Staying at a campground that is close to multiple area attractions is the prime reason we chose to stay at Covert/ South Haven KOA in Michigan. Once we arrived, we realized quickly how amazing this campground was.
Michigan is a beautiful state to visit, with lots to do and see. We personally love the small towns, especially along the lakes. When planning this trip we knew we wanted to visit South Haven but wanted to stay at a location that made it easy for us to visit other local beaches or towns.
Before we get into why we really liked South Haven KOA, here are just some places to visit while staying there.
- Silver Beach 19 miles (25 minutes south)
- Hagar Beach/Park -dog friendly – 10 miles (15 minutes south)
- South Haven (beaches and downtown shopping/activities)- 10 miles (15 minutes North)
- Kal-Haven Trail -10 miles (15 minutes North)
- Van Buren State Park -9 miles ( 13 minutes north)
- Four Winds Casino Hartford- 8 miles (12 minutes south)
- Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail- varying distance (https://miwinetrail.com/wineries)
Camp Sites
For those that know us, we always say “we like to be a princess when we camp”. South Haven KOA does not disappoint. The variety of sites they have is amazing. They have the typical rustic, tent sites, full hook up with back in and pull thru but the additional sites are what takes the cake.
We fell in love with one of their buddy sites that has one large patio that connects with a pavilion in the middle. You also get deluxe patio furniture, a stone fire pit and charcoal grill. We didn’t stay on that site this time but it is definitely on our list to book it the next time we come camping with Jen’s parents. I’m sure this site is full most of the time. We will need to have quick booking fingers.
Our next favorite sites were the deluxe pet sites with patios. If you have pets and need a little extra space for them, then this site is perfect for you. You will get a 150 sq ft private dog run. Is it huge if you have large dogs? Not really. But if you have small and medium dogs it would work nice. Our dogs are always getting their dog leads tangled, which is annoying to constantly fix that hot mess. It would be so nice to be able to let them have their own space sometimes. These deluxe sites also have large patios, deluxe patio furniture, charcoal grill, and stone fire pits.
Don’t need the fenced in area? That’s ok. You can still book their deluxe sites that have a large patio, patio furniture, charcoal grill and stone fire pit.
A unique site option we found was you could book a blueberry patch site. What? We have never stayed at a campground that offers U-pick blueberries let alone being steps away from the bushes. If you camp at this KOA between mid-July through the end of August you can pick your own blueberries.
There were multiple areas throughout the campground where you can pick your own. You don’t have to be staying on the blueberry patch sites to pick them. If you stay on those sites you just don’t have to walk as far. They offer 3 varieties, Blue Crop, Jerseys and Elliots. You can eat them fresh or pick a small bunch and take them home to freeze. Remember to save some for other campers.
For this trip we had a standard full hookup pull thru site. We booked last minute so we didn’t have the option of getting one of the fancy deluxe sites. But our site was still a great site. We didn’t have any issues leveling the camper, we had nice shade, a picnic table and a fire ring.
For those that don’t have a camper or tent but want to feel like you are roughing it, check out their glamping tents. We were camping across from them and they looked amazing. There were three tents in a row. Perfect if you want to travel with friends/family and feel like you have a communal area. Each tent sleeps up to 4 people. You have one queen bed, one bunk bed, a private restroom with a walk in shower, heating/air conditioning and partial kitchen. Outside you have a deluxe patio set with fir3 pit and gas/LP grill.
There are several different types of cabins available that can sleep 4-6 people. We didn’t check out the cabins in detail since we usually focus our attention on the different RV sites. From the outside, all the cabins look nice and spread out in varying locations throughout the campground.
Recreation
The recreational activities are just as important as how good the campsites are. If you have younger kids they will enjoy the swimming pool, splash pad and the 2 playgrounds. The playground area closer to the pool was amazing. Besides the standard playground they had two jumping pillows and a long zipline. Secretly I wanted to try it.
The younger kids loved riding on the barrel train around the campground. You always knew when the train was coming. You could hear laughter and giggles down the street as they were driving around. On the weekend there were activities at the activity center near the pool. Usually themed to the themed weekend. Our weekend was pirate weekend.
For older kids they have basketball, horseshoe, corn hole, pickleball, gaga ball, and fishing.
Your four legged friends will enjoy some play time in one of the two enclosed Kamp K9 areas.
Your family and furry friends will also enjoy a nice hike along their hiking trail. We found bigfoot at the start of the trail.
Final Thoughts
We highly recommend staying at South Haven KOA. It was clean, had wonderful staff, and lots to offer. They even deliver pizza to your campsite if you don’t want to cook! Now that’s service.
If we had to nitpick one thing about the campground it was the roads weren’t paved. I know that’s being very nitpicky and it’s definitely not a deal breaker for us. It was just the only thing to mark as a negative. Everything else was great!
For more information on Covert/South Haven KOA or to make a reservation, check out their website.
