Long Lake State Forest Campground Boat Launch

Three trailer spots is all you get. If you're rolling in on a Saturday morning in July, there's a decent chance you're out of luck. Weekday mornings are your best bet — by mid-morning on weekends, you're parking creatively or turning around.

Single lane, and it's a basic state forest launch — don't expect anything fancy. Fine for 16-footers and smaller, but I wouldn't try to wrestle anything big down here. The approach is tight and there's no real staging area, so if someone's loading out when you arrive, just hang back.

This launch lives inside the campground, so the regulars — some of whom have been coming here for decades — treat it like their personal dock. It's a loyal crowd, not unfriendly, but don't expect them to rush their evening fishing so you can back in. The restrooms in the campground are a nice perk though.

If you want a no-fuss launch on a smaller Grand Traverse County lake without the circus of bigger public access sites, this is it. The trade-off is zero amenities beyond the restroom and almost no parking, but the payoff is a peaceful lake that doesn't get hammered by jet skis and wake boats.