RV Dump Stations Michigan
- Alto
- Bay City
- Belleville
- Brighton
- Buchanan
- Byron Center
- Cedar Springs
- Charlotte
- Commerce Township
- Coopersville
- Dundee
- Emmett
- Grand Ledge
- Grand Rapids
- Holland
- Holly
- Howell
- Hudsonville
- Kimball
- Lansing
- Leonard
- Livonia
- Macomb
- Marquette
- Marshall
- Middleville
- Milan
- Milford
- Monroe
- Muskegon
- New Hudson
- Northville
- Norton Shores
- Plymouth
- Port Huron
- Ray
- Romulus
- Saginaw
- Shelby Township
- St Clair
- Sterling Heights
- Traverse City
- Trenton
- Warren
- Waterford Twp
- Westland
- White Lake
- Ypsilanti Township
- Zeeland
If you love camping, you’re going to love Michigan. This state just gets it. With a culture built around heading "up north" to the lake for the weekend, RVing is deeply woven into the fabric of life here, and the infrastructure reflects that. Finding a place to empty your black tank is rarely a source of stress in the Great Lakes State. From the urban centers of the Lower Peninsula to the wild, untamed beauty of the Upper Peninsula, you are almost always within a reasonable distance of a dump station. It’s one of the most RV-friendly states in the country, hands down.
The state park system is the backbone of Michigan’s RV support network. It’s extensive, it’s well-maintained, and nearly every single state park campground has a clean, modern, and easily accessible dump station. For a very reasonable price, you can buy an annual "Recreation Passport" that gets your vehicle into every state park for the entire year. If you plan on visiting more than a couple of parks, it pays for itself almost immediately and covers your access to their dump facilities. Even if you’re not staying the night, you can typically use the day-use area and the dump station. This makes the state parks perfect pit stops to stretch your legs, have a picnic lunch, and take care of your tanks all at once.
Outside of the parks, you have plenty of other choices. The U.P., while remote, is a camper’s paradise and is dotted with private campgrounds and even some small-town travel centers that understand the needs of RVers. In the Lower Peninsula, especially around tourist hotspots like Traverse City or anywhere along the Lake Michigan shoreline, private RV parks are everywhere. And for a unique Michigan experience, if you happen to be in Ann Arbor for a football weekend, you’ll find that the whole area becomes RV central. Many of the large lots set up for tailgating either have their own dump facilities or can point you to a nearby one to use after the game. It’s a level of accommodation you don’t see everywhere. The major interstates like I-75 and I-94 are also well-served by the big chain truck stops, which almost always offer dumping for a nominal fee.
The one major consideration, of course, is winter. Michigan winters are legendary, and they bring the seasonal camping world to a halt. In the U.P. and the northern Lower Peninsula, the vast majority of campground dump stations will close and have their water shut off sometime in October, not to reopen until spring. Your options become much more limited, but not impossible. You’ll need to rely on the year-round RV parks, which are more common downstate, or the major truck stops that keep their services running even in the freezing cold. I remember one chilly November trip across the U.P. where my entire route was planned around hitting the one known open truck stop in St. Ignace before crossing the Mackinac Bridge. A phone call ahead during the colder months is absolutely essential.
Given that the state is defined by the Great Lakes, protecting the water is a point of immense pride and public concern. Using only official dump sites is a must. The good news is that they make it so easy to do the right thing, there’s no excuse not to. With its abundance of beautiful waterfront campgrounds and a dump station seemingly around every corner, Michigan makes it easy to just relax and enjoy the ride.