Jones Lake State Forest Campground

#1 thing to know is that the campground is really quite nice.

#2 people suck

I came in on a Tuesday evening after driving all day in 95 degrees with no air. I was cranky and ready to jump in anything that looked like water. I drove around looking for the closest I could get to the lake. However, the best spot was next to a ton of people having a party. I wanted to get farther away seeing as there were like only the 2 of us in the whole park.

I finally paid and backed into our site. It was level and graveled. The site was spacious, with a fire ring and a picnic table. Plus a ton of room to roam, walk barefoot and just relax. However, I found plenty of Dog doo and trash all over the site. Cans and foil in the fire pit. Trash all over the walk to the beach, shoes left behind along the path and discarded toys at the beach area. The kids next to me walked through my site and throwing cans up into the trees.

The party died down by 10:00 (lucky me) and they all left obviously never planning on camping. They left behind a single 2 man tent (at least 25+ people), 2 kayaks and a ton of chairs coolers, towels hanging on trees and garbage everywhere. I hope they plan on coming back to clean.

The lake was so refreshing. it had a sand & pebble bottom with a hint of muck but my feet handled it no problem. It was quiet and perfect for swimming, kayak, paddle board, canoe and of course fishing.

The kids loved seeing all the little fish swimming by the shore. The beach was a lake beach with brown orange sand. It wasn’t perfect and it was small but it did the job for me. I was sad to see cigarette butts and soda tops and other random trash.

Again people suck. If I had planned on staying for more than a night I would have had us all go on a cleaning party. However It is now raining and we are off to cross the Mackinac bridge and head to the UP.

Oh I could hear the road traffic in the quiet of the morning but otherwise I didn’t notice.

I have visible and got only 2 bars but it still loaded everything on Netflix just fine. Also at&t had 2 bars.

Camped 7/16/20-7/18/20 (Thur-Sun). Note: $15 doesn't include extra Recreation Passport fee. We liked this campground - large sites with privacy, sun for the solar panels, pretty lake, sandy beach, nice kayaking, and very few mosquitoes (during the daytime that is). There are beautiful sunsets over the lake, and starry nights; we had a great view of Comet Neowise too!

The main campground road has multiple cul-de-sac-type loops that shoot off either side. When you enter, the road splits: boat launch & parking area one way, campground the other. Campsites are large and well spaced with vegetation between them & have a picnic table & fire ring. The pads are gravel or packed sand/dirt and most seemed pretty level. Site areas are grassy; some are almost like you have your own little yard. Campsites closest to the lake have paths to the lake where you can put in your kayak or canoe. There's also a trail adjacent to the lake that starts at the beach. Besides this beach (where locals come), there's another open grassy area within the campground with sandy frontage for swimming.

The campground has two sets of vault toilets (men's & women's), along with a water pump by each set. A trash dumpster is within the campground. Sites range from shady & partial shade to a lot of sun. We were in loop 1 and had a good deal of sun. Trees in the campground are mostly short, medium & tall pines, so you are not in a dense forest here.

Arriving on a Thursday, there were a fair number of campers, but it wasn't full, even on the weekend. VTs were clean and stocked with TP. I didn't see any poison ivy. A couple thunderstorms rolled through, but it didn't get muddy & puddles quickly disappeared (sandy soil in this area). We had nice breezes off the lake, which probably helped with the mosquitoes, but we did get a couple fly bites. Noise wasn't an issue, but there were some barking dogs and we heard military noise from the nearby Grayling Military Reservation. Also some road noise, but it wasn't constant.

The boat ramp at Jones Lake is decent sized & cement. Also, there are other lakes nearby to kayak or fish that have boat access.