Author Archives: Mike Sonnenberg

Camp Michigan’s Unofficial State Park Handbook

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Introducing my new State Park Handbook. I have been working on this book for almost a year. I visited all the parks with a modern campground in the northern half of the Lower Peninsula and photographed the bathroom buildings, beaches and other things of interest. I always wanted a book that would tell me the stuff I wanted to know like what are the bathrooms like or what is near the park. I wrote what I think is the definitive guide to helping you decide which state park you want to camp at. If you have been camping for a while or a new RV owner, this is a book that you can use as a resource for years to come and discover new places to camp in Michigan.  You can order your copy HERE

 

P.S. I have plans on writing a book for the parks in the Upper Peninsula and the southern part of Michigan, but it is going to be a few years yet. I hope the sales of this book will help me with expenses to visit the other parks and write reviews for them.

State Park March Madness Top 8

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This round of voting is closed, you can vote for the final four HERE

The sweet 16 polls have finished and we are on to the top 8 round. Did your favorite make it into the next round? You can see the results of the sweet 16 round HERE. Lots of fantastic parks in this round, It was a tough battle between Ludington and Tawas Point, but it beat out Ludington. Pick your favorite in each matchup and the winner will move on to the final four round.

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Leelanau State Park’s Lighthouse

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Michigans State Parks not only have some of the states most scenic natural beauty but they are also home to some historic buildings. Many of those buildings are lighthouses that have guided captains and their ships for decades. The Leelanau State Park at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula stands the Grand Traverse Lighthouse guiding ships into Grand Traverse Bay.  The current lighthouse was built in 1858 replacing the first lighthouse constructed on the point. It was poorly built and only lasted about 6 years. The current lighthouse was deactivated in 1972 when it was replaced by an electric light on a steel skeletal tower.  The Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum, a non-profit group, renovated the old lighthouse in the 1980s and it is open for tours. The times that I have visited, the museum was closed, and I have never been inside but I hope to soon.

Time to announce the winner of the Camp Michigan t-shirt, congratulations to Richard Burr, He was the winner chosen at random, please email at Mike@huronphoto with your shirt size and address and I will send out your shirt.

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The History of Orchard Beach

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In the late 1887s, George Hart cleared the land where the park is now and planted an apple orchard, which gave the park its name. The orchard sat on a high bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. By 1892 Hart had built a boardwalk and theater to attract more tourists. With its growing popularitey, A trolley line ran from Manistee for people to visit enjoying the view and sunsets over Lake Michigan.

As Michiganders fell in love with the automobile few people were using the trolly and passenger trains.  Trolley service to the park eventually stopped and the site was purchased by the Manistee Board of Commerce which deeded it to the state to become part of the Michigan state park system in 1921.  The state built a campground among the apple trees and purchased the dairy farm across the street which is now a natural area and used for hiking trails.

The limestone buildings in the park were designed by architect Ernest F. Hartwick and built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of Franklin D. Roosevelts “New Deal”. The apple trees are gone and large oak and maple trees have taken their place. It would have been interesting camping in an orchard. Could you pick the apples from the trees on your site?  Unfortunately, the stairway leading to Lake Michigan is closed due to erosion however the park has been upgraded with some full hook-up sites.  The park was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2009, cited as “one of the most intact examples of a Michigan state park developed in the 1930s and 1940s

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State Park March Madness Sweet 16

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This round of polls are closed, you can vote for the top 8 Here

The first round of polls has finished and we are on to the Sweet 16 round. Did your favorite make it into the next round? you can see the results of round 1 HERE. It is going to be hard to choose between them, but pick your favorite in each matchup and the winner will move on to the next round.

 

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After you have voted don’t forget to enter the giveaway for your chance to win a T-shirt HERE

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State Parks Centennial Events

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2019 marks the 100th year the state authorized the Michigan State Parks. To Celebrate many parks have special centennial celebrations or events with special centennial activities. Believe it or not, there are some events starting in Mid-March and in April. You can see the current list HERE Be sure to check back later this spring as I think the different parks will add events as we get further into the camping season.

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The First Lady of Michigan State Parks

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Emma Genevieve Gillette Photo from the Michigan Archives

Emma Genevieve Gillette was born in Lansing on May 19, 1898 and attended Michigan Agricultural College which became Michigan State University. The  Superintendent of Parks P.J. Hoffmaster asked Gillette to scout the state for areas of land having Potential to be a state park. Beginning in 1924, she helped locate and raise public support and funding for parks at Ludington, Hartwick Pines, Wilderness, and Porcupine Mountains. Other parks included Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks system, and what was to become the P. J. Hoffmaster State Park in the sand dunes area of Lake Michigan between Grand Haven and Muskegon.

She founded and was president of the Michigan Parks Association, a group that worked relentlessly lobbying the government for funding and support of the parks. The Gillette Nature Center at the Hoffmaster State Park, which was dedicated in 1976, was named in her honor.

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The Sears House at Hoeft

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Near the shores of Lake Huron in Hoeft State Park is a pleasant little house that is available for visitors to rent. This is no ordinary house since it is a historic Sears mail-order kit house. Built by park rangers and the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1929, it was erected on the road the leads into the campground. The model was the Sears-Roebuck Rodessa, but the floor plan was modified by the builders so the house could accommodate two ranger’s families if needed. The house has three bedrooms and sleeps up to eight people. It includes a Sunroom, game room, master bedroom with an attached bathroom. Sears Catalog Homes were catalog and kit houses sold primarily through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Company. Sears reported that more than 70,000 of these homes were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. More than 370 different home designs in a wide range of architectural styles and sizes were offered over the program’s 33-year history.

If you’re looking for a house to stay at in northern Michigan, check out the lodge at Hoeft state park. Or next time you are at Hoeft and drive past it going to the campground, you will know a little bit about this magnificent little lodge.

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Camp Michigan’s State Park March Madness Poll

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This round of polls are closed you can vote in the next round HERE

I thought it would be fun to find out what everyones favorite Michigan State Park is in this unofficial March Madness style poll. I took the list of state parks, recreations areas and scenic sites from the DNR list and grouped them into 16 different regions. Pick your favorite from each region and after the polls close on March 11th the winners will go on to the next round of polls.

After you have voted you will be able to see the curent results of the polls

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After you have voted don’t forget to enter the giveaway for your chance to win a T-shirt HERE

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Camp Michigan T-Shirt Giveaway

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Here is your chance to win a Camp Michigan T-Shirt. To enter the giveaway you have to be a subscriber to Camp Michigan. If you have not subscribed to Camp Michigan you can do it HERE . After you subscribed, or if you are already a subscriber, then comment at the bottom of this post on which state park is your favorite. (Note that I use Facebook for comments, If you are not able to comment be sure you have a facebook account and are logged in on the device you are using to post comments. )

I will choose a winner from the comments at random and they will be announced in a post on www.CampMichigan.org on Sunday, March 17th

 

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