Monthly Archives: January 2019

Sometimes it gets frustrating making reservation on the website. Either the site you want is not available or the website is not working correctly. It is still way better than the old way of making reservations. I have been camping since the 80’s and I remember to make reservations you would mail a check to Lansing with a reservation form you got at one of the parks. Yes, the old school way of sticking it in an envelope with a stamp. E-mail was just a futuristic dream at that time.  When Lansing received your check either they would process it and if the dates and park you wanted were available they would send you a letter back confirming your reservation. If not they would mail your check back to you. If you were able to get a reservation, the DNR would save a site for you but they did not save a specific site for you. Lansing would mail a list of reservations to the state park and when you showed up they would look on the list for your name. Most of the parks had a large whiteboard behind the counter with a map of the campground. If someone was camped on a site they would write the date they left on that campsite. You could choose from any available campsite. That means that if you get there early in the day you had more sites to choose from. If you made it there Friday night you may be getting the only remaining site in the park.

I was told that the DNR only reserved about half of the campground and the rest were available for walk-ins. That meant that most people would get there on Thursday to get a site and the earlier you got there the more sites you could choose from.  The new system is not perfect, but it is nice knowing you have reservations and what site you are on. I remember going up north going from park to park looking for one that was not full hoping to find a campsite for a holiday weekend.

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In 1898, Sam Crawford purchased fifty-three thousand acres of stumpland around Menominee and began logging operations on the hemlock growing among the pine stumps. Five hundred of these acres were was still virgin timber, and Crawford intentionally preserved it. John Walter Wells, part owner of the Bird-Wells Lumber Company, later purchase this land. Wells died in 1921, and in 1925 his children donated 335 acres of virgin timber, including 2.5 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, to the state of Michigan to establish a park. An additional 131 acres which had been purchased by the Menominee County Road Commission was added to create the park.

Development of the park began in 1927–28. Trees were planted and stoves, toilets, a well, and play equipment were installed. In 1929 a log bathhouse was constructed. Much of the development in the park was done by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). In 1933, a two-hundred man camp was established, and over the next 10 years, the CCC developed five distinct areas within the park: the day-use (or picnic) area, the residence area, the group camp area, the campground area, and the trails and trailside shelters area. The CCC undertook a major reforestation project in the park, constructed three miles of foot trails, a parking lot, recreational fields, and sanitary facilities

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At the end of WWII and the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear bombs, the world was forever changed ushering in the Cold War. You probably know the Manhatten project’s mission was to create the first nuclear weapons. But you probably did not know that it started with a clandestine meeting on the beach at Otsego Lake State Park.  Dr. Arthur H. Compton a Nobel Prize-winning physicist was placed in charge of the project. He met with theoretical physicist Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer on the beach to discuss if the project was even possible. Dr. Compton had a  summer home on Otsego Lake and chose the state park for the meeting because he knew it was a secluded spot and would be away from enemy spies. After the men agreed that it could be done they continued moving forward with the government’s plans to create the first atomic bomb.

If you find this interesting check out my Lost In Michigan books that are ON SALE this weekend. be sure to get yours before the sale ends on Monday. you can order them HERE

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At only 36 acres Wilson is one of the smallest parks in the system but it has a lot of history. The land along the western shoreline of Budd Lake for the state park was donated to the city of Harrison in 1900, then transferred to the state in 1922. The park was originally the site of the Wilson Brothers Sawmill and Company Store, which thrived in the late 1800s The state park was dedicated in 1927. The Civilian Conservation Corps was active in the park from 1939 to 1941 and built the magnificent stone and wood beach house designed by Ralph B. Herrick. He designed many other buildings for the state parks including the Ludington beach house.

If you like history and traveling Michigan I am doing a book giveaway on my lost In Michigan website. if you want a chance to win a copy of Lost In Michigan CLICK HERE to learn how you can enter

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The Michigan State Parks began in 1919 after the passage of Public Act 218, which created the Michigan State Park Commission to acquire lands for state parks. After a couple of years, the state acquired land donated by lumber barons or became the property of the state because of delinquent taxes. The state also purchased property for public use such as Interlochen State Park. By the early 1920s, the state had 25 parks. It’s interesting looking at the list as some of the names have changed and some parks are now city or county parks.

• Mackinac Island
• Michilimackinac State Park, Mackinaw City
• D. H. Day State Park, Glen Arbor
• Traverse City State Park, Traverse City
• Boyne City State Park, Boyne City
• Onaway State Park, Onaway
• Harrisville State Park, Harrisville
• Cheboygan State Park, Cheboygan
• Cadillac State Park, Cadillac
• Interlochen State Park, Interlochen
• East Tawas State Park, East Tawas Bay
• Paw Paw State Park,
• Gladwin State Park, Gladwin
• Harrison State Park, Harrison
• Frank W. Fletcher State Park (Sunken Lake), Presque Isle County
• Charles Mears State Park, Pentwater
• Dunes State Park, Silver Lake
• White Cloud State Park, White Cloud
• Burt Lake State Park, Indian River
• Adrian State Park,  Irish Hills area
• Grand Haven State Park, Grand Haven
• Otsego Lake Park Site, Otsego County
• Muskegon State Park, Muskegon
• Lyon Lake Park Site, Calhoun County
• Hanson’s Military Reservation, Grayling

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