share the joy of camping with all my kids!
Spending time in Traverse City! Watching sunsets, wine tasting, beach fun with the kids, visiting all the fun new restaurants.
My favorite camping memory is when I took my daughter and our dog up to Grand Marais, last Summer. I picked the campsite for yooperlite hunting at night. She loves collecting rocks everywhere we go. She insisted we needed a two room tent, so I purchased a nice one. I had everything set up, she decorated her own room. We campfire cooked, roasted stores, and went down to the shore to hunt yooperlites in the night. The temperature got a little chilly, into the 30s, unseasonably cold for the time of Summer we went up. She and our dog ended upon my side of the tent all cuddled up that night. We love to tent camp, but also enjoy a nice cabin every once in a while.
My favorite camping memory was up at the porcupine mountains as a kid. It was beautiful and so many fun places to hike and enjoy!
Growing up every year all of my cousins and I would meet at a campground halfway between us all (in Ontario). We would spend weeks getting excited by making lists for everyone and getting supplies. It was always a short 3 night trip, but the memories will last forever! Early mornings with coffee and late nights by the campfire with one of my cousins playing a guitar for us! Such special moments with family!
My family loves to camp, some of our favorite memories are around the campfire or hiking at the dunes.
My favorite camping memory is actually from last summer when all three of our kids figured out how to and became confident swimming in deep water. It was amazing to watch.
So many memories: amazing star gazing, spectacular sunsets, comwarderie around the campfire, much anticipated beach and water activities, all shared with family!
My favorite camping memory was staying at the KOA in pictured rocks, teaching our kiddo all about dinner over the fire and making camping friends !
Favorite memory is tent camping with my dad at a tiny lake in southwest Michigan. I remember waking up to him fishing, everything was so quiet and peaceful!
We have never been to Silver Lake. My son loves to go camping. This sounds fun and we could make some great memories 🏕
Staying in a cabin by silver lake it was amazing
My favorite camping memory started in 1996 when I was 5 we started camping for Ichabob crane weekend for Halloween at Sleepy hollow state park. We have carried the tradition for decades and I now still celebrate Halloween with my own children yearly for ichabob crane days. The greater memory I have of this tradition and favorite camping memory is sitting around the camp host first in 2000 and reading scary stories. One of the stories read “meat, meat, I want meat to eat.” We ran around the cakeground that night chanting this rhyme and every year it makes it way back to camp with us and as we get older we get to pass it down to our children.
Our favorite memories are made around the campfire! Our kids are getting older but have learned to love spending family time camping! Our tradition is to always make pancakes on our last day at camp! Our favorite area is Traverse City State Park, but we would love to make plans for Silver Lake!
Favorite camping memory is playing bingo with my kids, and making s’mores of course!
My favorite summer time memories are spending long days on the beaches of Lake Michigan near Muskegon and Grand Haven. We pack a cooler, towels and an umbrella and spend hours swimming in the lake and relaxing on the shoreline until the sun goes down.
One of my favorite camping memories is one that we made rather recent. We went camping for the first time as a family of four last year for Father’s Day weekend. We did the rustic way and popped up our tent (which was rather hard to do with a 2yr old running about). After getting everything set up we were happy to find out the camp right next to us had kids too and we had brought water balloon packs in hope our boys would be able to find some kids to play with. We ended up having a water balloon fight with 7-8 kids plus the awesome part their parents joined in on the fun. It was such a great way to break the ice and make new friends with our neighboring campers! The rest of the weekend was a blast between the swimming, camp fires and golf cart rides. It’ll be a hard trip to top but win this giveaway might help a bit!
My favorite camping memory is making new friends around the camp ground and cooking over the campfire.
My grandma always took all the grandkids camping at yogi bear campgrounds every summer and we had such a fun time every year
As kids we did a week long camping trip at Ludington state park with our church group and I loved biking through the camp ground with friends!! And playing in the dunes
We camp every year with extended family at least a couple of times. My favorite part is getting up early and consuming large amounts of coffee with my father-in-law.
My favorite part about summer is making memories with the kids, camping, swimming, fishing, making s’mores.
One memory…. One of my favorite memories was the first time we took our family camping. We stayed at a campground near Big Rapids and we’re using my grandmothers tent that I had used with my cousins as kids. We had a wonderful time at the campground, playing and exploring for the weekend. The last night, we had a forecast for rain. We didn’t think anything of it since the tent had always been great in the past. Unfortunately, we all woke up with about two inches of water everywhere in the tent. Only our 11 month old was dry because he was in his pack n play. The trip didn’t end up the best, but it made a funny memory that we all like to look back on and laugh about.
One of our favorite summer activity is swimming in Lake Michigan.
We loved camping with our kids in Ludington! Great memories of fireworks on the beach 😎 and the beautiful lighthouse.
I love all things about summer camping! Our favorite summer memories are camping at the Yogi Bear at Silver Lake! We go annually and would love to try a new place!
We love mackinaw mill Creek campground!! And have so many memories there, love labor day bridge walks but my favorite is every night we walk with our family, and all the dogs and kids as they have started joining the group, around the park as the sun sets on the bridge.
My favorite camping trip was as a kid my parents and I would always go camping and fishing and then go to the sand dunes for some fun! This would be great to be able to take my 2 girls and do the same! Thank you so much for this opportunity!!
I have so many childhood memories from camping and am being to build more with my own children! This seems like a wonderful place for us to check out!
Love the idea of camping so close to the big lake. We’ve camped on the East side of the state (KOA) and my kids loved the outdoors and campfires. We do love Lake Michigan and the West side of the state. Would be so much fun to camp by the dunes!
When I was growing up, my family would go camping near Sleeping Bear Dunes. One of my favorite memories was waking up early with my dad to do the dune hike to Lake Michigan. It was so hot by the time we go to the lake that we jumped in with our clothes on!
My family and I like anything outdoorsy-hiking, beaches, parks.
I grew up in Colorado so camping in Michigan is completely different. I like waking up early and getting the fire started for my family.
We camp in StIgnace Straights State Park every year. It’s my happy place!
When I was young, every year my family would camp in Ludington and I have great memories playing in the dunes and going to the beach.
Love getting outside with my grandkids! We camped in a teepee last summer!
We’d love to win a camping trip!
My favorite camping trip is growing up every weekend we went camping on the water. My grandma had property & everyone in the family had campers on it. It was so fun & the family was so close. Then when I had kids we continued on w the tradition until my grandma sold the property. It was a very sad moment w so many memories.
Wonderful camping we had at state park Ludington. Hiking in trails and biking to dam. We don’t go far from home as getting up there in 80s. Faith [email protected]
My most favorite and fondest memories are always of my 3 girls and myself camping times. We love to explore the trails and go on scavenger hunts to see who can find they most items on list.
Attempting to fish (we are not the best at it). Going swimming, tubbing or kayaking, anything with water we are all in for.
And of course the meals over the fire, s’mores and the fire while gazing at the millions of stars and enjoying are the just being present in the moment together.
My favorite summer memories are going camping with my family! I can’t wait to take my daughters and make memories with them.
My favorite childhood camping memories is when I lived back home in Arizona. My grandma and grandpa would drive me up from Phoenix hours into the mountains in a beautiful lake in between all the trees and we would sit up all night (my cousins, grandparents and I) and them moments are priceless! I would look forward to it everytime. I miss it.
My favorite summer memory is of going to the sand dunes sand then little saber light house