Timber Ridge Resort

The best kid friendly campground around. The staff are very friendly and have plenty of activities for your kids. The mountain bike course and trails are very challenging. Easy access to anywhere in the Traverse City area. Will definitely be going back to this campground with the Family

The facilities were nice but the staff were not. The woman who checked us in was cranky and rude, as was the activities director. Sassy would be the more appropriate word. I work in outdoor rec and the attitude and behavior was unacceptable, yet consistent in this place.
Again, facilities are nice but if you come, be prepared for no hospitality and lots of rude employees.

We checked in to Timber Ridge Resort on Sunday July 26 planning to stay a week. We checked out two days later after spending our first day in a local ER due to a biking accident that occurred at the park. My son fractured both his wrist and one was also dislocated after he and his father took a bike ride to explore the camp and unknowingly entered the BMX trail where my son lost control of his bike due to erosion of sand and flipped into a four foot ravine that was not blocked in any way. There were several entrances to the trail but only a couple are marked with signs noting it was a trail for experienced riders only. There was a sign inside the trail warning of steep drops and jumps but that sign was posted on a tree after the site where my son was injured. After returning to from the ER we were over at the site looking for an oral retainer my son had lost when he landed and we noticed the obvious negligence. We also observed another child fall twice off a bridge and land in a deep ditch. There was a board broken in the middle and missing which was causing kids to be thrown from their bicycles if they hit that gap. The ditch below was full of broken trees with limbs sticking out that could actually impale a child if they landed directly on them.
When we went to the office to check out and demand a full refund (which we were given) a woman at the desk stated that she was the manager and immediately told us that the BMX trail was a «ride at your own risk» to which we replied that there were no signs identifying it as the BMX trail where they had entered. We asked if we could please show the her where the accident occurred and she and another male went with us, taking several pictures. In addition we showed them the bridge and helped her find the missing board so it could be repaired. She was very concerned, agreeing that the sites were indeed dangerous and needed interventions immediately, she also stated that the owner would be notified.
It isn’t only the BMX trail that leaves me wondering. If you are a business that advertises directly to parents that your resort is great for kids, why would you not do all that you can to maintain the highest level of safety? There is no lifeguard on duty at any time at the pool. The average lifeguard’s yearly salary in Traverse City is $ 16,000.00 and since Timber Ridge would only need to hire a lifeguard no more than four months out of the year for their outdoor pool that factors down to roughly the cost of one site fee a week. If in the event a child would need CPR until the local EMT arrives why would you not be happy to be able to provide that as a «kid friendly» resort?
Timber Ridge states that they are a great site for families and everything looks good on the surface but take your own maintenance equipment and learn CPR before you go.

Worst experience ever, very dirty campground. Roads are full of potholes, sites are soft sand with deep run offs. Book 6 months early with a group to be placed together. When we arrived they gave our site away, then try to move us rows away from our group. Showers you have to pay for cold water. Would not recommend this campground.

Nice entrance and front office. Nice buildings to host events. Entrance is gated with keycard access. Playground is rundown. Broken slide with no caution tape on it very dangerous. Trash all over the playground not cleaned up. Dangerous sharp mulch under the swings. Cool rock climbing that is out of service. Awesome wooden bike course but agIn run down and needed fixed. Nice pool by the lodge. Able to rent bikes and quad sit down bikes but very pricey. The basic cabin was a good deal. Bathroom in the cabin and 4 beds lots of space and all the kitchen utensils included. Roads were not paved and very bouncy. I don’t know that I saw an adult the entire time we were there at the main office. The person that checked us in and was there looked like she was 16. Over all I think this campground used to be an awesome place but it looks like it needs management and some TLC.

Old, rundown RV park (except the front office) — potholed roads (bounced our RV all over), bathrooms are dirty (with pay showers), no laundry, no wifi — with all the good reviews and the $ 50 a night price tag (for an RV spot) I expected more. Not sure why you would stay here if you had another RV option :(

Feels like home here. Beautiful campground with great trail access, hard working staff, and tons of great events. Bring the whole family! Timber Ridge is a small slice of heaven.

Great place for year round fun. Camping, hiking biking, cross country skiing, pool, dodge ball for kids, etc… Close to VASA Trail and a short drive to Traverse City.

In the summer of 2010 we stayed at one of the bunkhouses at Timber Ridge. There was a total of 10 of us, 6 adults and four children. The accommodations were clean and while space was tight it was well laid out to make good use of the space available. All kinds of kitchen utensils were provided (mixing bowls, table and silverware, spatulas, coffee maker, etc.) The staff was friendly and available and while we didn’t take part there were plenty of activities to get involved in. Things that impressed me: Northern Michigan has plenty of bugs looking for a good quick meal. At Timber Ridge this was practically a non-​issue. Finding a non RV park with internet access (for one of us it was a working vacation) was a challenge in this region, but Timber Ridge came through!
In short– If you’re looking for a pretty traditional, middle ground between remote and modern, family friendly campground you could scarcely do better than this campground.

I cannot believe this place doesn’t have more (excellent) reviews! My fiancée and I went to Timber Ridge during the winter to try cross-​country skiing for the first time. The staff was extremely friendly and informative. The prices are also affordable. We were able to go classic cross-​country skiing for a couple hours and then come back and switch to equipment to try skate skiing (which was more difficult). The resort was beautiful and connects to the gorgeous North American VASA Trail (
). We had a great time and look forward to going back to explore more of the VASA snowshoeing.
Though I cannot speak for the summer months (Cosmic Dodgeball is supposed to be highly popular then), I highly recommend a winter excursion to Timber Ridge if you are in the Traverse City area.

You know how you sometimes indulge in adult beverages at social events such as wedding receptions, and then you have to designate a fellow guest as your designated driver back to the hotel, or, worse yet, be that DD? Imagine if you could stay at the same place as the aforementioned reception, but it was way awesomer than a hotel. That’s Timber Ridge.
Our friend’s wedding reception was held at the events lodge of Timber Ridge, so we booked a cabin for mid-​October. Upon arrival, we found that there had been a mix-​up with the reservation. This would normally be a disaster, since seemingly every hotel room in Traverse City was either booked or many magnitudes out of our price range. Timber Ridge came through with flying colors, however, by shifting things around and hosting us in a cozy bunkhouse. The staff was incredibly helpful and kind throughout our stay.
The events site was perfect for a fall reception. I especially liked the tent area with heat lamps and the enormous fire pit, and the indoor space had more character than some anonymous catering hall.
Overall, Timber Ridge was ideal for any kind of destination event, especially destination events which preclude driving afterward.