Newaygo, Michigan / State Park on Hardy Pond during Hot Boat Weekend

September 2018, Weeknight-weekend, 3 nights, Campsite 85

Watching boats on the river from Newaygo State Park during Hot
Boat weekend. Photo credit goes to a camping friend of mine.

Advance reservations and check-in

We made a reservation on the Michigan DNR website as soon as possible, because we wanted sites overlooking the water. The campsite photo on the state website is accurate for site 85. The photo shown for site 84 is still incorrect. The photo on their website for site 84 is actually a picture of site 85. See my previous post about this park for further details.

Watching boats on the river from Newaygo State Park 
during Hot Boat weekend 

The rate is $17 a night, and the reservation fee is $8. Although this is a state of Michigan campground, it is rustic like a state forest campground. The office was closed when we arrived Thursday evening, so we did not need to stop and check-in. Details for incoming campers with reservations were posted on the window.

View of site 85 from bank looking toward road

Campsite 85

I think this is one of the best campsites in this park. If you have smaller camping equipment than we have (30' 5th wheel with 2 slides), you may be able to camp back far enough to see the river from your camper. Even though we knew where we had to park, because we had measured the site beforehand to make sure we could fit, we still tried to see if we could park back farther than we did. Unfortunately, we merely wasted our time, and probably entertained the neighbors. 😉

Sunset from site 85

This site is large and fairly level, although it is also a dirty lot. There was a large stump behind the site by the trail that goes along the top of the bank. I am not sure if this was placed to deter people from walking across the campsite. People did try to cut through our site from the trail, even though the area to the east of this site is public use with a picnic table and path to the road.

View of stump and site 85 from open area on bank 

We had friends camping on sites 87 and 81. Sites 85 and 87 both overlook the water somewhat, and there is a spacious public use area (photo above) next to the hiking trail behind these two sites.

Another great photo courtesy of my friend!

Hot Boats and boating

This is an excellent location to watch the boats on the water, if you do not want get in the water in the middle of all the chaos. We sat in the open area behind our sites, and were surprised no one came to join us.

Boat ramp in Newaygo State Park

It seemed like most people at the park wanted to get out on the water. The campground looked like it was full, and people were coming and going in all types of boats all weekend. My husband thought about bringing our boat and then changed his mind. The water at the boat ramp is kind of nasty, and it is not very deep.

Misc. and additional recreation

A few people in our group played frisbee golf, and some of us hiked in the park. The frisbee golf course covers a good distance, and no one finished the complete course. The beach area is surprisingly sandy, and there are a couple of photos in my previous post about this park (link above in the first paragraph).

The only facilities in the campground area are vault toilets, and water hand pumps. Dumpsters and a sanitation station are located at the entrance. If you want to dispose of trash during your stay, it is over a mile walk from campsite 85 to the entrance where the dumpsters are located.

Let me know if you have any questions ~