Tent Camp Searching (Michigan but in general)
 

Does anyone have any tips on finding tent camping sites? When you do the general Google Searching, I feel like it leads you to the large RV parks even when searching for "Tent camping". I don't mind sorting through the sites, but was looking for any tips to speed up the process.

In my current search, I am looking for sites in between St. Joseph Michigan and Detroit and eventually Windsor and Toronto.

Try the phone app: wikiCamps usa
R&J

I found this website about an hour after my original post. Do you have the subscription or just use the free version?

Thank you both. This is a good thread OP, and this information is timely for me as I was planning out my relatively unplanned tour. I have to go to Iowa for a wedding, and am planning on driving to the Western side of Indiana to camp one night with my wife, then riding the bike back to Pittsburgh. This is sort of spur of the moment, but should be fun. I was going to start in Iowa but need to be back by the third week of June so I would be too rushed, so I'll start in Indiana and allow myself to have more time to enjoy it. The app and website was a great help. In the old days, I carried a campground directory. :50:

When I find a potential place, I call and ask if they have 'tenting sites'.

Of course, just because they have a place you can set up your tent doesn't mean it's any better than a gravel parking lot in the shade of a derelict RV.

I use the free version without problem. I also have it as an app on my phone. The phone version will even route you to the campground. Oddly, many of the campgrounds are unaware of the app but the app has always be fairly accurate in terms of campground details when I've used it.

I have never used this link, but in addition to the Allstays link I put this one on my phone for a trip that I leave for next week. It looks like it might be crowd sourced, which has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.
https://freecampsites.net/

Take a look at

Hipcamp

It's sort of a VRBO / AirBnB model for camping/campsites.

Do those sites list U.S.F.S. and BLM camgrounds? State parks and other public campgrounds?

In general, when I am planning a route I get a general idea of mileages between places and search Google Maps for "campgrounds near [name of town]". Zooming in and out broadens the results. Sure. You have to do some research re: the private campgrounds that you find, but that doesn't take long. You should to do the same with places like U.S.F.S. campgrounds because not all of them have water. I also want to know how many sites there are to assess potential availability on the day I plan to arrive since most are first-come.

The Allstays site and app do . The campsites are coded in terms of Forest Service, BLM, state parks and private campgrounds. It's also pretty accurate about private campgrounds that are RV only.

The Allstays site tells you if there is water. If it doesn't say "water" in the description, you can assume that water isn't available. Some of the sites are near a water source but you'll need to carry your own purification. The Allstays site will also tell you how many sites each campground has with breakdowns of how many tent and how many RV sites. Google seems to be okay but they miss a lot of private sites and quite a few public ones, in my experience.

The Free Campsites webpage seems to have less information about the campsites. It's seems harder to find out if the free campsites have water or other amenities. That's probably due to the crowd sourcing nature of the website.

Thanks. Sounds useful. When it comes to fed sites, I to find the official page for more details, including water availability and cost.

Not to get too far afield, but one year in Montana the GF and I had planned to camp at a certain U.S.F.S. campground, but when we got there we found that it was closed for renovations. I had checked the official page before the trip and there was no mention of the closure. When I returned home I emailed the local F.S. district to suggest that they update the page. Someone wrote back quickly and said "Good idea. Thanks."

Michigan State Rec Area Camping
 

Michigan Recreation Search

Mostly I use state rec areas for camping. Hopefully the link shows you a map where you can filter down to just camp sites.
The great thing about the state rec area sites is, if you show up late in the day "under your own power" and the campground if full, they have to give you a spot, as you don't have time to get somewhere else.

At least that's what I have heard!
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...ng/82q7lqhLnz0

I'm going to peruse the links others have offered. Cheers.