Travel Reviews & Information

Silverthorne, Colorado: Heaton Bay Campground in White River National Forest

2025-12-26T12:07:00.005-05:00

October 2025, 1 night, campsite C29

Campsite C29 in Heaton Bay Campground Silverthorne, Colorado

Campground and facilities

Our campsite in C loop had power and water hookup. The cost was $30.50 for one night (not counting the reservation fee) with the senior discount. This site is level and private with a great view. We only stayed one night, and did not need to unhook our trailer. We would have stayed longer; however, this campground was closing the day we departed.

This campground has rustic sites, and sites with electric and water hookup. Some are available with reservations, and some are non-reservable. There are no flush toilets, showers, nor a sanitation station.

Heaton Bay Campground

Recreation and miscellaneous

We walked to the picnic area in the campground, and the water in the bay was very low at the time of our stay. A paved bike trail runs alongside the campground, which we would have loved to ride, if the park had not been closing. There are also hiking trails across the road from the campground.

Blog status 2025

2025-11-01T08:37:00.001-04:00

Update

It is nearing the end of 2025, and I have not published a post since January of this year. Unfortunately, it looks like my blog will be retiring, as I have just not had the time to keep it up. If I decide to start sharing videos instead, as they are less time consuming than writing, I will let everyone know. For now, I am sharing a few photos and bits of information that I had planned to write about since January. As always, if anyone has any questions, just let me know! I am happy to share my experiences and knowledge.

Above: MSC Seaside in Ocean Cay
Below: atrium/lobby on MSC Seaside

7-day Caribbean cruise from Miami on MSC Seaside

This was our first time sailing with MSC, and we were impressed! In fact, we are cruising with them again in a few months. MSC gave my husband and I both a status match; diamond for me, and gold for him. We both have earned diamond status with Carnival, and MSC took better care of us than any experience we have had with Carnival.

Above: espresso martini on MSC Seaside
Below: diamond champagne and chocolate delivered to our cabin

We booked balcony cabin 10083 with the drink package, which was an incredible value. The cabin was perfect for us: quiet, nice private balcony, comfy, and clean. The spacious shower in the bathroom had a glass door. The food, beverages, and service on board were all top-notch. The only thing we did not like on this cruise was the noise volume in the showroom. It was incredibly loud! I have not read many complaints about this since our cruise, so maybe the noise we endured was not typical. My husband says he is bringing ear plugs on our next cruise, just in case. 😉

MSC's private island, Ocean Cay

MSC's private island, Ocean Cay, is absolutely amazing. You can walk the entire island, and there are several beaches, bars, and food trucks. Ocean Cay is one of the main reasons we chose the itinerary of our next MSC cruise. Our ship will be there from 8AM until 11PM on our 4-day cruise.

Above: sunset from guestroom in Embassy Suites Miami airport
Below: pool view from guestroom in Embassy Suites Miami airport

Ports of Call from Carnival Horizon: Western and Southern Caribbean

2025-04-06T13:49:00.005-04:00

January 2025

We have been to all of these ports before except Bonaire. You can find more information than what is provided in this post by clicking on the labels at the bottom of this post.

Ocho Rios cruise pier from Carnival Horizon

Ocho Rios, Jamaica: 9:00 - 5:00 PM

There is nothing to do at this pier, and it is not recommended to explore Jamaica on your own. We have previously gone on excursions to Dunns River Falls, an island tour with butterfly garden, and more. This time, we stayed on board, and enjoyed the peace and space on serenity deck.

7-mile beach in Grand Cayman
Views from Governor's Beach

Grand Cayman, CI: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Grand Cayman is a tender port, and there were several cruise lines in port the day of our visit. This made the process to get to and from the ship take a bit longer than usual. After we got to shore, we walked a couple of blocks inland to the public bus depot next to Starbucks. The cost to take the bus to Governor's Beach was $2.50 per person, one-way. This beach has a couple of picnic tables, and a bit of shade. There is a building on the south end near the parking lot that looked like it may have been restrooms, although we did not check this out. We enjoyed the beautiful beach for awhile, and then we walked back to the cruise port along the beach. This is about a 3 mile walk, and you can walk along the beach most of the way. We walked out to the sidewalk when obstructions in the water made our walk in the water more than waist deep. We had walked through the water a little before this; however, we did not want to go that deep because of belongings we were carrying.

Cozumel cruise port from Carnival Horizon
Below: leaving Cozumel

Cozumel, Mexico: 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM

We did not do anything new at this port. There are many tours available through Carnival and independent companies. We disembarked the ship just so we could walk around and get some exercise, different than on deck 12! Again, there were many ships in port, so the area was very busy.

Above: cruise ships from Renaissance rooftop pool downtown Aruba
Below: free bus ride downtown Oranjestad, Aruba

Aruba, BVI: 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Aruba is a beautiful island with many things to do on your own, or with an excursion. Be prepared for a breeze, as it is always windy in Aruba. We rode the complimentary double decker bus through town. This stops at the cruise port, and there are different stops in town. This entire area is walkable; we only rode the bus to get a different view point.

Above: swimming and snorkeling pier in Bonaire from Carnival Horizon
Below: sea turtle in Bonaire from cabin 9206 on Carnival Horizon

Carnival Horizon Cruise B2B: 6-day Western Caribbean and 8-day Southern Caribbean from Port of Miami

2025-04-01T11:17:00.011-04:00

January 2025

We were on the Horizon from Port of Miami in 2020, and you can find additional ship information in my previous post.

View of Carnival ships at Port of Miami from bridge sidewalk

Arrival and diamond check-in ~ Miami

We walked to the cruise port from the InterContinental, which was farther than we usually walk to a cruise port (just under 2 miles). The walk was pretty easy, although there is a small section when you first get to the port area after crossing the bridge where there is no sidewalk. Traffic is slow, so this did not present too much of a problem. We had planned to take the Coral Way trolley to the port, and then decided it would be easier to walk with our luggage, than it would be to load it on and off the trolley while hoping to have enough room for it.

We did not receive diamond status before boarding this ship, because our Carnival Glory cruise credit from two days before this cruise, had not posted to our accounts yet. I left a voice message and an email with our PVP to inquire about this, and she never responded. Needless to say, we are longer working with her. We worked directly with the diamond desk after this cruise (more information about that experience at the end of this post). The cruise port was packed before we boarded, and we again had difficulty maneuvering through the crowds of people to board when it was our time, just like previous Miami port experiences.

Cabin 9201, category 4J, on Carnival Horizon

Interior picture window cabin 9201 category 4J

We think the front walkway cabins on Carnival cruise ships are a great value. Every cabin we have been in is spacious, and they have a large window. The only thing we missed was a second chair, or loveseat type seating for two. Not many people walked by on the front walkway in front of our window. You can only see through the widow to the inside when it is dark out, and the cabin lights are on. Additional photos for this cabin category (#9203) can be found in my previous Horizon post (link above).

Cabin 9206, category JS (junior suite), on Carnival Horizon

Junior suite obstructed view 9206

We booked a suite for the second leg of our back-to-back cruise, so we we had to change rooms. We packed everything up, and our room stewed pushed our bags down the hall to our new cabin, after it was ready. This was our first time booking a suite, and we loved it! It was a bit pricey, but we had a 25% on board credit, after our 25th cruise, that we used. This was enough to cover our gratuities, drinks, speciality dining, and a few purchases.

I neglected to get photos of the bathroom and closet area in our suite. This cabin has a large walk in closet by the entrance with a full length mirror. The bathroom has a whirlpool tub/shower combination, and a large vanity with a double sink. The suite also comes with two bottles of water.

Above: view from balcony of cabin 9206 on Carnival Horizon
Below: 9206 balcony and wetness after bridge window cleaning

Miami, Florida: InterContinental

2025-03-26T10:35:00.008-04:00

January 2025, two nights, weekend

Beautiful sculpture in the lobby at InterContinental Miami.

Reservations, arrival, platinum perks

InterContinantal has an ambassador program, and elite level IHG members do not usually receive perks if not also an ambassador member. I am not a member of the ambassador program, because there is a cost to join, and the program is only good at IC hotels. I received the platinum on-site 600 bonus points at check-in, and I opted to pay for club access. I had booked this stay with points, and the only points room available when booking was a basic guestroom. The club upgrade was a bit pricey, so we only added this for one night of our stay.

Floor 28 in InterContinental Miami hotel

Guestroom on floor 28

This guestroom is one of the corner rooms with a partial view, so I suppose we also received a slight room upgrade. The guestroom did not seem particularly large, although the corner rooms do look larger in the guestroom diagram (see photo above).

Guestroom on floor 28 in InterContinental Miami hotel

Carnival Glory Cruise: 4-day Bahamas cruise from Port Canaveral

2025-03-04T21:57:00.003-05:00

January 2025

We were on the Glory from Port of Miami in 2011. You can find more information about the ship in my previous Glory blog post.

View from Carnival Glory in Port Canaveral

Arrival and platinum check-in ~ Port Canaveral

The last time we cruised from Port Canaveral, our ship was docked at terminal 5, so we had to get a ride out to the pier, as there is no way to walk to that location. This time, Glory was docked at terminal 3, which is located across the street from two Holiday Inn hotels, so we were able to walk to the port. Arrival and check-in was the smoothest we have ever experienced with Carnival. This port has a waiting room for diamond and suite guests. We were platinum, and our waiting area was outside this room. After guests in the private room boarded, we were next. We are on board at 10:40 AM.

Cabin 6233 on Carnival Glory

Interior cabin 6233 category 4D

I had not noticed that this cabin is above the showroom until shortly before departure. We have stayed on deck 6 before; just not in a forward inside room. After I saw this, I tried to contact our PVP to see about changing rooms or upgrading. The first time I contacted her, she told me there was nothing available. She told me to check with her again after we had completed check-in. I called her and sent her an email after we had checked in, and she never got back with me. After we boarded, I stopped at guest services to ask about a different room. The person I spoke with said there was nothing available; however, she did not look at our cabin number or check anything on the computer. In hindsight, I should have approached guest services again after the first night, and given them our room number. During our 4-day cruise, the late night comedy shows were in the front showroom, rather than the comedy lounge, so the music and noise vibrated inside our cabin until midnight. There was only one night this cruise when there was not a late night show in the front showroom. I do not suggest this cabin, unless you do not plan to sleep until after midnight.

This video was from one of the quietest evenings in our cabin. Noise was not the only thing we disliked about the cabin. The bed was hard, and the two twin beds they make into a king bed would not stay together. The lumpy pillows had a stale odor, as if they needed to be cleaned, and I had to request laundry bags from our room steward. After the poor sleep quality on this ship, I was not interested in another Carnival cruise when we disembarked.

Platinum Aft dining room on Carnival Glory

Food and beverages

Food was pretty much the same as I wrote in my previous Glory blog post. The only food item I recall being disappointed with was the turkey wrap from the deli. It was dry and did not taste fresh. Lobster is not served on elegant night on 4-day cruises. The Carnival drink package has gotten outrageously expensive. We have purchased this in the past, when it was around $50 a day; however, for $80+ a day, we did not even consider it for this cruise. We each brought a bottle of wine on board at the beginning of the cruise instead. We also purchased a bucket of six beers for the week, as they are each $1 off when purchasing the bucket. You can get this at any bar.

VIFP gifts on Carnival Glory

Cape Canaveral, Florida: Holiday Inn Club Vacations Beach Resort

2025-03-02T16:07:00.007-05:00

January 2025, Sunday night

Above: sunset from Holiday Inn Beach Resort Cape Canaveral building 2
Below: property map for Holiday Inn Club Vacations Resort Cape Canaveral

Arrival and platinum perks

I reserved a standard king guestroom with points, and received an upgrade to a two bedroom villa. We arrived early, and the front desk agent said she would put in an early check-in request for us. We checked our luggage, then returned our rental car, and walked back to the property. I am not sure the early check-in request really did much good, because we did not receive a call saying our room was ready until over three hours later, shortly after 3:30 PM. After we received the call, we returned to the front desk to get our checked luggage, and then waited a few minutes for the property tram, as our villa was in building 2 at the far end of the property. We arrived at our villa around 3:45 PM. It did not appear that anyone had recently stayed in this villa. Since check-in time is 4:00 PM, I guess the early arrival request got us into our room a few minutes early! 😆 😳

We absolutely loved our villa upgrade, even though we did not have much of a view. It was much more fabulous than a regular hotel room.

Villa 2312 in Holiday Inn Club Vacations Beach Resort Cape Canaveral

Guestroom villa #2312

The villa number matches the building number, floor, and then unit number. We were in building 2 on the 3rd floor, in unit 12.

Villa 2312 in Holiday Inn Club Vacations Beach Resort Cape Canaveral
Below: view of cruise ships leaving port from our balcony in villa 2312

This villa is a complete living unit. The living and kitchen areas were spacious, and the balcony contained a table and chairs. The view overlooked the pedestrian walkway. The channel was beyond the walkway, although you could not see the water due to the shrubbery.

Villa 2312 in Holiday Inn Club Vacations Beach Resort Cape Canaveral

Tifton, Georgia: Hilton Garden Inn

2025-02-23T16:06:00.008-05:00

January 2025, weekend, one night

Guestroom 333 in Hilton Garden Inn Tifton, Georgia

Arrival and diamond perks

I redeemed points for this stay, and received my 750 bonus points after the stay. I checked in on the app before we arrived, and chose a room on the top floor (4) near the end of the hall. When we arrived over an hour after check-in time, the front desk agent said this room was not ready yet, so she reassigned us to guestroom 333. I inquired about a room upgrade, and she said there was not anything available. She assured me this was a great room in a quiet location.

Guestroom 333 in Hilton Garden Inn Tifton, Georgia

Guestroom 333

This guestroom is a basic king bed guestroom with a suitcase bench, large flatscreen TV, one soft chair, and a desk and chair. It is located at the end of the hall, and it was quiet in the guestroom. The bed mattress was acceptable comfort; however, I thought the bed linens at the Holiday Inn where we had stayed the night before were much better quality.

Guestroom 333 in Hilton Garden Inn Tifton, Georgia

I assume that all guests in this hotel receive complimentary water, as there were two bottles in our room, and this room had not been pre-assigned before our arrival. The room also contained a Keurig coffeemaker with supplies, ice bucket, a small fridge, and a microwave.

Columbus, Indiana: Holiday Inn

2025-02-12T09:30:00.002-05:00

January 2025, weekend, one night

Arrival and status perks

I reserved a standard king guestroom online for this stay, and received an upgrade to a king suite before we arrived. I checked in online, and stopped at the front desk to get our keys when we arrived around 7PM. My bonus points posted to my account the next day.

Suite 334 in Holiday Inn Columbus, Indiana

Guestroom

I loved the location of this guestroom. It is in the corner on the top floor. It was spacious, quiet, and comfortable. The living area contained a sofa, soft chair, desk and chair, suitcase bench, small tables, large flatscreen TV, microwave, mini-fridge, and Keurig coffeemaker.

Suite 334 in Holiday Inn Columbus, Indiana

The bathroom shower had a nice glass door. Bath amenities and good quality soft towels were provided.

Alpena, Michigan: Holiday Inn Express and more

2024-12-30T10:51:00.003-05:00

December 2024, week night, one night

View from king suite 407 in Holiday Inn Express Alpena, Michigan
Sitting area in king suite 407 below

Holiday Inn Express, king suite 407

I reserved a basic king guestroom in this hotel. As a platinum member, we received an upgrade to a suite. Although we did not have a river view, the extra sitting area in the room was great. I also received the opportunity to pick a gift from the Christmas tree in the lobby, and received an extra 250 points. Some of the gifts were worth 5,000 points, so I guess I was not so lucky on that draw. 😁

King suite 407 in Holiday Inn Express Alpena, Michigan

This Holiday Inn Express still had Keurig coffee machines in the guestroom. They did not have a fresh brew machine in the lobby, like the location in East Lansing. The guestroom was spacious, comfortable, and very clean. The bathroom shower had glass doors, and a safe was provided in the entry closet.

Breakfast in Holiday Inn Express Alpena, Michigan

Lansing, Michigan: Holiday Inn Express, Visitor Bureau and area

2024-12-30T08:03:00.003-05:00

November 2024, weekend, one night

View from guestroom 326 in Holiday Inn Express & Suites East Lansing

I am sharing a few photos and some basic information from our Lansing visit last month.

Guestroom 326 in Holiday Inn Express & Suites East Lansing

Holiday Inn Express East Lansing, king suite guestroom 326

I reserved a basic king guestroom in this hotel. As a platinum member, I received an upgrade to a king suite. The guestroom was clean and comfortable.

Guestroom 326 in Holiday Inn Express & Suites East Lansing

Grand Rapids, Michigan: City Flats Hotel with Expedia through AARP

2024-12-11T12:10:00.002-05:00

October 2024, one night, weekday

Guestroom diagram in CityFlats hotel Grand Rapids, Michigan

Reservation process

This is the first time I have used Expedia, and based on this experience, I will never book through them again. The only reason I booked this way, is because I had a $100 credit from AARP. I saved a little money in the end; however, the process was not worth it. The biggest headache occurred when the $100 credit did not process correctly. First I spoke with AARP, who could not help, and then it took me an hour on the telephone with Expedia to get this corrected! The first person I spoke with was going to have the hotel cancel the reservation and have me re-book (I was on hold while he attempted this). Lucky for me, hotel staff did not answer, because the same thing probably would have happened during re-booking. After a supervisor got on the telephone, this person was also unable to correct the error. The supervisor eventually ended up crediting me back the $100. Whew! Another reason not to book through a third party, is that if you have a membership, the hotel will not credit any earned points for the stay.

View from guestroom 502 in CityFlats hotel Grand Rapids, Michigan

Arrival and guestroom 502

Our room was ready when we arrived, and the check-in process was quick. The guestroom was very small, and the view was lousy.

Guestroom 502 in CityFlats hotel Grand Rapids, Michigan

Vanderbilt, Michigan: Pigeon River State Forest Campground

2024-12-08T20:39:00.001-05:00

October 2024, weekend - weekdays, 3 nights, campsite #1

View of campsite #1 in Pigeon River State Forest from hiking trail across river

We stayed in this campground April 2023, and you can find more information about the area in that post. I am sharing just a few photos in this post, as there was not much that was new this trip.

Campsite #1 in Pigeon River State Forest
Below: river behind campsite 1

Campsite 1

We again chose campsite 1, as it was the best river site available when we arrived on a Saturday. The campsite view to the river was a bit more overgrown that it had been in spring 2023. Other than that, and the rocks someone had piled up in the river, this campsite was pretty much the same as it had been then.

Recreation: Discovery Center, hiking, kayaking, elk viewing

The Discovery Center next to park headquarters has a lot of great information inside. This is a short hike from the campground, and is also along the southern loop of ShingleMill Pathway. You can find hiking photos and a map in my previous post. The center had not been open last time we camped here. Fresh water is available at the ranger station, and we observed people filling their jugs when we passed by. A large portion of the trail on the west side of the river had been updated with new boardwalk since our last visit.

Above: Beaver Pond in Pigeon River State Forest
Below: pathway signage in Pigeon River State Forest

Kincheloe, Michigan: Kinross Charter Township RV Park in the Upper Peninsula

2024-12-04T18:00:00.004-05:00

October 2024, two nights, weekdays

Arrival

This township has two RV Parks; east and west. We had thought we would stay in the west section near the fairgrounds, as that area is a bit more like a campground; however, the water had already been turned off for the season in that section. We arrived from the west, so continuing 2½ more miles to the east campground was not a problem. A host trailer was on site in the east park near the registration area; however, we did not see the host at any time during our stay. We chose a site, and then registered and paid via envelopes provided at the self-registration kiosk.

Above: sunset from inside camper in East Kinross Township RV Park
Below: map overview of East Kinross Township RV Park

Campsite 12

I did not take any campsite photos, so I am including a marked photo above from google maps to show the campground. We were on the campsite circled in red.

All of the sites in the east campground are full hookup. Our campsite had a level concrete pad. There were not many campers in October, so the fact that the sites are open was not an issue. There is plenty of room between neighbors behind each site.

Strongs, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula: Three Lakes Campground

2024-11-26T13:16:00.003-05:00

September - October 2024, 3 nights

Sunset over Walker Lake behind campsite 5 in Three Lakes Campground

Arrival and campsite choice

We had hoped to camp in Soldier Lake Campground for this stay; however, that campground had already closed for the season. The information for Three Lakes Campground says it has sites for up to a 20' trailer, and ours is 25'. People we had met when camping in Brevoort Lake National Forest Campground told us the sites are large, so we decided to check it out. This campground is easy to access from M-28, and all of the roads are paved. Our 25' trailer could have easily fit on most of the sites in this campground. The facility map for this campground is not correct at the time of this post, and some of the website photos are incorrect, as well. I have shared information about that farther down in this post.

Campsite 4 is the site with the best water view; however, there was a camper on that site when we arrived. There was no tag on the post, and that camper ended up leaving late that day, after we had already chosen site 5. 😳 We chose site 5 because it had the best kayak launch spot of the remaining waterfront sites available.

Campsite 5 in Three Lakes Campground
Photo above is lake view from inside our trailer

Campsite 5

We liked all of the campsites in this park. The sites are spacious, and there is quite a bit of privacy around every site. The area where we parked our trailer on site 5 is hard packed, as is the ground on the road side of the tree. There is not a designated gravel or tar parking area on any of the sites, like is often common in National Parks. We chose to back in on the other side of the tree in order to have a better lake view, and so the tree would not be in the way of our awning.

Campsite 5 in Three Lakes Campground

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

2024-11-21T09:04:00.003-05:00

September 2024

I am sharing info about a few of the areas we hiked/visited along the Pictures Rocks shoreline between Munising and Grand Marais. We split our campground time between Bay Furnace National Park Campground (primitive campsites with a sanitation station and fresh water available), and Seney Township Campground (town park on Fox River with electric sites and artesian well on property).

Mosquito Falls and trail in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Hiking to Mosquito Falls, Mosquito Beach, and Chapel Falls

We started our hike at Chapel Falls trailhead. This trailhead is about a 40-minute drive from Bay Furnace Campground. We put the destination in Google maps and our GPS before we left Munising, so it stayed connected even when our phone lost reception en route. There is a trail map and vault toilets at the trailhead parking lot.

Above: Mosquito Beach
Below: cave along Mosquito Falls Trail

We hiked the Mosquito loop trail first, which was almost 5 miles. We did not think this was a difficult hike, although many people turned around before Mosquito Falls, as the trail gets a bit wet and hilly in areas. Since there were not many hikers, we got to enjoy the scenery and saw several deer. Mosquito Beach is beautiful!

Above: Chapel Falls
Below: creek above Chapel Falls

Seney, Michigan (upper peninsula): Seney Township Campground

2024-11-17T13:32:00.005-05:00

September 2024, 3 nights, weekend

Fox River in Seney Township Campground in Michigan's upper peninsula

We found this campground, between our primitive campground stays, as we were looking for an inexpensive place to stay for a night or two with electricity. We liked this campground so well, we stayed for three nights.

Arrival experience

This is a small township campground on the Fox River with self-registration. Two campsites were taken when we arrived on a Friday. Only one campsite is river adjacent, and the camper on that site looked like he was staying for awhile. We parked, and walked around the park on foot, before we decided to go with campsite 14. The senior rate for a site with electricity was $18 a night. This campground does not have a sanitation station.

View from campsite 14 in Seney Township Campground

Campsite 14

This campsite overlooks an artesian well and a small creek. Tent sites, and Fox River Road are visible on the other side of the creek. Since there were no tent campers during our stay, we had a great view. The only vehicles were observed on Fox River Road were ATV type trail machines, and a couple off vehicles camping at the State Forest Campground down the road.

Above: Seney Township Campground artesian well and campsite 14 beyond
Below: campsite 14 from tent area in Seney Township Campground

People often stopped at the well to fill water containers, which did not cause us any disruption. In fact, when we returned one day from our hike, someone had left us a box of firewood. 😊 No campers had departed the campground that day, so we assume it was from someone who had stopped for water.

Campsite 14 in Seney Township Campground

Munising, Michigan: Bay Furnace National Park Campground in the Upper Peninsula

2024-11-11T15:31:00.001-05:00

September 2024, 4 nights, weeknights

Sunset from inside our camper in Bay Furnace Campground

Reservations and arrival

The entrance into Bay Furnace is quite rough with many potholes. Fortunately, the distance down this rough dirt road is less than half a mile from M-28.

Bay Furnace Campground self registration September 2024

We had made a reservation online several months ahead of time, and were able to proceed directly to our campsite. At the time of our stay the last full week of September, campsites that had not been reserved, had all been converted to first come, first serve. A sign on the self-registration post listed the park close date as 10/9/2024. The online system had said the park was going to close on 10/4 when we made our reservation. The host had already departed from full hookup site #8, and a local person had taken that campsite for the maximum 14-days allowed. According to the information on his post, he had rented it for the same price the rest of us paid for our primitive campsites.

Campsite 9 in Bay Furnace Campground
Photo above is view through screen door.

Campsite 9, and more

Campsite 9 is a great campsite on Lake Superior with a fabulous view. It was an easy few steps down the hill to the water.

Campsite 9 in Bay Furnace Campground

This campsite is spacious, level, and somewhat secluded. There is a trail to the picnic area between this campsite and host site 8, which did not pass too close to our trailer. I marked the trail with an arrow in one of the photos above.

Most of the campsites in this park are great. They are spacious, and offer some privacy. Host campsite 8 and campsite 6 also have good views of the water, even though they are not directly on the water. Campsite 10 would be a good site for a tent, pickup camper, or motorhome pulled in. We did not like that site, because the fire ring and sitting area is behind the trailer when backing in with a travel trailer.

Above: picnic area in Bay Furnace Campground
Below: Campsite 9 in distance from edge of picnic area

Au Train, Michigan: Au Train Lake USDA Forest Service Campground in the Upper Peninsula

2024-11-05T17:25:00.003-05:00

September 2024, 1 night, weeknight, campsite 22

Sign posted at the entrance to Au Train Lake Campground September 2024

Arrival experience

As we were driving to this campground, we were hoping it was still open, because the information online was unclear. Information on the recreation.gov site sounded like it might be closing the day we were arriving, although it did not state this for sure. Later, we learned that the information on the USDA Forest site would have been more helpful, since that site clearly stated the closing date. When we arrived, a sign on the post stated that the campground was closing October 1st. The host campsite was already vacated for the season. Although we have seen the host campsite available at other campgrounds after the host departs, it was roped off at this campground, so no one could rent it.

Campsite 22 in Au Train Lake Campground

Campsite 22

At the time of our stay, all of the sites were first come, first serve, except campsites that had been reserved far in advance. There were reserved tags on those sites. We were only staying one night, and chose campsite 22, which was spacious enough and level enough that we did not need to unhook our trailer.

Campsite 22 in Au Train Lake Campground
View from the road and from the lake behind the site

This is a great campsite on the lake, and it has trees around the perimeter. This site is always FCFS, even during peak season. We thought most of the campsites in this campground were great. Most of them are spacious, private, and level.

Songbird Trail in Au Train Lake Campground

Marquette, Michigan: Ojibwa Casino, Iron Ore Heritage Trail, Welcome Center

2024-11-04T10:58:00.006-05:00

September 2024, 2 nights, weekend

We have previously stayed in Marquette Tourist Campground, and Rippling River Resort in this area, and had hoped to stay in a local campground again. You can find more details about those campgrounds by clicking on the "Marquette" label at the bottom of this post. For this trip, we decided the nightly campground rates had become too expensive ($45 to over $100 a night). And, Rippling River Resort was requiring a 3-night stay minimum. We also considered staying in a hotel with laundry facilities along the Iron Ore Heritage Trail; however, lodging for the nights we wanted was over $300 a night (and, our first choice hotel did not have parking to accommodate our trailer overnight). So, we opted to just stay in the casino parking lot.

View from inside our camper in Marquette Ojibwa Casino RV parking lot

Ojibwa Casino RV parking

Ojibwa Casino was in the process of building an RV park, which was not finished at the time of our stay. The sites are all full hookup, although I could not find any information about the campground rates when it is finished. There is plenty of overnight parking space for RVs next to the regular parking lot, and there is no charge to park in the RV lot. There were two campers that looked like they were staying long-term. This was our first time staying in a casino parking lot for more than one night. Other than the generator noise, which was not very loud, we had a quiet and uneventful stay.

View from picnic area at Marquette Welcome Center

Champion, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula: Van Riper State Park

2024-10-28T08:23:00.007-04:00

September 2024, 5 nights, weekdays, campsite 111

Sunset over Lake Michigamme in Van Riper State Park

Reservations and arrival

This was our first stay in this campground. We made an online reservation for campsite 111, which is a 30 amp site. We arrived after checkout time, and slightly before check-in time. We were able to check-in, fill our water tank at the sanitation station, and proceed to our site. We observed a couple of campers depart after we arrived, so apparently staff does not always enforce the check-in and checkout times, as others have stated. Possibly, the late departing folks had paid for an extra day... When we departed on our last morning before checkout time, we observed new campers arriving early and proceeding to their sites, as well.

View of Lake Michigamme from campsite 111 in Van Riper State Park

Campsite 111

This campsite is shady, it is a decent sized site, only slightly unlevel, and it is mostly private. Lake Michigamme was barely visible from the edge of the site and through our back camper window.

Campsite 111 in Van Riper State Park

The trail behind this campsite goes down a hill to the boat ramp. The activity on the trail was mostly people walking their dogs, and one day it was active with young teens speedily riding their bikes down the hill. Fortunately, there were no serious accidents! We overheard conversation about one wipeout, but no crying or screaming, so apparently the spill was minor.

Above: Pesheke River flowing into Lake Michigamme under the railroad tracks
Below: Heading out on Lake Michigamme from the boat ramp in Van Riper State Park

Upper Peninsula Michigan: Colwell Lake National Forest Campground

2024-10-25T15:12:00.004-04:00

September 2024, 4 nights, campsite 27

You can find more details about this campground in my previous post from our stay in September 2022. I am sharing a few recent photos and info from our stay this year.

Sunset over Colwell Lake from campsite 27

Arrival

There was only one non-reservable campsite with electricity available when we arrived on a Wednesday; campsite 5, which is a non-waterfront site. We had hoped to get a campsite with electricity; however, we opted for a waterfront site instead. There were several great waterfront sites available for three nights or less. We wanted to stay four nights, so we chose campsite 27, which is one of the sites we had circled after our previous stay.

Beach area of campsite 27 in Colwell Lake National Forest Campground

Campsite 27

We thought the water access from this campsite is one of the better ones. The beach area is sandy, and there was plenty of room for our chairs and kayaks.

Campsite 27 in Colwell Lake Campground

Upper Peninsula Michigan: Brevoort Lake National Forest Campground near St Ignace

2024-10-17T13:12:00.010-04:00

September 2024, 6 nights, campsite 29

Water view behind campsite 29 in Brevoort Lake Campground

Reservations and arrival

This was our first stay in this campground, and there is not any signage inside the park, other than the park sign when entering the area. There was no sign designating which direction for the campground when the road split (fortunately, google was correct). The campground is straight ahead on Park Lane when arriving from the south, and the picnic area is down the road to the right. The campground was not staffed in September, so we proceeded directly to our campsite. This campground has reservable sites and first come, first serve campsites. There are several great non-reservable sites on the water, and since our stay was off-season, we probably should have picked a site after arrival. We reserved a waterfront site online; however, the online photos do not provide enough information about the sites. I have provided some details about our campsite below.

Campsite 29 in Brevoort Lake Campground

Campsite 29

Something to be aware of, that is not disclosed on the reservation site, is that the online photo of campsite 29 is not taken from the road. There is a dirt road area in front of this campsite, which gives it more privacy from the road; however, there are also two stumps in this area that stick up several inches. They were tall enough that we could not drive over them with our trailer. This made backing our trailer in a bit challenging. I would not suggest this campsite for anyone who wants easy parking.

Campsite 29 in Brevoort Lake Campground

Cheyboygan State Park in Cheboygan, Michigan

2024-09-03T06:56:00.003-04:00

August 2024, weekdays, 4 nights, campsite 15

View of Duncan Bay behind campsite 15 in Cheboygan State Park

Reservations and arrival

This campground is located on Duncan Bay in Lake Huron. It is over two miles off the main road, and the road turns to dirt after the first mile. This was our first visit, and we had originally reserved campsite 30. When we made our reservation, there were no photos on the DNR reservation site, and we'd had a difficult time choosing a campsite. The staff member when we arrived was very helpful, and we ended up switching to campsite 15.

Campsite 15 in Cheboygan State Park

Campsites

Our 25' trailer would have fit on campsite 30, although the space would have been a bit tight. Campsite 30 is also mostly dirt, rather than grass.

Campsite 15 in Cheboygan State Park

Campsite 15 is a larger and grassier site with better access to the water than site 30. Campsite 15, as well as a few others, are non-reservable sites. We did not realize this, because we had missed this information, which is in the individual campsite details on the DNR reservation site.

Above: campsite 9 in Cheboygan State Park
Below: campsite 23 in Cheboygan State Park

We took a few photos of other campsites, and I have included a couple of those in this post, as well.

Hiking trails in Cheboygan State Park

Northport, Michigan: Leelanau State Park

2024-08-15T12:53:00.005-04:00

July 2024, weekdays and weekend, 5 nights, campsite 42

One of the amazing sunsets from in front of our campsite in Leelanau State Park

This was our first time camping in this campground. We absolutely loved it; however, the campsite information online is highly inaccurate. I am sharing some information, and a few photos of campsites to assist future travelers. Getting into the campground is a bit tight, and I would not suggest it for anyone with campers over 25 to 30', even though their website lists 10 sites as accommodating at least a 30' unit (3 of them say 35 to 40'). We previously owned a 30' Montana 5th wheel, and we would not have taken it to this campground. Another thing to keep in mind when choosing your site, is whether you have kids or not. The east end of this campground was definitely more peaceful than the west end during our stay.

Beautiful view out the front window of our camper in Leelanau State Park!

Campsites

We did not choose a site on the water, as all of the water sites, except one, say they only accommodate tents, pickup campers, vans, or trailers less than 20', and our trailer is 25'. We chose site 42, which says it can accommodate a trailer up to 30'. You could only put a 30' trailer on site 42, if you do not plan to use your fire pit, and/or you do not have slide outs. We had to finagle our camper in the position we ended up with, and then we had to back up closer to the fire pit when we departed to make the turn.

Campsite 42 in Leelanau State Park

In order to use the fire pit, we could not back up any farther than we did on site 42, because of our slide out. If we had not wanted to use the fire pit, we could have backed up all the way to it to get off the road farther. Parking parallel to the road would not have worked for us, because there are large trees next to our truck to the left of the screened tent that would have been in the way of our slides.

Campsite 42 in Leelanau State Park

We had an amazing view out our front window, and this campsite is pretty secluded. It was level enough that we did not need to use any leveling bocks for the position we parked our trailer in. We were able to partially extend our awning for partial protection from the sprinkles of rain during our stay and falling tree debris.

Above: Campsite 21 in Leelanau State Park
Below: Partial of campsite 23 in Leelanau State Park

There is more room on several of the water sites (21, 22, 23...) that are listed as only accommodating up to a 20' trailer, than there was on site 42, which says it can accommodate a 30' trailer. The campsites are not actually bigger than campsite 42; there are just not any tree obstructions on most of the water sites.

Above: Campsite 38 in Leelanau State Park
Below: Campsite 47 in Leelanau State Park

Campsite 43 is the largest site near the water (next to the site we were on and across the street from the lake). We were actually surprised to see a very tall 30' motorhome and a pickup truck squeeze onto this site during our stay. I did not get a photo of that site, although I have included a couple more campsite photos above.

Leelanau State Park lighthouse and campground beach