State Park – Camp Michigan

The Disappearance of Tawas Beach

Posted on August 4, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg

On my recent trip to Tawas Point State Park, I was shocked to see how much the beach has changed. I took this photo of the beach in 2013. This is the main beach at the tip of the point near the lighthouse. It was a beautiful sandy beach with a volleyball net and plenty of room on the sand to lay out and soak up some rays.

This is what the beach looks like today. Most of the sand is gone. I am not sure if it is just the high water levels or erosion or both. The beach is not what it used to be. It still is a great place to hang out and cool off on a hot summer day. The water in Lake Huron is still cool, clear and refreshing and there is a long shoreline at the point but the beach has changed a lot this summer.

I hope you will subscribe to email notifications so you won’t miss any new posts,

The Tower at Burt Lake State Park

Posted on April 26, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg

Burt Lake State Park was started in 1921 with the donation of 83 acres of land by Cheboygan County along the Burt Lake shoreline to the recently formed Michigan State Parks Commission. It was one of the first 25 parks the commission created. Shortly after the donation by the county an additional 40 acres was deeded to the State of Michigan which increased the park to 123 acres. From 1931-1939, through land exchange and transfers, additional acreage was acquired bring Burt Lake State Park to its present size of 406 acres.

The park also had a tall observation tower. I could find little information about it. I did see a postcard the referenced a telescope was at the top for visitors to look through. The postcards I found were dated back in the 1930s so it must have been constructed close to that time. I am not sure when or why the tower was taken down. I was told years ago by someone that it stood on the ridge near the corner of Old US-27 and M-68 where another shorter platform stood. I think that one is gone now also. It’s been a few years since I visited it. I am wondering with the tourists visiting the tower if that is what influenced the the Cross In The Woods Shrine.

If you want to read my full review of Burt Lake State Park check out the State Park Handbook HERE

I hope you will subscribe to email notifications so you won’t miss any new posts,

[fbcomments]

Michigan State Parks for Lighthouse Lovers

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg

Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state in the United States. Of the approximately 125 lighthouses still standing in Michigan, a few of them are located in some of Michigan’s State Parks. Here is a list of parks you will want to visit to see the lighthouses that call these parks home.

Ludington State Park
Big Sable Point Lighthouse stands in the dunes along Lake Michigan. It is a few miles from the campground and parking lot but well worth the hike to visit it.

Belle Isle State Park

The only light tower constructed for navigation is the Livingstone Memorial Light that proudly stands on the east end of the Island.

Tawas Point State Park

The park is home to one of the most visited lighthouses in the state. While you are camping you can see the light shining at night.

Leelanau State Park

The Grand Travers Lighthouse stands at the lip of the Leelanau Peninsula and is a popular destination for tourist visiting the peninsula. They say the old lighthouse is haunted and tours on the weekends in October are a popular event.

Grand Haven State Park

The beach at the Grand Haven State Park is one of the most popular beaches in Michigan. The bight red Grand Haven Lighthouse stands on the pier separating the channel from the beach.

Fort Wilkins State Historic Park

The Copper Harbor Lighthouse is part of the state park. You can see it from a parking lot on the west side of M-41 that faces the harbor. The lighthouse is separated by private property and the road to the lighthouse is not open. Unfortunately the ferry service that took visitors to the lighthouse is no longer operating but hopefully, the state will be able to find a contractor to start the service again.

Sturgeon Point State Park

The small state park on Lake Huron near Harrisville is home to the lighthouse maintained by the Alcona Historical Society.

Holland State Park

The lighthouse is known as “Big Red” guides sailors into the channel next to the state park beach. You can not access the lighthouse from the state park but you can get a good view and photographs of it from the park.

William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor

One of the newest lighthouses in Michigan stands on the Detroit River at the state harbor near the DNR’s Outdoor Adventure Center.

McLain State Park

The state lists a lighthouse at McLain State Park in the Keweenaw near Hancock. It’s more of a beacon that stands on a breakwater than a lighthouse but I figured I better include it on the list.

Silver Lake State Park

The park is most noted for the sand dunes and ORV area but it does have a lighthouse. The Little Sable Point Lighthouse stands along Lake Michigan in the park and is open to visitors.

Colonial Michilimackinac Historic State Park

If you have ever driven across the Mackinac Bridge you have probably seen the Old Mackinaw Point Lighthouse that stands on the shoreline in Mackinaw City. It is one of the most popular places to stop and take a pic of the bridge.

Cheboygan State Park

You probably won’t find a lighthouse listed at the state park probably because it is no longer standing. The foundation can be found off the hiking trails and is still worth visiting. From the shoreline where the old lighthouse once stood you can see the Poe Reef Lighthouse in Lake Huron.

I hope you will subscribe to email notifications so you won’t miss any new posts,

[fbcomments]

The Chapel in the Pines

Posted on April 18, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg

Hidden among the pine trees in the heart of Hartwick Pines State Park is little log chapel. It’s a peaceful little sanctuary away from the hustle a bustle of modern day life. It is the perfect place to sit down and reflect on the beauty of nature.

Inside the church on the altar is written Nature’s Prayer:

Our Heavenly Father, Creator of all that is nature,
We humbly come to you in the midst of nature’s splendor,
To thank you that as Americans we are free
To worship as we please, work as we please,
And move about as we please to enjoy all that is nature:
Its mountains, its hills, its valleys, its lakes,
Its streams, and the living things that dwell therein;
We pray unto you that someday the world may be at peace
And all men be free to enjoy nature’s abundance.
We ask you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
That we be guided to protect this priceless heritage
Which we, in America, are privileged to enjoy. Amen.

It is a short little hike through the woods ( I would guess about 200 yards) down a paved path from the parking lot for the museum. It is well worth a visit to the little chapel in the woods.

If you want a Camp Michigan Shirt they will only be available for a short time this spring. I have a lot of trips planned around Michigan this summer and it will be difficult for me to fulfill orders so I am taking a break from T-Shirt sales for the summer. Now is a good time to order, if you want one they can be ordered from my Lost In Michigan website HERE

I hope you will subscribe to email notifications so you won’t miss any new posts,

[fbcomments]

2019 State Park Construction Projects

Posted on April 3, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg

The Michigan DNR is continually working on improving the State Parks. Here is a list of construction projects for the 2019 camping season.

Baraga State Park

Beginning May 1, the north side of the campground will be closed for construction, reopening June 28. The south side closure will begin July 15 and continue through the end of the camping season. Construction is expected to be completed by Nov. 1.

Park improvements will include an upgrade to the electrical system, resulting in new 20/30 and 50-amp services, site renovations to include camper pads, more pull-through sites and the addition of 14 full-hookup sites offering 50-amp service, plus water and sewer.

Lakeport State Park

South Campground (sites 301-356, White Pine and Cedar cabins) will temporarily close for the replacement of the restroom building. The project will begin at the start of the 2019 season and is slated to re-open in mid-fall 2019.

F J McClain State Park

A new Bathroom building was completed but campground reconfiguration and construction are continuing because of massive erosion of the Lake Superior coastline.

Muskegon State Park

The Channel Campground is closed for the 2019 camping season for bathroom replacement.

Muskallonge Lake State Park

The campground (sections 1 and 3) at Muskallonge Lake State Park will temporarily close due to electrical updates and site improvements. The two sections are slated to re-open in mid-July 2019.

Hoeft State Park

The modern campground, modern lodge and sanitation station at P.H. Hoeft State Park is being updated Some sites will be open for Memorial weekend. The remainder of the campsites will open June 14, 2019.

Wilderness State Park

The renovated West Lakeshore Campground opens this summer. The East Lakeshore Campground is slated for renovations in the summer of 2020

Let me know in the comments if I am missing anything.

I hope you will subscribe to email notifications so you won’t miss any new posts,

[fbcomments]

State Park Modern Campground Opening Dates

Posted on March 26, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg

Spring is here and the modern campgrounds are opening for the season. Most of the parks open the first couple of week in April. You can see the Michigan DNR’s list of opening dates HERE I think the dates may change if it is going to be below freezing they may wait a little bit before opening the bathrooms so if you are going to the park opening weekend you might want to contact the park to be sure the bathroom buildings are open if it is important to you.

I am looking forward to this camping season we have reservations at 6 different parks and plan to visit several more.

P.S. if you are wondering the pic above is the beach at Twin Lakes State Park

I hope you will subscribe to email notifications so you won’t miss any new posts,

[fbcomments]

2019 MI State Parks Harvest Festival Schedule

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg

Fall seems like a long ways off but we are coming up on the 6 month window to make reservations. The list of state parks announcing their dates for Fall Harvest festivals is growing. You can see the list in the DNR website HERE

P.S. sorry I have not posted much lately, I am in the final stretch of getting my book published. I hope to have it available in mid-March

I hope you will subscribe to email updates so you won’t miss any new posts or giveaways,

[fbcomments]

Sleepy Hollow State Park Review

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg

Sleepy Hollow State Park is one of the state’s more recently created parks. About 20 miles Northeast of Lansing it was created when the state acquired about 2700 acres of land. Lake Ovid in the middle of the park was formed when the Little Maple River was dammed. The towns of Laingsburg, St. Johns and Ovid wanted the new park named after their town. One of the land owners was I. M. Crane and that is where the name Sleepy Hollow came from.

Official Website http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=495&type=SPRK

Address

7835 E. Price Road
Laingsburg MI, 48848-9438

Pros

Convenient location for people living in central Michigan
Secluded wooded sites.
Large beach

Cons

Beach a long ways from the campground
No stores nearby
Electrical boxes a long ways from the campsite

Campground

The campground is separated into a north and a south campground. Both campgrounds are similar other than the north is closer to the beach. The campgrounds are heavily wooded and many are separated by trees and vegetation. A few are connected if you want to camp with friends but you can not “circle the wagons” if you camp with a large group. Each site has a paved section for parking a trailer on the sites can be rather small being surrounded by trees. Be sure to look at the site dimensions when booking your reservations. The power posts are shared between sites and can be far from the campsite. Be sure to have at least a 100 foot of power cord.

The north campground is closer to the beach but it is still at least a ¼ mile from the campground. The south is even further at about a ½ mile hike to the beach. I would plan on driving to the beach.

Reservations

Sleepy Hollow is a popular park with people who live in central lower Michigan. Be sure to book reservations six months to the day for holiday weekends and the popular harvest festival in the fall. For weekends in the summer you can usually get reservations in late spring but I would recommend making them as soon as you can.

Bathroom

Both north and south campgrounds each have one bathroom centrally located among the sites. Both bathrooms are identical brick construction. I assume they were both built when the park was created in the 70s. They are not new but are still in good shape.

Cell Service

The park is in a rural section of the state and cell service is not good. I have AT&T and did not have any service. I have heard from other people who have service from Verizon and other providers and they did not have service either. If you can get your phone to work, awesome but I would not plan on it. Beside your camping and could use a break from it anyways.

Beach and Boating

The beach has a beautiful large sandy area on Lake Ovid that is surrounded by the park. A bathhouse picnic tables and a pavilion are also in the beach area. It’s a nice place to relax on a hot day.

A boat launch is available on the southwest part of the lake

Shopping

The park sells ice and firewood at the Rangers shack at the entrance to the campground. If you need to go to the store for something it’s a ways to get to Laingsburg or Ovid at about 10 miles away. Both are small towns but if you need to go to a big box store Owosso is 18 miles away.

Things To Do

Sleepy Hollow is an outdoor paradise with miles of hiking and mountain bike trails. A beautiful lake for canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. The park also allows hunting in the fall. A disk golf course also winds its way through the park. There is plenty to do to keep any adventurous spirit occupied until the evening campfire.

I hope you will subscribe to email updates. I promise I won’t email you a bunch of junk email, it’s only to notify you of a new post which will be two or three times a week.

[fbcomments]

Onaway State Park Review

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg

Onaway State Park is situated along the shores of Black Lake north of Onaway Michigan. It is a heavily wooded park and if you like to fish and want a quiet park to stay at I think you will enjoy Onaway S.P.

158 acres

85 campsites

Official Website http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=479&type=SPRK

Address
3622 N. M-211
Onaway MI, 49765

Pros

Wooded Sites with Shade
Boat Launch
Newer Shower Building
Waterfront Campsites

Cons

Small Beach
Shared Power Posts
Small park
Small Sites that can be difficult for large trailers

Campground

The campground at Onaway is an older campground with gravel roads throughout the park. The sites are nice and shaded but also have a lot of trees on them so it can be challenging if you have a larger trailer to get it to fit. The campground is also hilly and not level so be sure to bring some leveling boards if you have a trailer or motorhome. The multiple campsites share electrical posts and if you are between posts you will need a long power cord to reach the post. I would recommend at least a 100 feet of cord. Sites 1 through 24 are down near the lake and sites 1 through 14 are on the water. The shoreline along the sites are rocky so you won’t be able to pull a boat up to your campsite but you could probably launch a kayak or rowboat. The one drawback of being near the water is the park only has a vault toilet for the sites near the lake. The sites are also kinda small and you will have to “parallel” park your trailer to get it on the lot. Most of the sites in the campground are small and when checking the box for a 30’ trailer it cuts down your options to only about 35 sites that will fit a trailer 30 feet or longer so be sure to check your trailer size when making a reservation.

Waterfront campsite on Black Lake

Reservations

Onaway state park is not as popular as some of the nearby parks so it is somewhat easy to get a reservation. For holiday weekends be sure to book 6 months to the day if not at least 3 months in advance. For the rest of the weekends, you can usually get a site a few weeks in advance or not the day before. This is a great campground for a last minute trip. The big issue is trailer size. If you want to stay here and you have a large trailer the sites are limited and you want to reserve the large sites as soon as you can.

Bathrooms

The bathroom building is an older building but it is in good shape and maintained. There is only one modern building in the campground, when it is closed for cleaning vault toilets are available across the street from the building so be sure to look at the posted cleaning times. A new building is next to the bathrooms and houses the showers for the campground.

Shower Building

Beach and Boating

The beach at the campground is rather small but it is a nice little sandy beach. If the beach is crowded and you want to lay out in the sun there is a nice grassy area next to the beach. The beach at the day use area looks as if it is not used much since it is covered in rocks, driftwood, and woodchips. Onaway S.P. does have a nice boat ramp and being on Black Lake I would think the park is popular with fishermen or fisherwomen. I did not see a dog beach anywhere so I am not sure where you can take fido swimming.

Campground Beach

Day Use Beach

Shopping

The park does not have a store but, there is a large party store right outside the entrance to the park. If you need something that the party store does not have the town of Onaway is about 7 miles away. If you really need something at a big box store Cheboygan is about 34 miles away.

Party store at the entrance of the park

Things To Do

Besides enjoying Black Lake, Ocqueoc Falls is 13 miles away. If you like to hike or hunt there is lots of state land around Black Lake including Black Mountain Recreation Area with miles of hiking trails.

I hope you will subscribe to email updates. I promise I won’t email you a bunch of junk email, it’s only to notify you of a new post which will be two or three times a week.

[fbcomments]

Lakeport State Park Review

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg

Lakeport State Park located on Lake Huron north of Port Huron is an ideal place to camp if you live in the south-east part of Michigan. Its a well-maintained park with newer bathrooms and you can enjoy a Michigan sunrise on the Lake Huron beach. With two campgrounds to chose from you can have a sunny grass coverd site or a shaded paved site.

Official Website http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=466&type=SPRK

Address
7605 Lakeshore Road (M-25)
Lakeport MI, 48059

Pros

short drive for southeast Michigan residents
Nice grassy sites in North Campground
Paved camping sites in South Campground
newer bathrooms in North Campground

Cons

M-25 can have heavy traffic
Beach is a little rocky
limited nearby shopping
no boat lunch in the park

Campgrounds

The park has two campgrounds to choos from.

The north campground is closer to the water. It has about 200 nice grass covered sites which are rare, most state parks I have been in are dirt sites. There are few trees and the campsites will be sunny. There is a newer playground and horseshoe pits in the center of the campground. I would imagine you would not want to have a site next to them since they would be noisy with children playing and the clanging of horseshoes.

The North Campground and the grass covered sites

Playground in the middle of the north campground

horseshoe pits in the middle of the north campground

The south campground near the Ranger booth has fewer campsites but a lot of trees so there will be plenty of shade for hot Michigan summer days. The campground has 50 campsites and all have paved camping pads. I was not able to tour this campground since it was closed when I was there. they were updating the electrical and I heard they are supposed to build a new bathroom building in the fall. I will have to take a trip back there and check it out.

Reservations

The park is a popular destination for people who live on the southeast side of the state. Its a short drive for them on the weekends so if you want to stay here for a holiday weekend you will want to make your reservations six months to the day. during the rest of the summer, you will probably be ok getting reservations in the spring but its always best to make reservations as soon as you can.

Bathrooms

The north campground has newer bathrooms and both bathrooms are identical so it does not really matter which one you use. They are both your typical design with the men and womans bathroom on one side of a walkway and a row of showers on the other side of the walkway.

I was not able to see the bathrooms for the south campground since it was closed when I was there.

One of two identical bathrooms in the North Camground

Beach and boating

The park has a long Beach along Lake Huron. It’s not as nice as the beaches along the west side of the state since it’s rather rocky along the shoreline. It still would be nice for relaxing on a hot summer day. You will also be able to watch the freighters as they pass by although they will be a ways offshore.

There is no boat launch in the campground. There is a boat launch in the State Harbor in Lexington. With the rocky shorline, I would not recommend pulling a boat up to the beach. I don’t have a boat but I would assume this is not a popular campground for boaters because of its limitations.

Shopping

The park has a nice size camps store. I can’t comment on what the inside is like since it was closed when I was there. I imagine it is used by many campers since there are limited stores and shopping near the park. There is a small store and a few bar type restaurants in the town of Lakeport. If you are looking for a place to be a tourist Lexington is about 12 miles to the north. It has a nice downtown area with plenty of bars and gift shops to keep you busy for an afternoon. The town of Port Huron is about 11 miles to the south of the park and has anything you would need. Note that it is only 11 miles but it may take you some time to get there as traffic on M-25 can be really busy especially on the weekends.

The park store in the north campground

Things to do

As mentioned before the campground has a nice playground and horseshoe pits. The park itself is not as large in area as some of the parks but there are some hiking trails. The Park also has a day use area that is about a mile south of the campground. The campgrounds and the day use area are separated by the town of Lakeport.

I hope you will subscribe to email updates. I promise I won’t email you a bunch of junk email, it’s only to notify you of a new post which will be two or three times a week.

[fbcomments]