South Haven, Michigan: VanBuren State Park, Bicycle Trail, Breweries

 May 2021, weekend, 2-nights

Sunset at VanBuren State Park

You can find information about this campground and the area by following this link to my previous post from our visit in August 2020. This post is mostly just to provide information about our campsite this trip; site 220. And, new info since our last visit.

Arrival and check-in

The office was staffed when we arrived Friday afternoon, and we waited behind one person. The check-in process went pretty quick when it became our turn.

Campsite 220 at VanBuren State Park
Our trailer was parked on the right; just outside this view

Campsite 220

Unfortunately, I have only one photo of this campsite. I can, however, provide a bit more information than what is listed on the reservation site. This site is spacious, level, and private. We had plenty of room for our trailer, truck, a small tent, and second vehicle.

Moon shot from campsite 220 at VanBuren State Park

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

Ludington, Michigan: State Park and Local Brewery

 May 2021, Weekend, 2-nights, Middle Beechwood campsite 293

Sunset from Beechwood campsite 293 at Ludington State Park.
Camper on right is on campsite 295.

Reservations and arrival at Ludington State Park

We made a reservation online, and checked in via the yellow phone when we arrived. We waited behind one camper, who did not pull ahead while they were checking in. Traffic at the booth can quickly backup, when there is no one working to direct traffic, and someone has not been to this state park before. There is no room to drive around when a vehicle is stopped at the booth, unless the vehicle pulls ahead into the small area just past the booth, or into the parking lot beyond that. There are signs telling campers to pull ahead while checking in, although they are apparently not visible enough. The camper not pulling ahead did not affect us, since we had to wait to check in after them anyway; however, the 3 or 4 vehicles lined up to enter behind us were probably not too happy! We were surprised that none of them entered the campground through the exit side instead of patiently waiting. As soon as the camper ahead of us pulled away, my husband pulled ahead into the pullover spot while I called to check in.

Looking toward lake from Beechwood campsite 293 at Ludington State Park.

Middle Beechwood campsite 293

It is about 1 mile from the check-in booth to Beechwood campground. Our campsite was empty when we arrived shortly after 2:00 PM (it had been rented the night before our arrival). Checkout time is 1PM, and check-in time is 3PM.

Sunrise through camper window on Beechwood campsite 293 at Ludington State Park.

This site is fairly spacious and mostly flat. There are several exposed roots making it better for campers than tents. There is some area suitable for a tent, although not much. The ground cover is mostly dirt. 

Looking toward lake and boardwalk behind Beechwood campsite 293 at Ludington State Park.

The fire pit was in a good location away from camper placement on the site, although it was on the line between this site and campsite 295. I felt like we were somewhat in the neighbor's backyard when sitting at our fire pit. Fortunately, our neighbor did not seem to mind, and we chatted with him a couple of times.

Beechwood campsite 293 at Ludington State Park from trail behind campground.

Lost Lake and the islands are visible from this campsite. It was easy to access the trail, and to launch our kayaks.

Recreation: hiking, beach, kayaking, fishing

It was calm around the small islands on Lost Lake for exploring from a kayak. You can also kayak on Hamlin Lake, and the short section of Big Sable River from below the dam to Lake Michigan. There is parking and a portage area on the southwest side of the bridge just before you get to Lake Michigan. This is the bridge on M-116 that you will cross before arriving at the check-in booth entrance to the campground. We observed people fishing by the dam, and many fish jumping in the river just upstream of the bridge portage area.

Baldwin, Michigan: Leverentz Lake State Forest Campground

May 2021, Weekday, 1-night, Campsite 5

Fishing dock on Leverentz Lake next to the boat ramp at the state forest campground

Arrival

We stayed in this state forest campground for one night on our way to Ludington for the weekend. We missed the campground road the first time we drove by. There is a mailbox at the road entrance, and we mistakenly thought it was someone's driveway. We realized too late, that this is also the campground entrance. Fortunately, we were able to turn around before we got too far past on US -10.

US-10 to Leverentz Lake State Forest Campground

If you have never been here before, be aware that the dirt road back to the campground is almost 1 mile off US-10. Although this was our first time camping at this location, we had been back to the campground once before, and I did not recall that it is that far off the main road. The road was in good condition with no large ruts; however, it is not very wide (typical for most state forest roads). I was glad we did not encounter any trailers leaving when we arrived.

State forest campgrounds are self-registration, and the rate was $15 a night. You also need to have a Michigan Recreation Passport. There is a fresh water hand pump next to the registration kiosk, although the water color was yellowish-brown. Each campsite has a picnic table and fire ring.

Campsite 5 at Leverentz Lake State Forest Campground

Mount Pleasant & Clare Michigan: Camping, Biking, Hiking, and Breweries (of course!)

 April - May 2021, 3-Nights, Weekdays - Weekend

View of Outdoor Adventures Mt. Pleasant
through our front window on campsite 158

Mount Pleasant Outdoor Adventures campsite 158

We used a free night certificate for this stay, which we received for attending an Outdoor Adventures sales presentation last year. We did not join the program, because we felt the resorts are geared more toward families, and we are almost retired with no little ones. You can only make reservations to use the free nights less than a month out, and the certificates cannot be used on holiday weekends. We were somewhat worried we would have trouble using them; however, we have not had any trouble. The only date we could not use our certificate was May 26th (for just 1 night), because that Wednesday before Memorial weekend was also considered part of the holiday weekend. I was surprised to learn we could pick our site when calling to make reservations. If you care about location, there are pretty good site maps of each resort online. We attended the sales presentation in Kalamazoo, and at that location, we did not pick a site beforehand. They told us that when we arrived, we would go in and set up on any open site, and then return to the office to register.

Fire ring on campsite 158 at Outdoor Adventures Mt. Pleasant 

We did not see anyone at the guard shack when we arrived at the Mt. Pleasant resort Thursday evening, so we drove to our site and set up. When we checked in later, we learned there is no bathroom code or Internet access code. This location is off the beaten path on a dirt road, so I suppose there is no need for either of those things. The WiFi service is lousy; higher speed packages were available for purchase. 

Bat house in the trees behind campsite 158
at Outdoor Adventures Mt. Pleasant 

Our campsite was full hookup. The site was level and long with no obstructions. The parking pad was crushed gravel, and there was a cement pad next to it with a picnic table. The cement pad was smaller than our 9' x 18' outdoor mat. We observed a bat house in the woods behind our campsite. There were no insects of any kind during our stay.

Outdoor Adventures Mt. Pleasant resort map

The resort map for this location is somewhat incorrect for the site we had chosen. The map shows a green space between sites 157 and 158. We chose 158 because we thought there was going to be some unusable space between the two sites with more room between them. There was nothing between us and the back of the camper next door. Our site was still spacious, although there was actually more room behind us on site 159.

Swimming beach at Outdoor Adventures Mt. Pleasant

Ionia, Michigan: State Park Recreation Area & Confluxity Brewing in Portland

 April 2021, 3-Nights, Weekday - Weekend, Campsite 22

This post is just a quick update about some differences at the campground. You can find more details in posts from our previous stays in April 2017 & May 2017.

Beautiful moonrise over our campsite (#22)
at Ionia State Park Recreation Area

Reservations, check-in, arrival

The state of Michigan has changed their fee change policy, and you can now add days to any stay (provided the dates are open, of course) for no charge. Yay! 😊 There is still a fee to cancel or reduce the number of nights; however, I think it is great to be able to add days for no extra charge. We again decided to change our arrival day from Friday to Thursday. Even though the weather was cool, the campgroud was full the weekend of our stay. And, there was an employee working at the check-in office when we arrived. 

Campsite 22 at Ionia Recreation Area

Campsite 22

Seven campsites in this campground are described as "lakeview;" however, the lake is now only visible from one campsite: #18. In 2007, the brochure listed 13 campsites as lakeview. The view was not different  because of the leaves on the trees, although that contributed to the diminished view. It was mainly due to all of the overgrown brush between the sites and Sessions Lake. If you look at the photos in my April 2017 post, you will notice the vast difference in the view from the overgrown brush. 

Lake view from campsite 22 at Ionia Recreation Area

There was one small section at the corner of our campsite where we could see the lake (photo above), and unfortunately, that is not where the fire ring was located. 

Looking toward campsite 23 from site 22 at Ionia Recreation Area

Kalamazoo, Michigan: Staybridge Suites, Hiking Trails, Local Breweries

 April 2021, Friday - Saturday, one night, handicap one bedroom suite #129

Kalamazoo Staybridge Suites handicap guestroom 129.

Staybridge Suites reservation, arrival, platinum perks

We made our reservation online with a free night certificate we had earned from an IHG promo last year. I did not complete digital check-in this time. When we arrived, I inquired if they had been able to give us an upgrade to a 1-bedroom suite instead of a studio suite. After checking the computer, the agent said she just had a cancellation and could reassign our room. She did not provide any further information, and I wish she had. Platinum bonus points posted to my account during our stay.

Kalamazoo Staybridge Suites handicap guestroom 129.

Staybridge Suites handicap guestroom 129

We did not know we were receiving a handicap room until we got to the guestroom door. Having a handicap room did not present any problems, although I do wish the agent had told me she was assigning us a guestroom on the bottom floor (my profile and requests are for top/high floor), as we had some trouble with noise overhead that evening. After the noise went on for some time, and we were ready for quiet, I called the front desk to ask if there was anything they could do about it. Staff was wonderful about taking care of the noise. Apparently, there was a birthday party in the guestroom above us, and many people or kids were running and jumping around (as I was told, when an employee asked me the next day if everything was quiet after my call). The situation was handled well, although I dislike being put in a situation where I need to ask for something that is expected.

Bathroom in Kalamazoo Staybridge Suites handicap guestroom 129.

Other than the noise overheard, the guestroom was well soundproofed. This hotel appeared to be mostly full, and we did not hear any noise in the halls or outside. 

Guestroom diagram at Kalamazoo Staybridge Suites. 

The living room furniture looked a bit worn, and was somewhat uncomfortable. The bed was comfy with good quality sheets. The handicap bathroom was huge. It would be easy to move around in a wheelchair in the bathroom. The kitchen area was also set up with easy access to items from a wheelchair. Unfortunately, I do not have any photos of the kitchen area.

Staybridge Suites breakfast & misc.

The buffet breakfast was served cafeteria style. The selection and quality was mediocre, at best. Selection included [powder] scrambled eggs, egg sandwiches (Jimmy Dean, I believe), yogurt, and bagels. There may have been additional foods, although it was difficult to see. I know there were no meats, milk, nor water, as I inquired about these items. I was able to get a bottle of water from the front desk agent when I stopped there on the way back to our room.   

The pool area was not open at all during our stay. The outside sitting area was open, although the fire pit was not lit when we sat outside in the early evening. I imagine we could have requested this, if we had wanted to stay outside longer than we did.

Area information: dining hiking, breweries

There are a few businesses in the same area as Staybridge Suites within walking distance. Harbor Freight Tools, McDonalds, Burger King, Arbys, Jimmy Johns, Starbucks, Planet Fitness, and SuperCuts are a few of the businesses we noticed. We also observed a casual dining restaurant with outside seating next to the fitness center, although I do not recall the name.

Asylum Lake Preserve map.