Canoe Harbor SFCG

My wife was going with some people fishing at Wakely lake just East of Grayling and they were staying at Canoe Harbor State Forest Campground. At first I was a bit nervous of taking the camper, as some of the SFCG are not big enough for a large camper. But there was no problem here, the campground is set up in a big loop and most of the sites are big enough for a 30+ foot camper. It is a primitive campground so no power and only hand pump water wells. If you get off at Exit 251, which is 3 miles south of Grayling, there is Charlies Country Corner truck stop. They have fresh water fill (no cost) and they also have a dump station ($4). So this makes a convenient fill/dump station that is only about 15 miles from the camp ground.
The campground has a trail that leads down to the river, since it was a hot day the kids and I put on life jackets and just floated down the river, it was fun and refreshing. The campsites are big, there are sparse to heavy trees depending on the site you select. For $15/day you can't beat this site. The place has 50+ sites so we did not have problems finding a large site (that was easy to back into). There is also Kneff Lake campground about 4 miles before this one. They offer paved pads on the upper loop and has a swimming access on the lake. If we went up again I would like to stay here to see which of the 2 places I would prefer.

Monocle Lake National Forest Campground

Monocle Lake, is part of the Hiawatha National Forest, and is about 20 miles West of Sault Ste. Marie. The campground is set in a dense hardwood forest and situated on Monocle Lake. The lake itself is nice to swim in, but gets deep in a hurry, there is a small beach at one end. There is also a hiking trail that runs by the lake and into the woods. This is a nice location and is near by several other cool things. You are only a mile from Point Iroquois light house. The light house is retired and is now open to the public, you can also walk to the beach and watch great sunsets over Lake Superior.
Cost is $14 per day. It is primitive so no water or power. They do have some pressurived water faucets, so we just took 6 gallon water jugs to fill up the camper. About 2 miles away is Bay Mills Casino, and they have an RV park there where you can can dump your tanks for $10, they also have fresh water fill. Or Brimley State Park is about 7 miles East of the campground.
While we were here we also discovered Bay View campground about 10 miles further west. This is another National Forest Campground, but it is RIGHT on Lake Superior, I think this is going to be our destination for next year.

Reedsburg Dam State Forest Campground

Reedsburg Dam State Forest Campground [LINK to DNR site]
Aug 5, 2010

We stopped here on the way to the U.P., it was getting late and we decided to stop before it got dark, and wasn't sure I could make it to Grayling before the sun went down. We stopped at Reedsburg Dam last year so I knew it was big enough for our 33' camper. It is really a nice campground, there are several sites right on the lake, and you can walk down to the dam for fishing.
It is a State Forest Campground, so it is rustic, no power, bathhouses or running water. They do have outhouses and hand pumps for water. Cost per night is $15, with a self registration station when you come into the park. The campground

North Higgins Lake

This year we bought a new camper in May, a 33' Coachman with bunkhouse in the back. It is a great camper with ~way~ more room than the previous one. This was our first road trip with the new camper. We made our annual trek to North Higgins. This is a great park with mature forest and a beautiful lake, we alway have a great time here and this trip was no different. This year we had site 160 in the corner of the loop and we liked this as it was not as busy. The park was maybe 2/3 full, I was surprised it was not busier on a nice weekend.

Lower Tahquamenon Falls

The Upper Falls get all the attention, but I am big fan of the Lower Falls. You can get much closer to them, and it seems more impressive to me. The Lower Falls also has a gift store and a sells ice cream, there are restrooms here also. The coolest thing about the Lower Falls is that for $12 you can rent a row boat and row over to the island that is in the middle of the falls. Once on the island you can walk around it and see the falls close up and from a different perspective. We really enjoyed doing this and I *highly* recommend it.
The Lower Falls and Upper Falls are connected by a walking path that is 4 miles (one way). Just follow the boardwalk at the Lower Falls and keep going. After a while it is just a trail. It is rough in places and wet being near the river, but it is very cool. We did not go all the way to the Upper Falls, but it is nice to walk around the river, there are many smaller falls and rapids and you can go right along the river. The banks and river bed are all solid rock, so you can step to the edge of the river and it is sooo cool! Each morning we were here I took a long walk along the river and I think it was the highlight of the trip.

Tahquamenon Rivermouth Campground

 
As you head up M-123 you will first come along Lake Superior and you will pass the Rivermouth campground. This is about 15 miles from the falls. This has a modern and rustic campgrounds right on the river. We stopped here and did some fishing. The river is nearly as wide as a lake here, and in fact we say a powerboat go by. We went through the rustic side and it looks nice, large open campsites right on the river, it is beautiful. Although, unless you really wanted to be here, I will go the extra 15 miles and stay at the falls campground.

Upper Taquamenon Falls

 
This is the second largest waterfall East of the Mississippi and it is a site to see. Set deep in the woods. From ther parking lot it is about a 5 minute walk to the edge of the river and you can see the falls in the distance. I walk down to them gives you a great view over looking te 50' drop. There are a lot of steps here.. you can walk down about 100 steps to the brink of the fall and stand over looking the waterfall. You can also go the opposite way and walk down even more steps and walk along the river. There is a long wooden walkway that seems to go on forever. It was getting toward dusk when we go to hear so didnt stay long, but woud like to explore this further in future trips.

As you come into the parking lot there is a gift store and brewery/resturant here. This site was originally a lumber camp and the resturant is named for that. As you walk down toward the falls there is a new outdoor center with a case with a mounted wolf and coyote and some information on native animals and plants in the area. There is also a modern restroom next to it.

Tahquamenon Lower Falls State Park Riversbend Campground Sept 25 - 27

 
I have made a few trips to Tahquamenon State Park and really enjoyed it, but I have always wanted to camp there. After several years of talking about if we finally made it happen. It is no a small undertaking as it is a 6+ hour trip there, we took off Friday at 9am and arrive about 3:30pm to the campground. We got lucky and got a site that backed up to the river, and there are several access to walk down to the river and get in for fishing. It is also just a short walk up to the Lower Falls. Because this is a huge park I am going to break this into several different posts, each dealing with a different features. Basically there are 4 parts: The Rivermouth Campground where the river empties into Lake Superior. Lower Falls viewing area, Lower Falls Campground, and Upper Falls.

As for this campground there are lots of trees as you would expect in the U.P. The roads are paved and there is a modern playground for the kids. There is a sanatation station by the road, which is about a mile from the campground. Over all it was very quiet. There is also the Overlook campground, which was closed when we were there. While this is not within view of the river, you can hear the falls on some of the sites (169) near the end. It is a hike from here to the campground, either through the woods or by the road. I think you are much better off staying at the Riversbend campground if you can.

Brevoort Lake Aug 7 ~ 10

 
We took off from Reedsburg Dam a little before noon and headed North. Last year we got to the campground before noon and it seemed the prime spots were taken. This year we got there later, after we filled up the fresh water tank we headed in, and the sign at the entrance said No Vacancy. Oh, oh! But we had to wait behind a camper dumping when we got there, so we found an open spot.. the only open spot.
 
It worked out well, it was right on the lake, so we could walk down to go swimming, fishing or to put the kayak in the water. Or to sit in the sun for the few minutes it was out. The weather was less than ideal, it rained hard the second day but it let up in the late morning and we got out and enjoyed the area
 
The campground is within the Hiawatha National Forest so there are lots of things to do. On Sat we took a hike thorugh the North Country trail deep into the woods, and around the lake by Brevort River. There are also lots of small roads to explore and we put the truck into 4 and did just that. This is the 4th year we have come up here, and the 3rd year we camped here, it is one of my favorite spots.

Reedsburg Dam

 
Heading up North on a Thursday night for our now annual 'Guys weekend' I had hoped to get an early start and get up to Grayling, but had to take the truck in during the week and it was not done until late that afternoon, so finally had the trailer hitched up and heading North about 7pm. Our navagitor picked Reedsburg Dam State Forest Campground just West of Houghton Lake. It is just 5 miles from US 127, and we got there about dust. It is a nice campground and we found a decent sized site and got backed in before it became too dark.
 
The next day we walked around in the daylight, there is a dam (go figure) and there were people fishing on the low side. Saw a guy in a kayak. Not sure about swimming in this lake. While I would not want to make this a destination, it was a great stopping point on the way North. Only $15, first come first server, sites big enough for large trailer. Hand pump water, and outhouses. Over all it was exactly what we needed.. The next day we were off to the UP.

Higgins Lake June 19 ~ 21

 
For our first big trip of 2009 we returned to North Higgins Lake State Park. This has become one of our favorite campgrouds as it has the 'Up North' feel, yet is suprisingly close to home, we can be there within 3 hours. The campground is set in a mature forest a trail leads down to the large lake that has trees up to the shore line and sanday beach. The water was cold, but still nice to get out swimming. Across the road from the campground is the CCC museum, and also has hiking/biking trails. We brought our bikes this time and I did the middle course, which was harder than I anticipated.
There is a lot of good fishing within 30 minute drive. The AuSable runs all through the area, and you can go West toward Roscommon, or North toward Grayling to find numberous spots to fish from.
This campground is in the the upper tier for cost for the State Parks, but I think it is wortwhile as it is a beautiful park that we enjoy going to each year.

Proud Lake 4/11/09

 
We kicked off the 2009 camping season with a quick trip to Proud Lake North of Wixom. We went to Taylor Beach on Friday and I got the water system up and running, then Saturday we were off on the 45 minute trip to Proud Lake. It is in a more residential area that I expected, but it is a nice park. It is actually a State Rec Are so there is a lot of land, the campground is off to one side. The lake is down a steep hill, there is a boat launch, and it looks like there is a swimming area a ways down from there. We saw a swan on the lake when we walked down to check out the lake. The park is nice, it is a ways off the road and you forget you are in Metro Detroit. Nice pine trees all around. We had site 35 on the lake side. The sites near the lake are narrow, I did a parallel parking job which was easy as nobody else was around. The power set up was odd, as some sites share a box... our was in the middle of our site and it servered 2 sites... so power for the other site would string across your site and by the fire pit. The do have walking trails, which are more like 2 track roads through the woods, we did a walk on Saturday and enjoyed the nice spring day.
 
There were maybe a dozen sites filled, with a few tents... not for me as the temp was in the low 30's. On Sunday morning the campground host (yes there was one there in April) had an easter egg hunt that the kids all enjoyed, we were not expecting that to it was a nice bonus for the kids. My son wants to go back, probably because they had a nice basketball court there (and he forgot his basketball). I liked it because it was close by and the water was on early in the season. Over all it was a nice trip and a nice park.

Brevoort Lake National Forest Campground

 

 

 

 

On Friday around 11 we crossed the bridge and headed West to the campground. We arrived and all the "good" sites were occupied. The first 12 sites or so at this campground are on the lake and have nice beaches. We got a site further down, still have access to the lake, just no sandy beach here. Still a nice site. Large sites, trees in-between the sites for privacy. This campground has flush toilets (but no showers) and also has a fill and dump station which was nice for the camper. We had great weather, on Friday we went and explored the area, got some smoked fish and pasties. Gathered some wood and enjoyed ourselves. On Saturday we went to Castle Rock and explored some of the National Forest roads and did some challenging geocaches. Also went over to Lake Michigan which is only 2 miles away and swam there. back to dinner in the dutch oven. On Sunday we just relaxed and enjoyed the weather.. and watched everybody leave. On Friday night there were only a few sites open.. but Sunday there were only a few that were filled. There are a few sites you can reserve here, but most are first come, first server. That is why we arrived early. I think we may have been too early, as check out time is 2pm and several people left after we arrived... so if we had been about 1hr or 1.5hr later I think we could have gotten one of the nicer sites, but I was still pleased with the site and I love this campground... Large beautiful sites for $16 per night. Fresh water fillup is free, but $8 to dump. Well worth the money!

Kneff Lake National Forest Campground - Grayling

 
 
This was the beginning of our U.P. trip. We left Howell around 6pm and headed North. We made it to Grayling a little before 9. Missed the turn for the campground... watching the GPS rather than the road signs... But got there without too much problems. There were only a few other people at the campground on a Thursday night. With quickly fading light, we found a spot and set up for the evening. Seems like a nice enough place. It is primitive, there are out houses and there must be a water pump somewere, but I don't recall seeing it. There are steps... lots of them that go down to a small lake. I went there early in the morning as the sun was coming up.. it was small but pretty.. not sure about fishing, but it did not look like a swimming lake.
We got up the next morning and continued on our way. We were only there about 12 hours, but for $15 it was a great place to stop for the night. It is less than 10 miles from I-75 which makes it a convient stop for trips further North.

N Higgins Lake June 20

 
 
We returned to N Higgins Lake Campground for our first real 'camping' trip of the summer. We have been using the camper a lot at Taylor Beach, but this time we hooked it up and traveled with it. I took Friday off and went to the camper Thursday night, and took off Friday morning for Roscommon. Trip up was good and set up was quick and easy. It is SO much easier to back up this bigger camper, none of the problems and frustrations of the popup.
This is a beautiful campground with trees and a big clear lake. Enjoyed swimming for the first time this year. Nice weather warm in the day and cool evenings. There are trails near by and the lake, wood is avaialble at the site or near by. Everything you can want from a campground.

Sleepy Hollow -- First Trip of 2008

 
 
Our first camping trip of 2008! The kids are on Spring Break, and I had planned to spend it at Taylor Beach Campground, but the water does not turn on until April 15, so we dedided to hook up the camper and go! I was over the week before to flush the water system, and check everything. Good thing I did, because the safety chains were too short.
We decided to go to Sleepy Hollow North of Lansing, the water was on there, and it was close enough Amy could visit.
Amy and the kids went over to the camper Sunday afternoon.. a beautiful sunny day. I came over after work, and we spent the first night in the camper. So far so good! It was really nice to have room to move and all the conviences of home. Next morning we woke up early and had breakfast. It was suppose to rain that day, but it turned out great. Got the trailer hooked up and took off. Stopped to put some air in the tires and got on I-96. The GPS took a different route up M52, and that saved about 20 - 30 miles over going to Lansing and heading North. So we arrived at the campground by 11am. Mitchell and I filled up the water tanks and Amy scouted for agood site. Not too hard as there were only a few people there. She found a site at the end of a loop where I could pull around and basically back straight into the spot. It worked great and with her direction got it backed in without problems. A few minutes of setting everything up and we were in business! Monday was a perfect day, warm, sunny. The wind picked up in the afternoon, and by evening it was cooler. We spend the night inside and that was great... XM radio playing, heat on. The kids played for a while and then went to bed, and I stayed up for a while reading.
Tue morning it was cold outside.. we had breakfast and just hung out.. the kids played and I laid in bed until after 10 reading. In the afternoon it cleared up a bit and we went for a walk around the Island. In the evening we had dinner in the dutch oven and the first campfire of the year.
The Campground had just opened on Friday and there were only a few people there including people in tents (first night was 38 degrees, second night RAIN.. gotta hand it to people in tents). Everything was gray, and did not see any DNR people around. The campground was fine, the bathrooms were open... and while I saw workers here, I am still not sure if they have been cleaned since last year. The campground is only 1/2 open. The ground is still quite wet, but not too muddy.. just soft.
Tue night/Wed AM we had RAIN.. thunder lightening and LOTS of rain. I got up at one point and realized we had no power.. went back to bed but got up at 4am to went out and reset the breaker and we were in business again. The rain stopped but then became very windy. We got up and got our stuff packed up. Hooked up the trailer with minimal problems and headed back to Taylor Beach. This was the part I was worried about.. pulling in throught the trees and backing up with only the kids to help. But it went fine... took about 20 minutes.. but no problems. I just went slow at it to make sure I didn't run into any trees.
Over all we are very pleased with the new camper. Everything took longer than it should.. but it is a learning process.. Sunday I realized the fridge was running on gas.. after about 30 minutes of trouble shooting.. trying to figure out why that outlet had not power and most of the rest was fine.. I discovered the GFCI breaker in the bath was tripped. Little things like that, which took some time (and instructions) to figure out, but next time we will know.
Very pleased with the truck.. we finally got to use it to tow a camper which was the reason we bought it. It performed great. The brake controler I wired the week before was great! Mirrors were helpful, but still trying to get the passenger one adjusted just right.. and the Swift Hitch camera system I bought was great... highly recommended!
This was the first in what I am sure will be many adventures in the new camper.

New Toys for 2008

 
 

On to 2008!

Our quick trip to Ionia turned out to be our last camping trip of 2007. Although we didn't realize it... it would also be out last time in the pop-up.
We had a good camping season for 2007, starting on the first weekend of Spring back in March and going up to October. We camped over 40 nights and traveled over 2000 miles. It was a lot of fun but also a lot of work.
We had talked about getting a larger camper but there were lots of problems with that idea. We would need a larger vehicle and a place to put it. But we did like the idea... the popup was great but for the amount we use it there was a lot of work involved.... packing, unpacking, and constantly moving things in the camper while we are out. The table folds down to be one of the beds, and we need to put our bags somewhere. It would be nice to find something where everybody had their own bed and a place for all our stuff.
In January we bought a 2002 Avalanche... Four doors of leathered luxury, and most important 7100 pounds of tow capacity. We started looking at campgrounds last fall and didn't find anything we liked. We had also started looking at campers last fall, and went to the camper show in Jan. But nothing really grabbed us... they were too big or too small or over weight. It seems most campers are set up with only 1 bed. Then there are couches or tables that fold down. But I wanted everybody to have their own bed.
My wife found something on Craigslist that looked promising, a 2005 Zeppelin. We went to see it and it was just what we needed. Bunks in the back, bed, bath, couch.. not too big... not over our tow limit.. and not too expensive. It was just what we needed. Then as a huge bonus the campground it was at was perfect. Taylor Beach Campground near Howell. Nice layout by a lake, with trees. It is family oriented with lots of activities for the kids. It has been family owned for 50 years and the people we bought the camper from had nothing but good to say about it! I have since spoke with the owner Alan Taylor and he impressed me as someone who really wants to make sure people enjoy themselves, in a fun safe environment. The campground is accessible year 'round, so we have been over several times to take stuff to the camper and learn more about how everything works. The water will be on April 1, so that is when the camping will begin. This will be a slightly different type of camping this year. More like a cabin you drive to and enjoy. That will have a lot of appeal to all of us. But there will be times when I will want to go "camping" and I can still hook it up to the truck and head North!
We are looking forward to new adventures and new fun in 2008!

Ionia 10/14/07

 
 
A spur of the moment trip on a nice October weekend. The weather is finally fall like. Decided we would head over to Ionia for the night. It is nearby and I do like the park. Got a nice spot without reservations, however the place was nearly full! Discovered this is the last weekend with water on at this park, as there were signs on the bathroom that the water would be shut off at 1pm on Sunday. Guess I will have to start paying attention to that. It was about 6 by the time we got there.. we popped up quickly then ran in town to get some pizza. Also picked up some wood. There is a house about .3 miles from the Campground on Jordan Lake Rd (go straight when leaving) and they have BIG bundles of wood for $5 or HUGE for $10. Nice split hardwood that burned great and provided some heat on a night that dipped into the low 40s. Very clear night with lots of stars out. With the electric heater, the camper stayed nearly 70 and was very pleasant for sleeping.
On Sunday got up and made Mountain man breakfast in the dutch oven. Then we went on a walk. They have nice trails around the lake. It started to rain but we kept on.. not really getting wet under the canopy of the trees. It only rained for 10 minutes or so and we did not get wet. The lake was pretty and it was a nice walk in the woods. There are lots of swans on this lake and we watched a family that went in front of us and were feeding on the weeds.
A nice trip for a quick excursion.

Deep Lake Oct 6, 2007

 
Another unseasonable warm weekend. It was in the 80s in October! Went to Deep Lake for the 3rd time this year. Not busy at all.. we were in our normal spur, and finally got one of the big sites at the end on near the Lake. It was almost too hot.. very humid and somewhat uncomfortable.. felt more like August than October. Went over to Gun Lake both days and went swimming... Swimming in October.. IN Michigan... wild!