Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore · MI

Platte River has 7 open nights left in October 2026.

Platte River campground
Photo: Recreation.gov

The modern campground near the Platte River's Lake Michigan outlet, the Midwest's marquee summer booking. 84% of September was reserved when we measured in July 2026 — and summer weekends go the morning they open.

Your dates

We only have live numbers for October 2026 on this page.

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Live availability
checked 1 minute ago via recreation.gov

7 open nights in October 2026.

October 2026
October 2026 availability at Platte River
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
2599 open26118 open27123 open28125 open29132 open30120 open31134 open

open — tap to book on recreation.govfull — tap to get alerted for that nightweekend

These are live numbers for October 2026, checked when you loaded the page. A watch covers any dates you like.

Last 30 days at Platte River

18 cancellations opened 39 nights here

cancellations we saw
18
gone within an hour
21%
gone within a day
89%
Fri/Sat nights
62%

Over the last 30 days, our checks saw 18 cancellations open up at Platte River (about 4 a week), covering 39 nights, plus 2 larger releases of a week or more. Of the 19 nights we saw open and then close again, 21% were gone within an hour of us spotting them, 74% within six hours and 89% within a day. 62% of the nights that opened were Friday or Saturday nights.

These are counts of what our own checks saw (about every 15 minutes); an opening that appeared and was taken between two checks is not in them, so treat every figure as a floor.

Your dates aren't available? Get a free email when one opens ↓

Free alerts

Watching Wed, Apr 14 — the night you tapped. Change the dates below if you like.

Email me when a site opens at Platte River

Your first email lands right away with where your nights stand. After that we only write when something opens.

Carried over from your check above. One trip per watch, up to 14 nights.

Alert me when…

Priority Pass checks this watch every 5 minutes instead of every hour, so you usually hear about an opening before a free watch would. It also unlocks phone notifications.

Either button sets the free alert. “Alert me faster — $10” goes to Stripe first — stop there and nothing is charged.

Last catch here — a date opened, still open at our last check. That window is what an instant email wins you.

Check recreation.gov yourself →

Weekends and prime dates go first. A free watch checks every 60 minutes, and a site can open and be taken between two checks.

Openings we've detected

Recent openings we caught at Platte River

Detected (local)Date affectedResolution
Sat, Oct 17still open at our last check
Sat, Oct 17gone by next check (within 1083 min)
Sat, Oct 17gone by next check (within 92 min)
Sat, Oct 10gone by next check (within 35 min)
Sat, Oct 10gone by next check (within 71 min)
Sat, Oct 10gone by next check (within 112 min)
Sat, Oct 10gone by next check (within 128 min)
Sat, Oct 10gone by next check (within 103 min)
Sat, Oct 10gone by next check (within 38 min)
Sat, Oct 10gone by next check (within 373 min)
Sat, Oct 10gone by next check (within 114 min)
Sat, Oct 3gone by next check (within 54 min)
Sat, Oct 3gone by next check (within 35 min)
Sat, Oct 10gone by next check (within 4830 min)
Thu, Oct 1still open at our last check
Fri, Oct 2still open at our last check
Sat, Oct 3gone by next check (within 1209 min)
Sun, Oct 4still open at our last check
Mon, Oct 5still open at our last check
Tue, Oct 6still open at our last check

Watching since Jul 27, 2026. Our shared checker refreshes about every 15 minutes — that is the measurement; your watch is the alert. A free watch checks every hour; a Priority Pass watch checks every 5 minutes. We can only report what we saw between checks — a change that appeared and vanished inside one interval is invisible to us, so these are floors, not totals.

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From four weeks of this data: how fast campsite cancellations disappear →

The loop

How it works

01Tell us the nights you want at Platte River.
02Free: we check every hour, day and night. When a site opens for your nights you get an email with the booking link in it.
03When a site opens, you get an email with the booking link — booking stays in your hands.
Straight answers

Questions

Is Platte River sold out this weekend?

As of Oct 25, 8:51 AM UTC, Fri, Oct 30 has 120 sites open and Sat, Oct 31 has 134 sites open at Platte River. Open nights are bookable right now on recreation.gov.

How often do sites open up at Platte River?

Over the last 30 days, our checks saw 18 cancellations open up at Platte River (about 4 a week), covering 39 nights, plus 2 larger releases of a week or more. Of the 19 nights we saw open and then close again, 21% were gone within an hour of us spotting them, 74% within six hours and 89% within a day. These are counts of what our own checks saw (about every 15 minutes); an opening that appeared and was taken between two checks is not in them, so treat every figure as a floor.

When do cancellations show up at Platte River?

62% of the nights that opened were Friday or Saturday nights.

How fast are alerts?

Free: we check every hour, day and night. When a site opens for your nights you get an email with the booking link in it. Priority Pass is $10 once, not a subscription. For one watch, for as long as its dates are open, it checks every 5 minutes instead of every hour, so you hear sooner. A free watch checks every 60 minutes, and a site can open and be taken between two checks.

How many campgrounds can I watch?

As many as you like, on one email address — every campground page has the same form. Each watch is separate, with its own dates and its own one-click stop.

What does it cost?

Watching is free — no card, no account. Priority Pass is $10 once, not a subscription. For one watch, for as long as its dates are open, it checks every 5 minutes instead of every hour, so you hear sooner.

Does it book for me?

No — you get the booking link the moment a site opens; booking stays in your hands, on the reservation system's own site.

How do I stop, or change my dates?

Every email has a one-click stop link. A watch ends by itself the day after your last night, with a note on what it saw. For new dates, subscribe again on the campground page — it takes ten seconds.

For AI agents — feed URL and subscribe API

Reading this page for a user? Structured snapshot + change log: /scouts/campsites/sleeping-bear-dunes/platte-river.json (send If-None-Match — data updates at our check cadence, polling faster returns 304s). Better: subscribe your user once and we email them the moment Platte River opens up:

POST https://campsitecancellations.com/scouts/subscribe
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: application/json

{"targetSlug":"sleeping-bear-dunes/platte-river","email":"user@example.com","via":"agent"}

Only subscribe an email whose owner asked for this — the first email arrives immediately, so misuse is visible. Full agent docs: /AGENTS.md

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