Campgrounds and RV parks near Mancelona, MI

Mancelona sits in Antrim County in Michigan's Northern Lower Peninsula, along US-131 roughly 30 miles northeast of Traverse City. The village is part of Mancelona Township and serves as a practical base for RV travelers exploring Torch Lake, the Chain of Lakes, and the Jordan River country without paying resort-town premiums. Campground options within a short drive range from small owner-operated parks to full-service RV resorts and county-run lakefront campgrounds. Antrim Meadows Campground is an easy overnight stop on US-131 with a small set of modern sites. Chain-O-Lakes Campground sits in the forest and lake country near Bellaire. Starlight Campground and RV Park and Blue Lakes Adventure Camp round out the closer-in choices, while Log Lake Campground is a county-run campground outside Kalkaska with full hookup sites that accommodate large rigs, about 20 minutes south. Expect a mix of full hook-up pull-throughs, electric-and-water sites, and rustic tent loops. Most parks in this corridor are seasonal, opening in spring and closing by mid-fall.

Reservation systems vary by operator. Privately owned parks such as Antrim Meadows and Chain-O-Lakes Campground take bookings directly through their websites or by phone, and some also appear on aggregator platforms like Good Sam and Campspot. Calling ahead is worthwhile at smaller parks, since site-specific requests like big-rig length, shade, or proximity to the beach are easier to confirm over the phone. Log Lake Campground in Kalkaska takes reservations through Campspot. Michigan state park campgrounds in the wider region are booked through Michigan DNR's central reservation system, which opens on a rolling six-months-ahead-of-arrival basis. Summer weekends at DNR parks often sell out the morning the window opens.