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On our recent stay at Interlochen State Park, we were sitting by the campfire late at night when a friendly dog came up and sat down next to us. We looked around and could not find anyone nearby and wondered where he came from. I told my wife to check his tags and she found one with a phone number. It was a 619 area code which is in California but we called it and my wife told the person on the other end that we have their dog. They were so grateful. They were setting up their tent about ten sites down and Wally, the dog, must have wandered off. We called them about the time they noticed he was missing and were more than thankful that we called them.

Yeah I know you are supposed to keep your dog on a leash at all times but things happen and the lesson from this story is to make sure you have a phone number on your dog’s tags.

P.S I have been busy camping and have not posted much lately but summer will be coming to an end and I will get back to posting more.

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I visited Bay City State Park this weekend for the Centennial celebration and although they were out of sticker the park did have some Stamp and Go books for $5 each.  They are a nice little book with a photo and a short description of each state park in Michigan.

The ranger also stamped my book on the Bay City page with a stamp that says ” PARK HERE ” I assume all the parks have the same stamp. I was hoping each park had its own unique stamp but it still is nice to get my book stamped. I think you can purchase them at any state park ranger station. or you can order them from Peninsulas HERE

If you are looking for a book with a lot of information about the parks in the Northern Lower Peninsula then check out the State Park Handbook HERE

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Grand Haven state park is one of the most unique campgrounds in Michigan. It’s basically a parking lot on the beach with lines painted on the asphalt.  It’s kind of a love it or hate it park, If you love being on the beach and in Grand Haven you will love it. But if you prefer some trees and a more traditional campground you may not like it.

Pros

• Right on the beach
• Near downtown Grand Haven
• New Bathrooms

Cons

• Asphalt parking lot style sites
• Sites are extremely small
• No fire pits
• No Alcohol
• Extremely busy in the summer especially weekends

Campground

There must be a lot of people who love the beach in Grand Haven since this park is always full even though it’s not much more than a parking lot. I hope this review does not come across as negative, but I want to be honest. The sites are extremely small, no I mean really small. If you have a travel trailer that has a slide on both sides you will be the width of your site and the length of your site. If you are lucky you can open your awning without hitting the trailer next to you. Your truck will have to be parked in the lot next to the rangers shack at the entrance. If you have a small 20 foot or less trailer you could probably park your vehicle in your lot. Avoid getting a lot near a walkway to the park or bathroom or the beach because you will have people constantly walking through your site. The sites along the beach are the most popular. The park does not provide fire rings for the sites. I see most people bring their own, I would think a portable propane one would be ideal so you don’t have to deal with the ashes when packing up. If you like being on the beach and don’t mind the enormous crowds at the Grand Haven beach then you should give it a try.  The campground is laid out in loops with sand on the outside of each lot even on the inner loop. If you pitch a tent you can put it up in the sand. I have never slept in a tent on the sand but it must be kind of soft. Like sleeping on the beach.

Note that Holland State Park beach campground is similar, but the sites are about twice as large. So if you have camped there expect smaller sites at Grand Haven

Reservations

The park is extremely popular and you need to make your reservations six months to the day and if you can get a coveted spot along the beach consider yourself lucky and you should go out and by a lottery ticket.

Bathrooms

The park does have a new bathroom building and they are currently building another one which will be finished in the summer of 2018. One the other bathroom building is finished Grand Haven will probably have some of the nicest bathrooms in the Michigan State Park system.

Cell Service

Cell service is good since the park is right in town.

Beach and Boating

The beach is what Grand Haven State Park is All About at’s a huge Sandy beach on Lake Michigan just be aware that the day use parking lot is next to the campground and is flooded by beachgoers in the summer.  

The park does not have a boat launch

Shopping

The park does not have a camp store. Downtown is about a mile away but it’s mostly gift shops, bars, and restaurants. Meijers is about 3 miles away. It may only be about 3 miles but in the summer traffic, it may take you 20 minutes to get there. If you want to go to downtown you can walk or take a bike down the path that takes you where it will be easier than driving since you won’t have to deal with the traffic and then find a place to park.

Things To Do

Besides the beach and downtown shopping there Grand Haven lighthouse is on the pier next to the park. You can check out the musical fountain near downtown and enjoy ice cream from any number of places along the path from the park to downtown. If you want a break from Grand Haven you can visit Holland. Lakeshore Drive is a nice road along Lake Michigan that will take you to Holland State Park.

For more reviews and photos be sure to check out the Unofficial State Park Handbook HERE

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I have often wondered why there is a both a Men’s and a Women’s outhouse at the rustic campgrounds. I have never been inside the women’s outhouse, but I can tell you from experience that the men’s is nothing special. It usually has an indescribable stench and bugs flying around it. I can only assume the women’s vault toilet is beautifully decorated and has a wonderful aroma. I wonder if they make some Happy Camper for outhouses.  I am also not sure why many campgrounds describe them as “Vault Toilets” as if what is in them is highly valuable. Somewhere in Michigan is the nicest outhouse, I just have not found it yet.

P.S. I did find this historic one HERE 

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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.

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I took this photo last summer. It’s the boardwalk leading to the beach in Young State Park. Here it is January 2019 and one of the coldest days of the year and I am making plans for this summer. It is always surreal during the winter because I make my State Park reservations six months in advance. I think I am gonna start calling winter reservation season. December is June, January is July and February is August. I have a few reservations this year I hope you are able to get into your favorite park.  With all the people in Michigan that own RVs and the limited number of campsites it seems to be getting harder and harder each year to get the site you want.  I need to make a reservation for an August trip next month Hopefully the odds will be in my favor. I hope you are staying warm this winter and I am looking forward to the upcoming camping season.

This summer sp far we have reservations at

Ludington ( first time camping there ever, finally got a site)

Burt Lake

Tawas

Interlochen

Where are you going this summer?

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It’s been a busy summer since I visited 46 different state parks. I took pics of all the bathrooms, beaches, playground, stores or anything I thought would be of interest. The trailer is winterized and ready to go into hibernation. This winter I plan on going through all my notes an pics and writing up reviews. I hope to compile them into a book at some point.

It’s was interesting visiting so many parks. they all have some wonderful reasons to camp at them and they all have some negatives, but I would camp at any of them any chance I could get.  I have a goal of camping at all of them and. I am up to about 30 parks that I have stayed overnight in. We camped at 8 different state parks this season and 4 of them were new to us. I made it to Ludington for a visit. I tried all summer long to get a campsite but no luck. hopefully next summer we will get to camp there.

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I have stayed at over 25 state parks in Michigan in the past 20 years. Spending nights in tents, pop-ups and travel trailer. Enjoying modern campgrounds or the secluded rustic campsites. I do a lot of traveling around the state working on my Lost In Michigan website HERE and I stay at Michigan State Parks to help keep the cost of traveling down. I created Camp Michigan as a place for me to share what I have learned and my experiences at the campgrounds. There are over 150 state parks so it’s gonna take me some time to post reviews on all of them but I hope you will follow along with me.

I hope you will subscribe to email updates since facebook prioritizes your friends a family they will not show you many of my posts, I  promise I won’t email you a bunch of junk email, it’s only an email to notify you of a new post which will be two or three times a week.

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