First Long(ish) Trip

[snowbird47]

DW, two dogs and I have set up a three week trip around Lake Michigan in August. We will be staying 3 - 4 days in each State Park or Forest CG and travelling between 200 - 250 miles between them, except for the last day, which will be a long run home to Indianapolis. This will be our longest trip by far in our MH. All of the CGs have Electric, but we will be living off our fresh water tank since no hookups.

The CGs are (in order):
Indiana Dunes SP
Interlochen SP, MI
Indian Lake SP MI UP
Council Grounds SP, WI
Pattison SP, WI
Black River SF, WI

I would appreciate any feedback anyone has on any of the above CGs, both positive and negative, as well as things to do and see in the neighborhood of each.

[mcfarmall]

Haven't stayed at any of them but I'm looking forward to your reviews when you finish your trip.

[kvangil]

We've only been to Indiana Dunes. Modern campground with level concrete pads, very clean bath house. Very sandy though, so be prepared to sweep out sand when you're done. Otherwise, a very nice park. Can get crowded at the beach on weekends. You might also try Warren Dunes in MI. Enjoy!

[rocketspen]

We have visited friends at Interlochen. It is nice. Our friends had some good size sites. It is close to Traverse City, where we live, so there are a lot of options. Many of the townies we now here prefer Interlochen over Traverse City SP.

[Jeff61]

Been awhile since I was at Indian Lakes in the UP, but I remember it was a nice spot. If you are in the UP and have the time, Union Bay Campground in the Porquepine Mtn St. Park is really sweet, on the shores of Lake Superior. Bewabic SP around Iron Mtn is pretty decent as well

[Plowtoy]

We have been to both parks you are planning on in Michigan. We ended up at Interlochen a year ago Memorial day weekend. It was a last minute trip, and was the only park that had openings. Its not a bad park, but IMO not much to do. There is a music school? right across the road and I think they have outside festivals throughout the summer, but not 100% sure. I think you will find your self in Traverse city since there is more to do there and is only a few miles away. Dinner at Don's drive in is a must if you like a good hamburger and shake. If you like a good steak, Boones long lake inn is real good too and not too over priced for what you get. There are also a couple Casinos in the TC area.
We personally like Ludington State park better, but at this point, you may not be able to get a space, although, I would look every day up to the trip and see if one opens up and cancel Interlochen.
Indian Lake is my wifes favorite. We ended up there as a last stop on our honey moon several years ago, and went back later that same summer because we liked it so well. We have been there several times since. The campsites overlooking the lake are the nicest IMO but hard to get. If I remember right, they have a rental row boat and you can bring your own motor if you like to go out on the lake. Take a day trip to Fayette SP and check out the old abandon town that the parks have taken over (pretty cool history). Also check out Palms Book SP while you are there, its only a few miles away on the same lake you will be staying on. They have a natural spring that has a hand operated cable pontoon that takes you directly above the spring and you can see all the way down to the bottom (40-60' deep I believe).
Both of the parks in Mi have a place to fill your fresh water once you pull in. If you need to fill during your stay, and dont want to move your rv, bring a fresh water container and there are multiple spigets around the parks to get potable water.
Sounds like a fun trip to me! Have fun!! Dave

[us71na]

We toured Michigan 2 years ago when we first got our camper. We made it a point to see as many light houses as we could. One place we camped was the Straits State Park. It was a nice campground and was convenient to get to the ferry for Mackinaw Island which was a great place to tour. The ferry is dog friendly as was the campground.

[Plowtoy]

So how did it go? What did you think of the two MI state parks you stayed at, and what did you do while in those areas?

[UPCamper]

I wish I had seen this when you had originally posted it. We stay at Indian Lake a lot and we also stay near Interlochen a lot. We prefer not to stay in Interlochen state park because its so busy and there is a great state forest campground not too far from it. But the area is nice and convenient. I any case, I hope you guys found a lot of the beautiful places near each and had a blast. There are some great places to eat and grab a beer near each too.

[snowbird47]

Originally Posted by Plowtoy

So how did it go? What did you think of the two MI state parks you stayed at, and what did you do while in those areas?

Originally Posted by UPCamper

I wish I had seen this when you had originally posted it. We stay at Indian Lake a lot and we also stay near Interlochen a lot. We prefer not to stay in Interlochen state park because its so busy and there is a great state forest campground not too far from it. But the area is nice and convenient. I any case, I hope you guys found a lot of the beautiful places near each and had a blast. There are some great places to eat and grab a beer near each too.

Our trip went very well overall. DW fell near the end of our stay at Indiana Dunes SP and bruised her side and back quite badly, so that did impact our ability to see the sights around the two parks in MI. I agree with UPCamper that Interlochen although a nice facility, is quite crowded at the time we were there. I wish we had known about the SF campground. I personally fell in love with Traverse City and environs, and have fantasies about buying a "Great Lakes" worthy boat to dock there and sailing it down the Mississippi to our winter home in Florida (never happen but one can dream).
DW was crazy about Indian Lakes SP (I liked it also). It was also very crowded during the weekend portion of the 4 days we stayed, but we picked out a couple of campsites we will try to reserve for next summer. Also the weather turned quite cold and very windy for the first two days we were there, which I guess is always a possibility in the UP at that time of year. We went to a Farmers Market in Manistique, and went up to the Seney Wildlife Refuge, which we both enjoyed very much.
Our next stop was at Council Grounds SP in WI. This is a decent park, but again was pretty crowded and kind of tight (last camping before school started). The weather turned rainy and cool, and looked to stay that way at that location as well as our next reserved stop at Pattison SP in northern WI, so we decided to seek some warmth and headed south.
I cruised the Iowa State Park website and settled on Bellevue SP Nyas campground located about 20 miles south of Dubuque on the Mississippi bluffs. This is a small jewel of a CG, with only about 20% of the sites reservable, but was pretty empty when we checked in. It did fill up some on the Friday before we left, but still only half-full. We got more heat than we bargained for, but thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I recommend it for any fishermen, boaters, or kayakers out there. And only $16/night for electrical sites!
All-in-all a very satisfying 3 week camping experience.

[Plowtoy]

Other than the DW falling, sounds like you had a nice time. Glad to hear you are considering coming back If you have some time to spend in the UP, I would suggest Tahquamenon falls SP, Porcupine MTN SP (union bay CG) and Fort Wilkins SP in copper harbor. All are very nice and have plenty to do.
I too just love Traverse City. Being only a few hour drive, we try to get up there at least once a year. Theres just something about driving in on US31 and seeing the Bay's off in the distance that gets me every time.
Thanks for the UP-date Dave