Crooked Lake Rustic Campground
Crooked Lake Rustic Campground is on the eastern side of Pinckney State Recreation Area. Located just a few miles south of Hell, the campground has just 25 sites located off an isolated dirt road.
There’s a dirt boat launch and a wooden floating pier side by side at the campground, both of which see more use in the warmer months. We tried our luck fishing on our trip to the park but weren’t able to catch anything. We’ve heard that folks have had good luck with panfish, but it was still early in the year when we visited.
To our count, the lake has less than a dozen homes on it, all of which are located on the western shoreline. Large portions of the lake are shallow and swampy, and there are a few islands and peninsulas throughout as well. We were unable to bring kayaks on our trip, but when we return, we’re definitely going to. The lake is a perfect spot for a sunrise paddle.
There is a ton of hiking around the campsite, most notably the Potawatomi Trail, a 17.6-mile loop trail that meanders through the area. If that’s a little too long for your liking, the Crooked Lake Loop is around 4 miles and circles the lake. There aren’t a ton of lake views or scenic vistas, but it’s a nice hike all the same.
When we were camping here, there was an abundance of sandhill cranes on the lake and near the campsite. Their calls were prominent in the morning, but they could be heard and seen all day long. We also saw a number of tree swallows, which have a beautiful blue backside, as it was their breeding season.
Camping at Crooked Lake feels like a different world compared to the cities within an hour’s drive of its shoreline. Detroit and Lansing are just an hour away, and Ann Arbor is half that (or a two-hour bike ride). Once you’ve arrived, Hell and Pinckney are a short drive away for dinner or entertainment, but I’d rather kick back and enjoy everything Crooked Lake has to offer.
