The 2012 camping season is almost here, so I thought I would take a moment to look back on our camping experiences of 2011.
2011 was a busy and fun-filled camping summer. We had the opportunity to spend quality family time together and spend time with good friends. Here is a list (and review) of the campgrounds we visited during the 2011 season.
Hidden Ridge (Shelbyville, MI) – This was our first trip of the year and was also Easter weekend. Great weather for being so early and we had a lot of fun having Easter dinner at the campground with Amanda’s side of the family. I would definitely recommend this park.
Duke Creek (Cedar Springs, MI) – Amanda wanted to have Mothers Day weekend as a camping weekend. We stayed very close to home with James’ T-ball game on Saturday. A very average campground at best, we still had good family fun.
Salmon Run – Memorial Day weekend with the Huizen’s. We will never go back due to the impossible hill to climb when leaving the campground. If my F-250 can’t pull the trailer up the hill, then maybe it’s a poor place for a campground. The campground was small and cramped but we did have a lot of fun with the Huizen’s.
Vacation Station – FREE camping, courtesy if the RV Show. The Huizen’s also joined us on this trip with free camping as well. Very nice and clean campground. Nice facilities, pool and playground. I would definitely pay to go here as well, but as luck would have it, we have a free weekend for 2012 as well.
Betsie River (Frankfort, MI) – We spent the fourth of July in Frankfort with the Larsen’s. It was an older campground but it was in a really nice area. We went with the Larsen’s to fireworks at Crystal Mountain and had a great time. The only thing I would change is the neighbor across the street which apparently had a problem with my truck and kids. (I’m not sure what he was expecting – it IS a campground)
River Ridge – (Stanwood, MI) A very nice and clean campground with great facilites and even underground sprinkling. This is our annual trip with Bob and he was very generous in renting a pontoon boat for an afternoon to enjoy on the Muskegon River. Bob was disappointed however when he realized he could not take it as far as Lake Michigan.
Woodchip – (Wyoming, MI) We had a gift certificate for here which was a good thing because we wouldn’t have paid for it. Very cramped and unlevel sites made things very tricky and uncomfortable.
Sharp Park – (Middleville, MI) Amanda and I did camping trip for our anniversary. It’s a good thing we didn’t spend much time at the campground. It looks like it has been closed for years and was very run down. The campground was pretty much abandoned except for a few seasonal campers who never leave. We only slept there the rest of the time we spent visiting neighboring towns. We had some good wine and made a stop to Bell’s as well.
KOA (Covert, MI) – We spent the weekend with the De Vos’ The campsite was a nice traditional KOA with activities and nice facilites. It was a very fun weekend, but we ended up losing our awning in a storm.
Silver Creek RV Resort (Mears, MI) – Another free weekend of camping courtesy of the RV show! This is a fantastic campground with great facilites. I would definitely would return here. We camped with the Huizen’s and had a lot of fun time on the sand dunes.
Whispering Pines (Mancelona, MI) – We went camping with Kevin, Holly and Rosalyn and Lily. VERY COLD and Rainy weekend. It would have been a great campground if not for the weather.
Jellystone Park – (Mears, MI) Very nice campground with a ton of things for the kids to do. This was the halloween weekend and everyone did trick or treating between the campsites.
Saginaw Chippewa Campground – (Mt. Pleasant, MI) Mancamping for a CMU football game. Words can not or should not describe the weekend. Tyler can never eat blazing wings again and Bob should never manpout again.