Chelsea, Michigan: Waterloo State Recreation Area, Green Lake Rustic Campground, Hiking, Biking, Discovery Center

May 2022, Green Lake primitive site GL6, 3 nights, weekdays

View of Green Lake from rustic campsite GL6 in Waterloo Recreation Area

This was our first visit to Waterloo park, which is the largest state park in Michigan's lower peninsula. We plan to visit again!

Info and registration instructions at Green Lake Rustic Campground in Waterloo Recreation Area

Reservations

We had not initially planned to make a reservation, since our stay was during the week at the beginning of May. After we looked at the park more closely, however, we decided it would be easier to make a reservation, in order to drive directly to our site. It did not look like there was a way to check in at this primitive campground, and the staffed areas in this park would have been out of our way.

After we arrived, we observed a self-registration kiosk, similar to Michigan State Forest campgrounds. There were also "reserved" tags on some sties; however, this information was not accurate, nor was it checked by anyone. There was no reservation tag on our site when we arrived, even though we had made a reservation. There was a reservation tag on the site next to us when we arrived, and this site was not occupied until the last night of our stay (I also checked the website after we arrived, and there was no reservation for that site until the last evening). Many people came to this campground and stayed on sites for just a few hours: in lounge chairs, tree hammocks, and at picnic tables around a fire. Some of the sites people used had reserved tags on them, and some did not. We could not figure out any rhyme or reason to most of the activity in this campground. The clipboard list with reserved site numbers in the photo above was not present until the last night of our stay. We were glad or site was unoccupied when we arrived!

Above: campsite GL6 in Green Lake Rustic Campground in Waterloo Recreation Area
Below: labels for campsites GL6, GL5, and GL3

Campsites in Green Lake Rustic Campground

Although campsite GL6 is unlevel and hilly, we thought this was one of the best campsites in this campground. The water view is excellent, and the site is quite large. There are no trees between this site and site GL5. GL5 is also a large site, so when the people arrived at that site on our last evening their camper were quite aways away from us.

Above: sunrise from inside our camper on campsite GL6 in
Green Lake Rustic Campground in Waterloo Recreation Area
Below: another view of campsites GL5 and GL3

I also liked campsites GL3, GL14, and GL20, although my husband thinks GL6 is best. Site GL3 is more level than 5 and 6, although there are also mores trees between the campsite and the water. Campsite GL14 is somewhat private, although it is not level and not as large as GL6. I liked this site because it looked like there would be a fabulous sunset view over the water. Campsite GL20 is the most private site. This site would be great in cool weather because it is open and surrounded by trees. You cannot see the lake from this site.

Waterloo-Pickney hiking trail in Waterloo Recreation Area

Manistique, Michigan: Manistique Lakeshore Campground

 May 2021, Weekend - holiday, 3-nights

Manistique Lakeshore Campground looking inland from site 49

We had initially planned to stay in this campground May 2020, and our trip was canceled due to COVID-19 when many things were shut down. By the time we decided to replan our trip for 2021, our first choice campsite (#41) was not available, so we made an online reservation for site 49. The price had increased $5 a night since the year before. Another sad point for us was that a nearby business we had planned to visit in 2020 had closed after the pandemic hit: Mackinaw Trail Winery & Brewery.

Arrival

We arrived a bit before check-in time, and our site and paperwork were both ready. This was the most efficient check-in we have experienced so far this year.

Campsite 49 at Manistique Lakeshore Campground

Campsite 49

This campsite has full hookup with 50 amp power. It is the end/last water site. We had chosen site 41 the year before, because the online photos show that site 41 has a better view of Lake Michigan with better beach and water access. The online photos on the reservation site are great; however, they are a few years old, and the view behind every site is more open than shown. After arriving, we decided we like site 49 better than 41! 😊

Campsite 49 at Manistique Lakeshore Campground

I cannot fit all of the photos that I took in this post. You can see more in the Manistique Lakeshore Campground photo album on Facebook. 

Campsite 49 at Manistique Lakeshore Campground

All of the campsites along the water offer some privacy with trees in between. Site 49 has more side privacy than most, although this site is also visible from the entrance and campground office. This did not present any problems, since it was mostly quiet in the campground during our stay.

View from inside camper on site 49 at Manistique Lakeshore Campground

Sterling, Alger, and Clare, Michigan: Rifle River, Campground, Dining...

 May 2021, Weekday-weekend, 3-nights

Campsite 104 at Rifle River Outdoor Adventures

Outdoor Adventures Rifle River campsite 104

Our visit to this campground with our free night certificate was not as impressive as our first Outdoor Adventures stay. When we arrived, we were told we had to pay a $5 daily entrance fee for each day we would be staying. I questioned this, as we had not been charged this last time. The clerk told me it was something new that had started in May, and that we had to pay it to camp. She said I would have to take it up with the corporate office, if I wanted a refund later. When I called the reservation line the following Monday, I was told the same thing. So, this company told us we were receiving inclusive free night stays (entrance to the campground and a campsite), and then later they decided to charge everyone a daily entrance fee, which was never disclosed?!? Wow. The pool area, river service, and other parts of this campground were not even open yet. We basically used only the campsite at this "resort," and that was it.

View from campsite 104 at Rifle River Outdoor Adventures

Our campsite was a decent site. It was spacious and mostly flat, with water and 30 amp power hookup. Only seven sites in this park have full hookup. The rest have water and electric; most sites have 20 or 30 amp, and there are four 50 amp sites. There were less than 15 campsites rented during our stay, so it was peaceful. There are a few campsites on the river; however, they are narrower than the sites in the area we chose. Some of the river sites are only 20 amp sites.

Bridge on Melita Road across Rifle River from landing at Outdoor Adventures

This entire campground has gravel roads with speed bumps every 5 to 10 feet. We are always cautious drivers, especially in areas with children and pedestrians. We would have only been driving 5 MPH without the annoying speed bumps. The number of speed bumps was a bit extreme and unpleasant to jostle our camper over so often.

Pool area at Rifle River Outdoor Adventures

When I inquired when the pool and hot tub would be open, I was told Memorial weekend. This campground also provides river shuttle service when it is operating, which is after Memorial weekend, as well. If we had been able to use this service for our kayak trip, I may not have been as annoyed about the last minute daily fee we were charged. The campground map shows a nature trail along the back of the upper campsites; however, it is not marked or used (we tried to hike it). WiFi in the campground is only available by the camp store. Cell reception (Verizon) at our campsite was okay for voice calls. Texts and data reception was poor. 

Beautiful Rifle River 

Area recreation: Rifle River kayak trip from Moffatt Bridge to Outdoor Adventures/Whites Landing, hiking, Turtle Park

We loved the kayak trip from Moffat Bridge back to camp on a Friday. This is about a 3-hour casual paddle. The river has a gentle current most of the way with few obstructions. We found a couple of places to stop, although a lot of this trip is along private property.

Moffat Bridge landing

Grayling, Michigan: Borchers Bed and Breakfast

February 2021, Weeknight, One night, Au Sable room

Lodging choices in Grayling consist of mostly small motels, a couple of Bed and Breakfasts, and two name brand hotels (Days Inn and Ramada). We decided to try a local Bed and Breakfast for our stay. We had tried to stay at this location during off-season last year; however, our trip was cancelled due to shutdowns caused by the pandemic.

Reservations and check-in

There are four rooms at this bed and breakfast. Two of them have a second guestroom door directly onto the baloney: Au Sable room and Main Stream room. We made our reservation online, and chose Au Sable room, because it looked like a corner room. All rooms were available when we made our reservation, and Main Stream room had also been reserved when I checked online the day before our stay. When we arrived, there were actually two other rooms rented besides ours.

I received a telephone call from Cheri the day before our stay. She confirmed our reservation details, and inquired whether we had any food allergies or dietary needs. She provided her cell phone number, just in case we arrived before 4:30PM. We did not expect to arrive that early, and we arrived as expected, shortly after 5PM. Cheri was waiting for us, and our room was ready. After a brief tour and quick settling into our room, we walked downtown to a couple of local breweries (information about that in my Northern Michigan post). Even though it was snowy and cold out, this Bed & Breakfast is close enough to walk downtown. 

Views of Au Sable River from Borchers Bed & Breakfast Au Sable room

Au Sable room

We loved this room. It was clean and spacious. It is located on the southeast corner of the house, and the french doors walk out to the balcony facing the river. Even though the mostly overcast skies caused our view to be more dreary than bright, we liked the view. 

View through french doors from
Au Sable room at Borchers Bed & Breakfast