Overview

At less than 200 acres, the Tawas Point State Park is one of the smaller parks we’ve camped at in recent years. However, the reason for its small size is also what makes it worth the trip. The park sits on the Lake Huron side of Michigan, northwest of the tip of the thumb. The thin strip of land has the great lake on one side, Tawas Bay on the other, and looking off the end, you’re facing Saginaw Bay.

The park is known for its historic lighthouse and birding opportunities. Tawas City and East Tawas that sit across the bay from the park are popular tourist destinations, particularly for boating. A couple of beach side resorts sat opposite the campground beach. We were here in late April. There was still very much a chill in the air, and the crowds were a month or more off.

The Campground

Since this is a small peninsula, there is predictably only one road in/out of the park. After entering the park, the first thing on your right is the lone campground. It’s a modern campground with electrical at each site and two restrooms/shower facilities.

In addition to the 200+ sites for tents and RVs there are also cabin and yurt options. Two camper cabins sit on the bay side of the campground. On the opposite side, by the pond, are a yurt and two mini-cabins. Mini-cabin 1 is where we made our home for the weekend.

The Cabin

This was set up to hold more people than any of my previous mini-cabin experiences. Generally, others have been designed for 4, with two sets of bunk beds. This also had two bunks, but one set had full mattresses. This means you can put 6 in here if needed. I was a little nervous with the weather looking less than favorable, but it did turn out to have enough room for the 5 of us to comfortably hang out during the few downpours we encountered.

The cabin itself looks to have been given a bit of a remodel with the outside not quite matching what I saw on the reservation site. They decided to go with a bright blue on the outside and fancy it up a little with a white anchor decoration. This replaced a third window up top, but the natural light inside was still plenty to see by during the day.

In addition to the fridge, microwave and heat that I’ve had in other cabins this size, this also came with a coffee maker (Always a plus😊), as well as a vacuum mounted on the wall to accompany the normal broom and dust pan. The sand that got tracked in was pretty intense, so this was honestly a huge help.

The Lighthouse

It was raining when we packed up to leave, and although we drove out of it, we had no confidence in the weather holding out for us. So, once we were settled in, we headed right back out to explore. The first stop was to hike out to the Tawas Point Lighthouse.

The lighthouse is visible from the campground, sticking up over the trees, and the walk was less than a half mile from our cabin. About halfway down the trail is a “Dog Beach”, which is designed as a pet friendly area to take your furry companions out to the sand and water. This was a very level and easy walk; however, the lighthouse is also accessible from the day use area where you can basically drive right up to it.

The Tawa Point Lighthouse was constructed in the 1800s and is the main attraction to many who come to Tawas Point. During our stay it was undergoing some hefty renovations, so tours were not an option. From my understanding the remodel will also include a museum in addition to needed reconstruction of the lighthouse itself. This is one of a few reasons we will likely plan a return trip.

Even if you’re not all that into lighthouses, this is worth a look. I honestly found the story it told about the land as interesting as the lighthouse itself. One of the informational signs shows an old photo of the lighthouse at construction, with boats right up next to it. It was built at the end of the point, but now this isn’t even halfway from the campground to the end of the water. It’s amazing how much new land the currents and sentiment have built up in the past century.

Sunset

Tummies were rumbling at this point and grumpiness had set in, so we made our way back to the cabin and saved the rest of the trail for the next day. Amazingly, still no rain despite the iffy forecast, which meant that it was campfire time.

This happened to be our first family campout of 2023, so it was time to celebrate with hotdogs and the first smores of the season. Temperatures had dipped into the forties. This meant the fire was more than just for cooking and ambiance. Spring is always unpredictable in Michigan (it had been in the 80s less than two weeks earlier), hence the reason for going with a cabin rather than just bringing the tents. I fully admit I ducked in more than once just to warm up a little bit as the sun got low.

As luck would have it, the sky cleared up just as the day was about to end, and we got to enjoy one of the beauties of where this campground is located. The sun sets right over Tawas across the bay from this vantage point, and it was a sight.

Unfortunately, the morning was overcast, but the point offers the chance to also see the sunrise on the water over on the Lake Huron side. This is where the day use area is, but if you’re staying at the campground, I would highly recommend making the short hike over in the predawn if you’re here when weather is favorable.

Fishing

Instead of a sunrise, my middle son especially was desperate to try out some of his new fishing gear. There is a pond that the mini cabins back up to. This seemed to be a better option for the small gear we had than shore fishing on any of the large bodies of water.

I will say that it’s not an ideal location for this, at least where we were. There was quite a bit of fallen branches along the shore. With a couple boys, newer to fishing, this made for an easy place to readily get tangled up when reeling in a possible catch.

In the end, we got a couple bites, but nothing more. A misty rain had begun soon after we started. After about an hour, the cold and damp had kinda won out. The fishing birds we watched had much better luck than we did, but the boys had fun and it scratched the fishing itch for the time being, so I call it a win.

Sandy Hook Nature Trail

Looking at the weather during the week leading up to this trip, we had planned for a washout. By in large, we got lucky. There was rain on Saturday, but with some decent sized gaps. During one of these we decided to temp fate and make our way out to the nature trail that ran out to the tip of Tawas Point.

The Sandy Hook trail is described as a birding trail. This is a protected area. No pets allowed and be sure to remain on the trail. We were here right at the start of the migration time that leads numerous species of birds up the east coast of Michigan. Most of those routes lead them straight through or close to this area.

We’re still working on teaching the boys, and learning ourselves, about the various species that make their home in our state. Even without any advanced knowledge it was clear that there was a surprising variety here for such a small locale.

The trail itself had a couple small hills, but was overall level, and there is a wide clear path that leads from the lighthouse to the end if you want an alternate route to avoid the to and frow of the nature trail. The only real issue we had was figuring out where exactly the trail led. There was some signage, but it wasn’t enough to navigate some spots. Unfortunately, many people go off trail, despite the repeated instruction not to, and the trails they end up leaving look as clear as the intended trail.

The trail in a couple places just seemed to disappear. After looking into this after the trip, I found that due to higher water, some parts of the trail had been closed off (there was nothing posted on the trail that suggested this). When all else failed we ultimately just took the shoreline to the end, where we met back up to the trail.

This was the point between waters I mentioned in the post’s title. Standing at the end of the trail, you’re facing Saginaw Bay, with Tawas on your right and Lake Huron on your left. According to the sign there are sections of the tip that get closed off to protect nests of Piping Plover, a threatened species of shorebird in Michigan. We were too early for this to be the case, but we nonetheless were careful to leave the area undisturbed. It was my oldest who brought up the old adage: Leave only footprints and take only pictures.

The Beaches

Being a peninsula, there is only one direction you can travel to not hit water. As mentioned, the point itself is a protected area, but the east and west both have beaches. One would think that being in the forties with a sprinkling rain that started after we returned from the trail, we’d be headed inside. Nope. The boys were adamant about heading over to the beach on the bay.

No swimming this trip, but they weren’t deterred. The time of year and the weather meant that they had the place to themselves. They took full advantage of this. The small sandy islands in the water turned into “deserted islands” that only a child’s imagination can truly appreciate.

They spent over an hour playing in the light rain before coming inside for warmth and dry clothes. Due to the nature of the currents, there is sediment deposited on the bay side making for a very large shallow area. According to what I could find it remains only a meter deep quite a distance out. This must be something during the summer months, making for a rather large and rather warm swimming area.

After only a short break in the cabin, the rain stopped again, and they were back out. This time I decided to nudge toward checking out the beach on the other shore. This is the area open for non-campers as well, but again, with the weather, it was nearly as empty as the other. Here, during the summer months, there’s a picnic shelter, concessions, and I have to imagine quite the crowds.

The Rain Wins

After just a little time at the other beach, the clouds finally opened up a bit. This time the sky was pretty dark and this seemed to be signaling a retreat to the warm indoors.

I’m a huge advocate for rustic camping, and it’s most of what I do. That said, I am coming around to the time and place for slightly more modern accommodations. This is particularly true to expand the time of year you can get out. There was a family setting up a large tent in the rain as we were getting back from the beach to take shelter. It looked to be an instant-tent type, and they got it up with little trouble. Still, I can’t lie, it was nice being in a heated cabin with hot coffee and some card games.

The boys still made a couple trips out to play in the little brush area and sand pit behind the cabin when the rain let up, but we ended up putting a stop to this when a couple deer ticks hitchhiked their way in. I was surprised by this due to the cold weather. Those guys are crazy resilient, so as always, be vigilant.

Ultimately it was a cold rainy evening, but that was ok. We had done all the things we had planned to do and more. Plus, this gave a more relaxing end to the trip. A slightly earlier bedtime and some well-needed sleep.

Summary

This was an absolutely beautiful location. I had heard of the Tawas area from multiple people, but I’m not big on crowds so it had gone to the back of my mind. The only reason we ended up there this time is we had decided on an April trip kinda late, and it was one of the only cabins open that wasn’t too much of a trek. As I said earlier, I think I’m a convert to the cabin concept in the edge months where weather is too much of a question mark.

In any case, I’m extremely glad we came here. This turned out to a perfect start to family camping for the year. This gave us a chance to work out some annual kinks and see what we were in need of getting before the long tent camping trips we have booked for the summer months.

I also must admit that I’m considering coming back and fighting the crowds in a future summer. For us it was only a 3-hour drive, but it’s worth a longer one. Add in the swimming and boating options in the warmer months, and this is certainly a place to give another look.