D.H. Day Group Campground
1Heads uppark alert
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 4All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices
In the agency’s own words
D.H. Day Group Campground is a tent-only facility located in the heart of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, about one mile (1.6 km) north of the Dune Climb, where visitors can walk over miles of sand dunes. This year-round campground has four sites which accommodate groups of 7 to 25 people. Keep reading
Recreation
D.H. Day Group is a hub for water activities. Motorized and non-motorized boating is allowed on the lake, with restrictions, and there is a boat ramp about six miles away by which boaters can access Lake Michigan. Campers can also rent canoes and kayaks in the town of Glen Harbor to float the nearby Crystal River. The beach at Glen Haven, which is popular for beachcombing and swimming, is about one mile away from the campground. There are no lifeguards on duty at the park's beaches. The facility is also close to the Dune Climb, where visitors can climb on sand dunes over 200 feet high, walk more than 1.5 miles on the dunes to Lake Michigan and catch a great view of Glen Lake.
Facilities
Picnic tables, food storage boxes, and campfire rings are provided at each campsite. Each campsite has a designated area where tents must be pitched. The campground has drinking water during the reservation season, but the water is shut off from October 16 through April 26 (weather permitting). Pets and RVs are not allowed in the group sites. Access to the campground is via a dirt road.
Natural Features
The campground is open with sparse vegetation. Contrary to the park's name, bears are rarely sighted here, yet other wildlife such as birds, deer and wild turkey may be seen. Although the Lake Michigan shore is long and narrow, it has northern hardwood and conifer forests, abandoned farm meadows, wetlands, lakes, streams, bogs and splendid examples of a glacially formed landscape. The most prominent features in the park, for which it was named, are the perched sand dunes above Lake Michigan. The overlooks at Sleeping Bear, Empire and Pyramid Point bluffs are about 400 feet above the lake. With 65 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and numerous inland lakes and streams, the park is wonderfully water-oriented.
Nearby Attractions
To the East and North: 1.3 miles - Alligator Hill Trail - via Harwood Road (E), M-109 (S), Day Farm Road (E), & Stocking Road (N). 1.5 miles - Historic Village of Glen Haven & the General Store bookstore 2.0 miles - Maritime Museumand 2.3 miles - Sleeping Bear Point Trail 3.2 miles - Village of Glen Arbor - where the Crystal River winds through town to Lake Michigan. 7.3 miles - Port Onieda Historic District. 21.8 miles - The Harbor Town of Leland serves as the gateway to both North and South Manitou Islands . To the South: 1.5 miles - The Dune Climb and Dune Center bookstore . 3.5 miles - Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, home of the Lake Michigan Overlook. 6.5 miles - Village of Empire . Contact Info For local information, please call (231) 326-4700 or call (877) 444-6777 for general information. Charges & Cancellations
What the agency tells you
D.H. Day GROUP Campground is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from D.H. Day Campground. Before setting up camp, ALL CAMPERS MUST STOP AND CHECK-IN at D.H. Day Campground, 8000 W Harbor Highway, Glen Arbor, MI 49636. From the main campground, you will travel on a dirt road to reach the group campground.
Entrance Fees - Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore charges a variety of entrance fees, depending on how a visitor arrives at the park. All visitors must have an entrance pass (separate from camping fees). The park also honors Federal Recreational Lands America the Beautiful (e.g., Resident Annual, Non-Resident Annual, Senior, Access, Military, 4th Grade, Golden Age). For more information visit the park's Fees & Passes web page. The Michigan Recreation Passport is not valid for entry at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which is a federally managed site.
Permit Conditions 1. Campers must check - in at the D. H. Day Campground Office (8000 W Harbor Hwy, Glen Arbor, MI 49636) immediately upon arrival. 2. Campers must notify the campground at 231 -326-4700 ext 5045 if they will not arrive within 24 hours of the check -in time or reservation will be cancelled; and they will be charged the first night’s camping fee plus a $20 no show fee. 3. Check -in time is 2 PM ET. Check -out time is 12 PM ET noon. 4. Camp ONLY at the group site reserved for your use, do not change sites. Camping is permitted only in designated areas, within established tent pads boundaries, and parking pads. All vehicles and trailers must remain on roadway surfaces and off vegetation. Tent Pad boundaries are marked with wooden posts. 5. Tents only, no RV's or trailers allowed. 6. Group camp sites require a minimum of 7 people, but not more than 25 people per site. 7. Quiet hours are from 10 PM – 6 AM Noise must be controlled at all times to ensure other campers are not disturbed. Generators, or other items that create unreasonable or excessive noise are prohibited. 8. Active Bear Area: Store food, drinks, ice chests/coolers (empty or full), toiletries, trash/recyclables, food prep tools and all scented items in a sealed, hard sided vehicle day and night. Never feed wildlife. 9. To prevent and slow the spread of forest pests and diseases, you may only burn NPS APPROVED FIREWOOD. Firewood is available for purchase in D.H. Day Campground near site 81. See approved vendors list at www.nps.gov/slbe/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm 10. Confine all fires to the fire ring and burn ONLY dead, down and detached wood or charcoal. Fires must be completely extinguished with water before leaving a campsite. DO NOT leave fires unattended at any time. 11. It is unlawful to cut, destroy, damage, or remove ANY standing tree, shrub or plant, or to possess any green vegetation within the park, including flowers. Do not injure trees with nails, hanging hot lanterns against the trunk, or hang hammocks in a way that may stress or damage trees. 12. Pets are prohibited in group site areas. 13. Camping is limited to 14 TOTAL days between Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day. Camping equipment may not remain on a site for more than 14 days, even if used by a different group. 14. Bicycles are to be used on roads or the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail only. Roller blades, skates, skateboards, scooters and similar devices are prohibited in the campground. 15. All trenching is prohibited. 16. Do not burn trash or garbage in fire rings. All trash or garbage must be disposed of in the provided dumpsters. 17. The washing of dishes, hands, hair, brushing teeth, etc. at outdoor water station is prohibited. 18. Excessive use of the solar water station will exhaust water supply. Be sure to return valve to OFF position after use.
Everything else this campground posts · 4
Violation of terms may result in permit suspension, revocation and/or issuance of a citation by law enforcement.
Problems or Emergencies. Please notify a Ranger or Campground Host if you encounter any problems. In case of Emergency, DIAL 911.
Poison Ivy. Poison Ivy is abundant at the campground and throughout the lakeshore. Tent pads and campsite driveways are kept clear of poison ivy. However there may be poison ivy lining the boundary of the campsite. Ticks. Ticks are common throughout the Lakeshore & are often found in tall grass and shrubs. To learn how to avoid and remove ticks, visit the Avoiding Ticks page on the Centers for Disease Control DC website.
Beach Safety. The park has pebble beaches rather than pure sand. Water shoes are recommended. There are no lifeguards on duty at any of the park beaches--swim at your own risk.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 4 · 4 tent-only, 4 group
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Not allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets - year round
- Drinking water
- Yes
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Store
- Nearby
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek, Beach, Meadow
- Biking
- Hiking
- Picnicking
- Visitor center
- Fall color · reported 12 days ago, 38 km away
- Minimal color
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 14:46 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 16
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 14:46 UTC · rules read Oct 1, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
4 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 4 mapped sitesAll 4 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 4 of the 4 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
D.H. Day CampgroundSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore · 1.2 mi
Weather Station Campground - South Manitou IslandSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore · 8.4 mi
South Manitou Group Campground8.7 mi
Bay Campground - South Manitou IslandSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore · 9.3 mi
White Pine Backcountry Campground PermitsSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore · 11 mi
Popple Campground - South Manitou IslandSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore · 11 miFrom Traverse City, Michigan take M-72 west to Empire. Proceed 2.1 miles (3.4 km) north of Empire on M-22. Go 4.1 miles (6.6 km) north on M-109 to West Harwood Road. Take a left on West Harwood Road and continue all the way to the end of the road to D.H. Day Group Campground.
Reservation holders MUST check-in and pay entrance fees at D.H. Day Group Campground 8000 W Harbor Highway, Glen Arbor, MI 49636
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Glen Arbor, MI
Typical weather
Typical October night 40°F, day 58°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical February night 16°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
D.H. Day Group Campground is in Michigan’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, Jack Bergman (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →