Cadillac, Michigan / William Mitchell State Park

September 2014, Weekend, 2-nights, Lot 102

Sunset over Lake Mitchell

This was our first stay in this campground. We initially thought a waterfront channel lot would be nicer; however, there were not any channel lots available the weekend of our stay except for the ones by the main road (M-115). After we arrived at the park, we decided that the area where we stayed is nicer than the channel. 

Campground map

Before our arrival, I had reserved lot 43 online. My husband thought the camper position on the lot behind it, lot 102, would be better, so we talked with the park ranger about switching lots. Fortunately, lot 102 was still available, and he switched us for no charge.

Lot 102 and lot observations

Lot 102 is fabulous for a couple of reasons. It has an unobstructed view of Lake Cadillac, and there is no road around the end of the lot, so vehicles cannot drive by between the lot and the lake. The lot also extends out toward the trail and lake more than it looks like on the site map. 

View from lot 102

The campground site map on the Michigan DNR reservation site shows the campground lots in two different segments. I took a screen shot of both segments, pieced them together, and added a few labels to assist travelers when making a lot selection. Click on the image above to enlarge it. 

Labeled lot info

The channel lots are all rectangular back-in type lots in a row, so the channel view from the camper/RV is out the back window. And, the camper entrances and fire pits are all on the M-115 side, rather than the lake side. There is a view from the fire pit between each camper to the channel, although that is about it.

Lot 41 also looked like a great lot with an unobstructed view of the lake. For some reason, the people staying on lot 41 parked so their camper entrance faced away from the lake and their fire pit. They faced lot 39, and then used the fire pit on that lot instead of their own. The campground was not busy during our stay, and there was no one camping on the lot next to them, although this seemed like a waste of the great view.

Here are a few photos with labeled information and the view of Lake Cadillac. There is a trail next to lot 102, and there is a fishing pier/dock on the lake pretty much straight out from the lot.

Sunset

The sun sets over Lake Mitchell, and it is a short walk along the channel and under M-115 to Lake Mitchell from the campground. There is a sunset photo at the start of this blog post.

Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center and Cadillac Heritage Nature Study Area

It is a short walk from the campground to the Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center. We did not go inside the center, although we hiked the trails behind the center, and through the nature study area. 

I highly recommend the trail walk. It is a fairly easy and picturesque trek. We wore walking shoes, although we passed a family who walked part of the trail in flip-flops.

Misc.

I was initially concerned that we might hear a lot of traffic noise from M-115. We prefer not to camp in a town atmosphere; however, this did not turn out to be a problem. We could not hear the traffic from our lot, and we had a wilderness view.

The bathhouse in the center of the campground had been recently updated and was in good condition. The roads inside the campground are paved, although most of the lots are dirt/grass combination. We observed a few lots near the newer bathhouse with paved drives.

The next time we visit this park, we plan to bring our bikes, so we can ride into town via North Blvd.

We enjoyed our stay in this park, and plan to visit again. Happy trails!