Portage Lake Campground (Waterloo)
Quick Facts
Why Waterloo & Pinckney
Portage Lake Campground sits inside Waterloo State Recreation Area, the largest state park in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula at over 21,000 acres. Where other parts of the park see heavier day-use traffic, this particular campground has earned a reputation as a quieter, more wooded corner — large sites, ample trees, and a genuinely well-kept beach with two playgrounds and a boat launch.
Being inside Waterloo also means easy access to the 36-mile Waterloo-Pinckney Trail and the park’s 11 inland lakes, all about an hour from Detroit.
What Makes It Special
- Location: Inside Waterloo State Recreation Area, near Grass Lake
- Setting: Quiet, wooded corner of the wider park
- Site type: Wooded electric sites with fire pit and picnic table
- Amenities: Paved trail to beach, clean showers, playground, dump station
- Recreation: Swimming and hiking right from the campground
Pro Tips for Booking
This is the quieter Waterloo campground. If you want a mellower stay than the park’s busier sections, regulars specifically request Portage Lake.
Use the paved path to the beach. It’s a genuinely easy, stroller-and-wheelchair-friendly walk from most sites.
Book ahead for summer. Waterloo’s proximity to Detroit means weekends fill up, even in this quieter corner.
What to Do Around Here
- Swimming and playgrounds right at the campground beach
- The wider Waterloo-Pinckney Trail system for hiking and biking
- Fishing on Portage Lake and the park’s other inland lakes
- Gerald E. Eddy Discovery Center, elsewhere in the park
- Downtown Chelsea, a short drive away
