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.