The third stop in our mini-tour of Michigan last July and August was at the Oak Knoll Family Campground just north of Muskegon near Holton. As we normally camp at franchised 'name' campgrounds, this experience was a bit different for us.
The first thing we noticed was how involved the owners are. They were active in ensuring we enjoyed our visit (without being annoying) -- helping us to get backed in to our site, making sure the site was cleaned up, and really just being very nice. They truly seemed to care both about their campground and the people staying there.
As for the facilities - my understanding is that Oak Knoll is relatively new and they are constantly working on things. The terrain is a tad hilly and the ground sandy, but they've worked on getting their sites level and accessible. A smallish campground, the sites themselves aren't that large and the majority of them are better suited for pop-ups and smaller trailers. The bigger rigs can still fit - it's just a tad trickier getting in and out. Most of the sites are electric and water only; our friends and us had the only two full hookups available to non-season campers while we were there. The kids playground isn't the greatest, but with all the nearby recreation (lakes, Michigan's Adventure) we didn't really need it. There are plenty of trees that have been left in place providing lots of shade. The restrooms were kept clean and functional and there is also a camp store but no wireless Internet.
This is truly a family campground and while we were there things were very quiet. Upon sign in, you sign a campground policy sheet that has quiet hours and other restrictions listed that are probably enforced (we didn't try to break any of the rules) -- either that or it was an unusually calm and quiet weekend crowd. If seems that if you're looking for a place to party hardy, this campground probably would not be a good fit for you.
Perhaps the most adventurous thing about Oak Knoll Family Campground is getting to and from it from the state highway system. Muskegon County roads all seem to be pretty narrow, have lots of blind curves, and plenty of patched over potholes. We tried approaching the campground from several different directions and always had the same result -- a relatively slow, twisty drive through the woods. Their location is about as far off the beaten path as you can get in that part of Michigan. Be sure to follow the directions they give on their web site instead of what Google or Mapquest recommend.
While this campground isn't on our list of places to go back to right now, we'd definitely consider it sometime in the future - especially considering how close they are to places like Michigan's Adventure and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.
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