G6Adventures
Our first stop on our Northern Michigan adventure began in Empire, less than five miles from the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Philip A. Hart Visitor Center. Unequivocally, Indigo Bluffs RV Park & Resort set the bar really high right out of the gate! In this Indigo Bluffs campground review, we’ll give you our honest opinions based on our personal experience.
Arrival. We arrived on a Friday evening in July, about the same time as a line of other campers. I went into the Reception Building to check in. The individuals working the counter checked in the line of campers promptly and courteously. The woman who helped me even gave me some local recommendations for food as we were pretty hungry from being on the road. There are two sides to the campground: the RV Park and the RV Resort. Due to our size, we reserved a site in the RV Resort. After checking in, a golf cart escorts you to your site. We did have to wait a bit for our escort, but, we arrived at a peak check-in time, so this wasn’t surprising. Our escort showed us to our site, confirmed that it was suitable for us, and stayed to make sure we didn’t need any help getting situated.
Site. The main difference between the RV Park and the RV Resort are the sites. The RV Park contains a wider variety as to types of sites. It has 30 amp water and electric only, 30 amp full hook-up pull-thru, 30 amp full-hook back-in, 50 amp full hook-up pull-thru, and 50 amp full hook-up back-in sites. The RV Park also provides rustic tent sites as well. The sites vary in sizes. The sites are unpaved but surrounded by trees providing a parklike setting. The RV Resort, on the hand, contains all 50 amp full hook-up sites. Each site includes a paved pad and patio. The sites average approximately 6,000 square feet in size.
We stayed in Site R22. It looked as though all of the sites in the RV Resort were built such that large rigs can easily maneuver into them. We definitely found that to be the case with our site. We were able to back in, get leveled and hook up completely in less than 10 minutes. From what we could tell, all of the sites in the Resort were incredibly level, so that should not be of any concern. Every site in the Resort includes its own unique features, so each site is different. We found the sites to check essentially every box for us. They were easily maneuverable, clean, spacious and included accessible utilities, a picnic table and a fire pit.
Amenities. If our site didn’t set the bar high enough, the amenities at Indigo Bluffs blew the bar straight out of the water. Specific to the Resort, the amenities included a gated entrance and an incredible lodge. On its own, the lodge contains a fantastic outdoor seating pavilion with a grill. Inside, it contains a full kitchen available for use by any Resort campers and tables to accommodate at least 20 people. The lodge was remarkably clean and felt very welcoming. It also included a laundry room with two washers and two dryers. Plus, there were a couple very large and very clean individual bathrooms with showers. Truly, this lodge is one of the nicest common areas we have encountered in our travels.
And if those amenities aren’t enough, the RV Park included several more! Several days each week, there are food trucks available on site. That is a fantastic option as there are limited food choices in the immediate area. To be honest, the food truck prices are a little high. However, if you’re in a pinch and want a quick, easy meal that you can walk over and grab, it’s a great opportunity. Additionally, there is a pavilion with picnic tables if you want to enjoy your food there.
Next, we move to the RV Park’s gorgeous indoor/outdoor Gathering Area. In talking to one of their employees, the owners of the park used the downtime during the pandemic to truly invest in the campground. The building in the Gathering Area previously housed essentially clutter and junk. They cleaned it out, spruced it up, and turned it into an adorable, quaint indoor common area, with books, games, and seating areas. They really knocked it out of the park on the outdoor pavilion of the Gathering Area. In addition to seating, they have a ping pong table, cornhole, giant Connect 4, and shuffleboard. If you keep walking past the Gathering Area, you’ll come to a playground, volleyball and a dog run area. This entire outdoor area is largely surrounded by trees, so you can feel comfortable letting your kids run without worrying about traffic.
After all that, we haven’t even talked about the pool yet!! They offer a fairly large heated pool with plenty of seating on the deck. Personally, I prefer my pool water (or any water honestly) to be just under hot tub temperature. This is not that! But the rest of the family thought it was perfect. We stayed here in mid-July, which is obviously peak season. I cannot speak to how crowded it might have been during the day. We typically swam in the evenings. We encountered groups of people at that time, but we never felt that it was overcrowded. There is also a poolside shower to rinse off before and/or after your swim. While the pool is located just next to the Reception Building, it seemed easily accessible from nearly anywhere in the campground. From our site, it was a reasonably short walk.
Location. When traveling to a specific destination, location can make all the difference in your stay. Who wants to spend insane amounts of time in the car just trying to get to where you’re going? If your goal is to visit Sleeping Bear Dunes, this location is perfect. You are less than five miles from the closest Visitor’s Center. The Dunes Climb trailhead is less than a 15 minute drive. And you can get to Traverse City in less than 30 minutes. For us, this location could not be better. It’s far enough so that you can truly enjoy the peacefulness of the area. But it’s not so far that you can’t grab a scoop of ice cream from Moomer’s (which I highly recommend) at least once, if not a few times, during your visit.
Cost. For 3 nights on a weekend in July, 2022, we paid $87 per night for a site in the RV Resort. While obviously not the cheapest campground, we think it was a reasonable price. We knew that we’d be on the go touring the area, so an easily accessible, large, paved site appealed to us. The prices are less in the RV Park, but given our size of nearly 40′ feet plus a tow vehicle, we chose the Resort. Given the amenities, the sites, and the location, we believe the prices are reasonable. Though we prefer to spend less on a campground per night, sometimes we choose to pay more for the convenience, which is what we did here.
Overall Rating.
Overall, Indigo Bluffs-RV Resort exceeded our expectations. Though on the pricey side, we appreciated the convenience, the spacious sites, and the remarkable amenities. Here’s what each of us in our family thought:
- Eric: “An A without a doubt. Super friendly staff. Perfect location. Very nice sites. Picturesque resort. Tons of amenities. The garage door opener for the gate made access super easy. Would choose to stay here again and again every time we’re in the area.”
- Kelly: “Definitely an A. Between the location, the extensive and clean amenities, the gorgeous sites and the friendly service, it had a bit of everything. Yes, it is a bit costly, but you are getting what you’re paying for.”
- Mayson (15): In what I am chalking up to typical teenage response that doesn’t entirely make sense- “I give it an A-. There was nothing I didn’t like about it. I just don’t think I would give it an full A.”
- Olivia (9): “I’d say an A. I really liked the pool. And the site. It was really big and pretty.”
- Ellianna (4): “I loved the pool. The pool was my favorite part!”
Have you stayed at Indigo Bluffs RV Park & Resort? Leave us a comment and tell us your thoughts about your stay at Indigo Bluffs RV. If you plan to travel to Michigan, check out our Michigan-related travel blogs here. Or follow our other family adventures here.
