Our base for our recent camping trip was the Jellystone Park near Indian River in Michigan's Cheboygan County. We've been using Jellystone Parks for quite a few years because of the kid-friendly theme and ammenities. Every Jellystone we've been to has had clean restrooms (comfort stations), a swimming pool, and organized activities for the kids (including wagon rides with Yogi Bear). All the Jellystone's we've been to also enforce a 'no fireworks' rule - which is especially nice with small children in a small place like a campground.
Our Indian River experience was great - we highly recommend it to anyone, but especially those with kids. The location is very nice for easy access to day trip locations like Mackinac Island, the Soo Locks, Petoskey, St. Ignace/Mackinaw City, canoeing, and more. Some of the highlights of this campground:
- Large, wooded sites. Since we traveled with another family, it was real nice that they allowed us to park our travel trailers "door to door", giving us a great place to let the kids play where we could easily watch them. Many campgrounds are getting real picky about how you pull in your camper - this one was much more flexible which is a big plus in my book.
- Daily candy bar bingo (a favorite of the adults too)
- Cool pool in the shape of Michigan's lower peninsula
- Goodie shop with ice cream and snacks available
- Nice shuffle board courts and horseshoe pits
- Plenty of daily activities for the kids, targeting different age groups
- 3 pool tables in the ranger station
- Secure entry point that was always manned to control comings and goings
As with any campground, there are certain things to be ready for:
- Water and electric are typically shared- which means that you need to be prepared with long electric cords and water hoses. One big gotcha was the shared electric- there was a 50 amp and a 30 amp connection available. If you had two 50 amp rigs next to each other, one would be stuck with 30 amp service. In our case, we had two 30 amp rigs which required the purchase of a $20 50/30amp adapter to fully meet the power requirements.
- The playground was lacking. Although there was a nifty observation deck to climb, the play structures were not geared for kids age 5 and nearly 3. The one play structure with a slide was incredibly fast - we had to catch our youngest at the bottom so he wouldn't go face first into the dirt. The 5 year old didn't like the big bump that pushed him airborn, so he kinda avoided it. There was one teeny tiny baby structure - it was much too little for both kids. If this campground could use anything, it could stand for some better play equipment.
- No wireless Internet. I'm thinking that in a few more years not having access to the 'net from a campground will become more and more rare. Having access is great way to check on the weather and on day trip destinations.
It was our first trip to this campground- we'll definitely be returning someday soon as our base for more exploration of the tip of the mitten.
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