Seaton Creek Campground
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $30From, per site
- Sites
- 19All of them booked ahead
- Season
- April 29 – October 10Open April 29 through October 10
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices
In the agency’s own words
Seaton Creek Campground adjoins Seaton Creek and is at the upper end of the backwater of Hodenpyl Dam Pond on the Big Manistee River. The forest surrounding the campground is mostly pine and the sites are rustic. The closest town is Mesick. Keep reading
Recreation
The surrounding waters offer excellent fishing opportunities for both panfish (perch, bluegil, crappie, sunfish) and game fish (trout, bass, pike, salmon). For State Fishing Regulations consult the Michigan Department of Natural Resources website, website http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/ . Kayakers may access the campground by traveling up the very shallow Seaton Creek, however canoeing is not recommended unless you're putting in at the Hodenpyl Backwaters. From there, you can canoe the Big Manistee. There is a connector trail to the Manistee River Trail from this site. The North Country National Scenic Trail can be reached by crossing the suspension bridge over the Manistee River. The Upper Branch Trailhead is also nearby.
Facilities
Two group sites and 17 family sites area situated near a picnic area on the Hodenpyl Backwater of the Manistee River. There are two vault restroom buildings. Sites have fire rings and picnic tables. Drinking water is available.
Natural Features
The terrain surrounding Hodenpyl Dam Pond is characterized as hilly with a mix of hardwoods and conifers. Briar Hill, which has the second-highest elevation in the lower peninsula, is located about five miles east of Hodenpyl Dam Pond. A number of other tributaries enter Hodenpyl Dam Pond from the east, flowing off the slopes of Briar Hill. These streams are characterized by very high gradient and cold temperatures. They include Seaton Creek, Small Creek, Preston Creek, Cripple Creek, and several unnamed streams. These streams mostly host a mix of brown and brook trout, although a few have only brook trout. The trailhead for the Manistee River Trail is within the campground. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (801) 226-3564.
What the agency tells you
Limit two vehicle per single site; a fee will be charged for additional vehicles and have to be parked in the overflow area. An extra vehicle fee applies after the 5th vehicle on group sites.
Single sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
All equipment must fit on the site. Vehicles should only park in developed areas.
Everything else this campground posts · 4
Site capacities are: 2 vehicles, 2 camping units, only one can be wheeled (e.g., two tents or a camper and a tent) All tires need to fit on the spurs!
Don't move firewood: To limit the spread of invasive tree-killing pests, firewood from outside the area is not permitted. Some states have quarantines and may confiscate your firewood. Please help protect our forests from invasive species by obtaining your firewood at or near your camping destination and burning it on-site. Visit dontmovefirewood.org for more information.
Any accepted senior passes must be entered for the discount at the time of booking for single sites only.
Customer Service Contact 801-226-3564 or Help.Huron.Manistee@AmericanLL.com
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 19 · 2 tent-only, 2 group
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…of the Manistee River. There are two vault restroom buildings. Sites have fire rings and picnic tables.…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…Sites have fire rings and picnic tables. Drinking water is available. Natural Features The terrain…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Visitor center
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
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 · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $30 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
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
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
19 sites
All 19 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. 19 of the 19 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 01 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 02 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 03 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 04 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 05 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 06 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 07 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 08 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 09 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 10 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 11 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 12 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 13 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 14 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 15 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 16 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | 17 | standard nonelectric | $30 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | GR1 | group tent only area nonelectric | $80 |
| SEATON CREEK CAMPGROUND | GR2 | group tent only area nonelectric | $80 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Upper Manistee River Backcountry CampsitesManistee National Forest · 5.7 mi
Peterson BridgeManistee National Forest · 11 mi
Sand Lake Campground14 miSand Lake Recreation AreaManistee National Forest · 15 miPine Lake CampgroundManistee National Forest · 15 miHemlock Campground and Boat LaunchManistee National Forest · 17 miFrom the north: Follow M-37 south 6 miles from Mesick. Turn right on 26 Road (near Yuma) for 1.7 miles, then right on O'Rourke Drive for 1.3 miles, then right on Forest Road 5993 for 0.4 mile to the site. From the south: Take M-37 north 9 miles from its intersection with M-55. Turn left on 26 Road for 1.7 miles, then right on O'Rourke Drive for 1.3 miles, then right on Forest Road 5993 for 0.4 miles to the site.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Mesick, MI
Typical weather
Typical October night 36°F, day 57°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical April night 29°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 moreOutside the published season
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
Seaton Creek Campground is in Michigan’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, John Moolenaar (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →