Camping Tips and Information

After years of camping across Michigan using a variety of equipment, we'd like to share some of what we've learned to hopefully help make your next camping outing in the Great Lakes State a bit more enjoyable for both you and your fellow campers.

[ Where to camp | Camping etiquette | Miscellaneous tips ]

Where to camp

One of the first things to be concerned about when packing the Winnebago is where to actually set up camp. Although radio ads for RV dealers make it sound like you can just pull in anytime/anywhere, in reality nothing could be further from the truth throughout much of Michigan. Going up north is a sport here - it's what people do with their weekends and vacations. That means most of the nicest campgrounds will be pretty much filled to capacity on the weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day and indeed often throughout the week between the start of the July 4th holiday period and the first day of school.

The first tip- make your plans early in the year if you expect to get the site you want in a campground that features hookups and/or flush toilets and showers. This is especially true if you plan on camping with friends and/or family and will require more than one site. In order to be together in so-called modern campgrounds, don't be surprised if you have to make reservations in January -- or earlier -- for the upcoming summer.

If you plan on roughing it, most of the national forest and national park campgrounds are first-come, first-served and don't offer much more than vault toilets and hand pumps for water. Even these campgrounds get very busy around the holidays, so plan to arrive early to secure a spot.

Now... where to camp? If you've got young kids, we highly recommend checking out private campgrounds instead of just defaulting to the state parks.

Some of our favorites are franchisees of Yogi Bear's Jellystone Parks. All of the Yogi parks feature planned activities for the kids in the summer and have clean restrooms/showers along with a good number of camp sites with water and electricity hookups. Most also have nice playgrounds, swimming pools, and things like mini-golf, shuffleboard, basketball, and show movies and Yogi cartoons. The parent company, Leisure Systems, Inc runs a pretty tight ship with campground inspections and standards that the individual campgrounds must stick to in order to maintain their Yogi franchise. Every Jellystone Park we've been to has had a "quiet time" (radios off, voices down, kids back at their sites, etc) of about 10 or 11pm that is usually enforced, unlike at the state parks and some of the other private chains. We especially liked the enforced quiet time when putting little ones down for the night inside a pop-up camper.

In terms of being kid friendly, Jellystone is the best we've encountered. The main downside is that you can expect to pay more for each night of camping to help pay for the extra staff that is required for the summer activities and for campground maintenance. More and more Jellystone's are offering wireless Internet - but they are quickly falling behind other private chains that are expanding this service rather rapidly. Even the Michigan state parks are realizing the importance of offering campers Internet access for things such as finding tourist stops, banking, and getting the weather. We hope the Jellystone folks strongly encourage their park owners to upgrade in this area for 2008 and beyond.

Another reliable chain is Kampgrounds of America (KOA). We've found well-maintained, clean campgrounds that vary widely in terms of planned activities for kids as well as campground amenities. One area that KOA is leading the charge is in the area of wireless Internet access. Only one of the camps in Michigan (Port Huron) doesn't offer the service as of July 2006. Like the Jellystone chain, camping rates at KOA are more expensive than what you'll find at other private and public campgrounds, but in the case of KOA we don't mind spending a bit more for the peace of mind that things will be clean and usually functional.

Michigan is fortunate to have a huge network of independent private campgrounds too. Check out Michigan Campgrounds On-line from ARVC Michigan for a detailed list, or check out Michigan.org's list. You'll be amazed at the number of camping opportunities there are in places you've probably never been to before.

Finally, there are the old standbys, the Michigan State Parks/State Forest Campgrounds, and National Forest Campgrounds in the Huron-Manistee National Forest, Ottawa National Forest, and the Hiawatha National Forest. Also, several National Parks in Michigan offer camping opportunities.

Many of these public campgrounds are staffed by volunteer 'hosts' and patrolled by either the Michigan DNR, federal employees, local sherriffs' department, and and/or the Michigan State Police. Some of the state parks tend to get rowdy at times, without much enforcement, and might not be an ideal choice for those with small kids looking for quiet around kids' bedtime. One of the biggest drawbacks of the state park system is the lack of water hookups on the sites. If you're in an RV, you'll have to fill your water tank or haul water each time you need it. The public campground system is a great resource for many, especially if you don't want to spend the extra money at a private campground.

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Camping Etiquette

The best thing to keep in mind when visiting a campground is that you are a guest. You don't own the place and shouldn't act like you can do anything you want. Remember that there are lots of others around and they probably don't want to put up with your nonsense. Don't forget that when you leave, someone else will be taking your place and would appreciate you not trashing your site before you leave. It's all common sense ... but here are some tips that might both your stay and your neighbor's more enjoyable:

• Please try not to walk/ride your bike/rollerblade through an occupied camp site. Even if it doesn't look like someone is there at the moment. You might hurt yourself if there is a dog tied up or someone you don't see (small child) as you're riding through. I don't think adults are teaching their children this most basic of campground rules any longer - it happens more and more often. Use the road or use an established trail, it's a lot more polite than interrupting someone's dinner. A recent example? I was standing outside our camper at twilight and nearly got rundown by a young girl breezing through on rollerblades.
• Your campfire is not a trash incinerator. For the health/comfort of others, please don't burn anything plastic/styrofoam. You might not smell it sitting next to the fire, but you can be sure your neighbor doesn't enjoy not being able to breathe because of the toxins your fire is putting in the air. This goes for metal and glass stuff too - it doesn't burn and someone else will have to clean up your mess. Speaking of campfires - is it really necessary to have the thing smolder all day long in the middle of summer? No doubt a campfire is one of the highlights of an outing, but being downwind from a stinking, smoldering daylong pollution source is anything but pleasant. One thing you should put in your fire pit is cigarette butts if you are a smoker- campsites shouldn't be used as an ashtray. Remember that it's likely that the next camper on your site might be a kid that likes to play on the ground.
• Don't set your group area/campfire ring up right at the border of your site. Remember that someone else is using the spot next to you and might not want to be part of your group's conversations. Another real-life example- in the summer of 2006 we camped for nearly two weeks in a single campground. The first week plus, there was a family that had their fire pit located on the front half of their site. We hardly noticed they were there. After they left a new family came in and moved the fire ring so that the back of their chair circle was right on the dividing line between sites (there were posts marking the site boundries). So every time we exited our camper, these folks were essentially right there to watch every move we made. I even got dirty looks from them while packing up our bikes to go home (the bike rack is mounted on the back of our trailer) and while disconnecting the utility connections, which were nearly part of their circle. We got to "enjoy" their cigarette smoke and hear every word, especially from one loud male that wasn't shy about cursing about anything and everything.
• Finally, follow campground guidelines and follow the rules of common courtesy, even if they are not posted. Control your kids, your pets, and yourself. Clean-up after yourself if you use a campground facility that will be used by someone else after you. Please drive slowly! Children can do unexpected things like fall off their bikes and turn suddenly- it's always better to be safe than sorry.
• By all means enjoy yourself, but don't forget that there are others nearby that are trying to enjoy themselves too.

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Miscellaneous Tips

You can easily find common camping tips on any number of web sites (Google camping tips), so we're not going to duplicate those efforts here. In our years of camping with kids, here are some of the things we've done differently to make life easier in modern campgrounds:

• Bring along your George Foreman grill. It isn't the most romantic way to cook dinner in a campground, but it sure does the job quickly and cleanup is easy too. You'll want to also include a cookie sheet for underneath the grill so you don't soil whatever it is you put the grill on.
• A ceramic heater is great, especially in pop-up campers, to help even out the heat and even keep an area warm where the kids are sleeping. They are also a nice way to prevent arguments when someone forgets to fill up the propane tank...
• The National Weather Service has greatly expanded the coverage of its All Hazards Radio network (weather radio) across Michigan in recent years. Pick up a decent battery powered weather radio - it can be invaluable during severe weather to help you get out of the way if need be. We've found that best kind of weather radios are the ones that are devoted to that task - most of the multi-purpose devices that happen to have weather radio features don't work nearly as well. You should also figure out what county you'll be camping in and what All Hazards station to tune in to while you're there. Michiguide.com's weather radio page can help.
• Pack some kind of large tarp. It's amazing what can happen in a campground from falling trees, floods, etc. Having a tarp handy can be a real sleep-saver.
• It will rain when you least expect it. Especially when you leave the campground for the day and leave all your chairs and stuff out. Here's where the Boy Scouts have the right idea... be prepared for rain. Or be prepared to have wet stuff.
• Buy an inexpensive toolbox and create yourself a 'camping only' set of tools. You'll want to include the basics (screwdrivers, pliers, channel locks, hammer, side cutters, etc) plus some electrical tape, duct tape, and even some teflon tape (it's amazing the plumbing problems you can have with campers). While you're camping, you'll realize other items you wish you had for your toolbox - write 'em down and add it for next time. Don't go crazy of course, but it sure is nice to have a basic set of tools handy.
• Another thing that is often overlooked with summer campers is warm clothes / jackets. It never fails that one day the weather will be 90 and the next evening the temps will drop into the 40s at night. Stash some old sweatshirts, socks, jeans, etc into a bin that is part of your camping gear. It sure beats paying $30 at the camp store for a new sweatshirt.

On the road

One of the most challenging things about so-called modern camping is hauling the rig to and from a campground on extremely busy highways through construction zones and dealing with other drivers that don't understand that moving a travel trailer or 5th wheel out of the way isn't as easy as moving a subcompact. Most RVers don't drive the 70 MPH speed limit on Michigan expressways, instead opting to drive somewhere in between 60 and 65. Most try to stay in the right lane so as to not hold up others. The biggest problem with driving this way is others merging on to the freeway. No matter how hard we try to avoid mergering traffic by changing lanes and slowing down to allow space, there are an amazing number of people that absolutely don't know how to merge. They make no attempt to adjust their speed to either get in front or behind someone that can't make super-fast adustments because of another car in the next lane. It's absolutely incredible how many people don't even look to their side as they're coming down the ramp. Everyone should be forced to drive a vehicle with a large trailer at least once to fully understand how important it is to pay attention to not only your vehicle, but to those around you.

Patience is definitely the key when dealing with RVers on the highway. We're trying to go and have fun too and aren't trying to slow you down. We'll try to move out of your way as soon as its safe to do so. Would you rather have us driving carefully and accident-free or blocking freeways for hours at a time because of mishaps?

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This page is by no means a comprehensive guide to camping, but rather just some of the most important things we've experienced over the years. We hope it helps both beginners and experienced campers at least a little.

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