Campground Review: St. Ignace/Mackinac Island KOA Holiday (St. Ignace, Michigan)

We stayed at the St. Ignace/Mackinac Island KOA Holiday in St. Ignace, Michigan, in July 2026, during our Oshkosh or Bust RV road trip.

The KOA was our base for Mackinac Island, the Mackinac Bridge and a first peek at the Upper Peninsula. (Here’s how the rest of our week in St. Ignace went.)

Quick Facts

• 📍 Location: St. Ignace, MI, at the north end of the Mackinac Bridge, about a five-minute shuttle ride from the Mackinac Island ferry docks
• 🏕️ Our site: Site 6 on Home Drive. Back-in, gravel, a bit unlevel, full hookups, shady and tucked between trees
• ⛳ Amenities: Mini golf (see below) and a small camp store in the office. We didn’t really use the amenities.
• 🔌 Utilities: Full hookups, no problems all week
• 📡 Starlink: Worked great, even with the trees
• 🚌 Ferry shuttle: Free, from the front office to the docks
• 🐕 Dog-friendly: Yes. The park is big and great for dog walks.
• 💵 What we paid: About $84 a night
• 🔗 Website: koa.com/campgrounds/st-ignace

Check-In

Check-in was quick and easy at the office up front. There’s plenty of room for rigs to pull over while you run inside, and the office doubles as a little camp store stocked with the necessities of RV life. The roads through the park are pretty narrow, but easy enough to navigate.

The Back-In (and the Audience)

Then came the main event. We were on site 6, on Home Drive, and it was nearly impossible to back into. When we swung the nose of the truck around, the trees and poles across the road were in the way. When we tried a different approach, the trees on the site side were the problem. It took about two re-approaches and a whole lot of back and forth to get the fifth wheel in.

Then a guy from the campground came over to direct us. He tried his best, but he doesn’t know our rig or the way we talk each other in, so it ultimately didn’t help. We’re a pretty good team at backing in, and we did not need an audience. Once he left, we went back to doing it our way and were tucked in shortly after. (Our whole setup routine is here: how we set up camp.)

Once we were in, everything was right where it needed to be. The site is gravel and a bit unlevel, so plan on some leveling.

The Vibe: Rustic, Clean and Quiet

It was OK. A bit rustic, but clean. We arrived the Sunday after the Fourth, and once the holiday crowd went home, the park was mostly empty for the rest of the week. That suited us just fine. We didn’t hear any road noise either.

Utilities and Starlink

No complaints here. Utilities were solid all week, and Starlink worked great even with all those trees, which matters when you’re working from the RV during the week.

The Mini Golf of Doom

The campground has a mini golf course right by the main highway, and Mack lovingly christened it “the mini golf of doom.” It’s seen a few summers, and we admired it from a safe distance. But plenty of people were out there playing, especially families with smaller kids, and they looked like they were having a great time. If you’re traveling with little ones, it’s an easy evening activity without leaving the campground.

Walking the Dog

This is where the KOA really worked for us. The park is big, and with it fairly quiet after the holiday weekend, walking the dog through the grounds was a pleasure.

Does It Live Up to “Holiday”?

KOA uses three tiers: Journey (an overnight stop near the highway), Holiday (more amenities and activities for a longer stay) and Resort (the full works). This one is a Holiday. With its rustic feel, we’d say it’s on the humbler end of the label, but we also didn’t use much beyond our site and the dog walks.

Location

This is where the KOA really earns the “Mackinac Island” in its name. It sits on US-2 just west of town, about two miles off I-75 (Exit 344 once you’re over the bridge), so you’re close to everything without being in the middle of it.

Getting to the island is easy. KOA runs a free shuttle to the ferry docks that leaves from the front office, and the ride only takes about five minutes. We took it because we thought parking at the docks might be an issue. It wouldn’t have been, but the shuttle was easy and one less thing to think about. (Here’s how our day on Mackinac Island went, wrong ferry and all.)

Straits State Park is about five minutes away, too. It has observation platforms with views of the Mackinac Bridge and a stretch of Lake Huron shoreline, and it’s a great spot to watch the bridge. Downtown St. Ignace is about five minutes the other way, with the fudge shops, pasty shops, the Huron Boardwalk and the ferry docks right on State Street.

It’s also a handy spot if something comes up with your rig. After our run-in with a deer near Frankfort, we wanted Ford’s own eyes on the truck, and Sarah Jones Ford was only about half a mile from the campground. They gave us a ride back to the KOA after we dropped it off, and when it was ready we just walked over to pick it up.

Which Sites to Ask For

If we came back, we’d head straight for the back area, where the streets are named after the Great Lakes (sites 79 to 133). It’s way more spacious than where we were, and a lot friendlier to a big rig (and all pull-throughs). There also aren’t many trees, which makes it more Starlink-friendly.

Who This Campground Is For

Great for: RVers who want a simple, shady, full-hookup base camp for Mackinac Island and the bridge, and dog owners who like room to roam.

Probably not ideal if: You’re nervous about tight back-ins with a big rig (ask for the back area, sites 79 to 133), or you want polished resort amenities.

Would We Stay Again?

Yes. It’s clean, quiet once the holiday crowd leaves and a great base camp for Mackinac Island, with a free shuttle to the ferry. Next time we’d just ask for a site in the back, on the Great Lakes streets.

See the whole route on Oshkosh or Bust.

Have you stayed near the Mackinac Bridge? Tell us where in the comments!