South Haven, Michigan: Van Buren State Park, Van Buren Trail Connector, Downtown area

 August 2020, 3-nights, Weeknight-Weekend

Campsite 162 at Van Buren State Park. 
Photo taken from edge of site next to fire ring.

Van Buren State Park campsite 162

This is a nice large campsite with trees around most of the perimeter. The only opening is at the back corner, between this campsite and site 156. The site is level with a bit of grass. I am surprised that this site is often available when many around it are reserved. I think it is a better site than many near it. It is a 50 amp site, which we did not need. We had made the reservation before selling our fifth wheel, and downsizing to our current camper. 

Campsite 162 at Van Buren State Park.
Click on photo to enlarge it and see details.

Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan: Suttons Bay, Traverse City, Marion/Power/Bassett Island, Northport

August 2020, 8 nights 

I have previously written several posts about all of these areas with information, so this post will not have as much detail. You can click on the labels at the end of this post for areas you are interested in for more details.

Sunset from our slip at Suttons Bay facing west and east (below)

Marinas: Suttons Bay, Duncan L. Clinch (Traverse City), G. Marsten Dame (Northport)

We stayed at Suttons Bay marina for four of our eight nights, as this is our favorite marina. Great staff, great rates, well maintained, and nice beach/park next door. The rate was $2 higher per night than previous years, which is still reasonable. COVID-19 protocols were in place, and we did not encounter any issues. 

Sunset in Traverse City from our boat slip on the walkway
at Duncan L. Clinch Marina

Cadillac, Michigan: Hemlock US Forest Campground and Clam Lake Beer Company

August 2020, 1 night, weeknight

If you do not happen to know about Hemlock Campground, it is difficult to find online. I wish all primitive campgrounds showed in the same place. Currently in Michigan, I need to search under Michigan state forest campgrounds, US state forest campgrounds, and National forest campgrounds. So confusing and time consuming!

View of Hemlock Campground site 15 when arriving.

Hemlock US forest campsite #15

The overnight rate at this campground is $20, and it is first come, first serve. It has vault toilets, hand pumps for fresh water, and a boat launch on Lake Mitchell. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. It is staffed with a Host on site who came over to talk with us after we chose a site.

View of Hemlock Campground site 15 from road in front of site.

Mancelona and East Jordan, Michigan: camping and kayaking

July 2020, 3-nights, weekday-weekend

Campsite 5 at Graves Crossing State Forest Campground.

Graves Crossing State Forest campground, sites 1 - 5

This campground has only 10 campsites, and we were a bit worried about finding a site available and big enough when we arrived Thursday night. Things ended up working out very well for us. There was only one site available when we arrived; site 5 next to the outhouses. Campsite 1 was also empty; however, there was a tag on the post. We needed two sites, as we had friends arriving the next day in their fifth wheel. The man on campsite 2 came over to talk with us when he saw us looking around. He said he was going to be leaving the next day, if we wanted to move. This helped us know that there would be a site available for our friends, so we set up camp on site 5. 

Graves Crossing State Forest Campground;
fire on campsite 5 facing site 4 and back of second loop.

Other than campsite 5 being right next to the outhouses, this is a nice large site. I imagine campers in tents prefer it more than someone in an RV. The campers who set up after we moved were in tents. The outhouses did not smell when we were there, although the dumpster did, which is close to campsite 1. 

Before we finished checking in, we had learned that the campers on site 3 were also leaving the next day, so we only paid for one night. The next day, we moved to site 3, and our friends took site 2. These were two of the best sites in the front loop of the campground for people camping together. Sites 6 - 10 are in loop two after you pass the outhouses on the main entrance road.

Campsite 3 at Graves Crossing State Forest Campground.