Hesperia, Michigan: Pines Point Campground and Kayaking White River

June 2020, Weekend, 2 nights, Campsites 9 and 10 

We had driven to this campground in our car to check it out during the pandemic when it was closed, because we wanted to make sure we could get our fifth wheel back to the campsites. Be sure to follow the brown campground signs on the road, and not your GPS when arriving. Our GPS told us to drive down a seasonal road, as did our friend's and our son's. Our son decided to follow his GPS, even though I had told him not to. He said that a ways down the seasonal road, there is a sign that says, "Your GPS is wrong. This is not the way to the campground." 😳 I wish he had taken a photo of the sign! Seems like that sign would be a lot more helpful at the start of the seasonal road. Luckily, he was in his car and not pulling a camper.

Campground arrival and campsites 6 through 10

We had planned to stay in this campground 3 nights; however, the opening was delayed due to the stay home order, and it did not open until Friday morning, June 12th. We were one of the first campers to arrive that morning. We took site 9, and our friends camped on site 10. 

Pines Point campsite 10, site 9 is to the right

Campsite 9 is very spacious; however, it does not have a tar pad. The dirt ground is hard packed and fairly level. We parked on a slight angle, and the campground host came over to tell us we could not park that way. It was difficult to know exactly how he wanted us to park, since this site does not have a pad like the others. We straightened our rig out somewhat, and he did not say anything more about that. He did, however, charge us for our kayak trailer, which we later found out we should not have had to pay for. Initially, he told us we had to pay for it since it has a license plate. So, we added that in to our total when we did the self-registration. Later, he told us each site is allowed two vehicles. Our son was going to be arriving later, and our friends would have parked the trailer on their site, if we had known this! The trailer is owned by both of us, and carries all our kayaks (the guys designed and built it). At least we have this information for next time we visit.

Pines Point campsite 6 above, site 8 below

Surprisingly, I did not get a photo of site 9. I am sharing photos of a couple of other sites we looked at during our road trip. The river is barely visible down the hill from the first few sites in the campground. The traffic by the first few sites is a bit more of a concern, if you have children, because during our stay, drivers did not slow down until just before the road split in front of our campsites (#9 & #10). 

All of the campsites in this campground are nice and fairly secluded. We did not drive around the entire loop with our fifth wheel, because there were a few low hanging branches around the corner near sites 25 and 27.

White River along Pines Point campground

Recreation: kayaking, hiking

This was our first experience on the White River with kayaks, and we all enjoyed it. There had been a lot of rain this year, so the river was quite high and fast moving. I could not find much information about the river online before we arrived.

Approaching the area behind our campsites at Pines Point

The first day, some members in our group did the section from Taylor Bridge (E. Garfield Rd.) to the campground. They said this was fast paced with obstacles along the way (no mishaps). It took them a little over an hour. It was fairly easy to get the kayaks out of the water at the bottom of the hill behind our campsites. It was not so easy getting in the next day, however, as the water was quite deep with a current close to shore. We needed to get in our kayaks one at a time next to the shore edge, and then be ready to paddle. One member in our group tipped before we even got started that day!

Pines Point landing

Although we opted to start and end our trips behind our campsites, there is a landing at Pines Point between the campground and picnic area. The [circled] sign shown in the photo above was partially hidden in the trees.

We initially thought we might go as far as Mohawk Canoe Livery from camp the second day, because some info I had found online made it sound like this was a 4-hour trip. In the morning, my friend and I went for a walk around the park while the guys went to go stage a vehicle at the end. In doing so, we found a sign facing the river that said the kayak trip from Pines Point to Sischo Bayou was 4 hours! We called them, and then decided to change our end point to Sischo Bayou. We considered going to Diamond Point; however, the map made it look like that trip would be almost twice as far as Sischo Bayou. 

Summary of a few things you will need to know if kayaking from Pines Point to Sischo Bayou: 

• This trip only took us about 3 hours instead of the 4 that was posted. We stopped briefly a couple of times, and casually paddled unless we were steering.
• There is an island and the river splits just before you get to Sischo Bayou, and if you choose the right path, you will miss Sischo Bayou. The river does not join together again until after the landing.
• There is a HUGE hill with steps from the river up to the parking lot at Sischo Landing. It was more work carrying the kayaks up the hill than the 3-hour trip on the water!
• It is about a mile down a seasonal/two-track type road from the main road to the landing.
• The river was like an obstacle course. It was not dangerous; just challenging. We had one tip during the trip in our group of five. We passed another group that had two tips that we were aware of. We waited for them at the start of our trip, just after we passed Pines Point Landing. The next time they tipped, we were able to go around them. There was also a spot with a huge tree across the water with no waterway through. It looked like others had carried their vessels over the tree next to shore. A member in our group helped us get through, and then he sawed off the branches that had been in the way so others could get through.

Next  time, I think we will kayak from Vida Weaver Park in Hesperia to camp one day, and from camp or Sischo Bayou to Diamond Point the other day. The sign at Sischo Bayou says that it is 3 hours from there to Diamond Point. A friend of ours said she did this trip shorty after us, and it took them 3 hours with one stop.

One of the hiking trails inside Pines Point Campground

There are hiking trails at Pines Point, and we hope to also explore those more next time we visit. In addition to the trails inside the campground, White River trailhead is just outside the park on the corner of 168th and County Road.

Misc. and overall

Pines Point is a primitive campground. Reservations can be made online for the group campsites, and the others are first come, first serve. Vault toilets are located in the group camping area, and there are flush toilets in the other section of the campground. Water is available at hand pumps, and generators are allowed. The cell reception in the campground was not good for any of us.

We enjoyed our visit, and are planning to visit again next year. Feel free to share this post, and let me know if you have any questions!