Gaylord, Michigan: Otsego Lake State Park, North Central State Trail, Downtown Breweries

 October 2020, 1-night, weekend

Near the boat launch at Otsego Lake State Park

Otsego Lake State Park reservations and arrival

We had originally planned to stay in this park in June on our way home from vacation in the upper peninsula; however, campgrounds were closed at that time due to the pandemic. A last minute trip came up for October, so we decided to stay then. This was our first visit to this park. We made a reservation online with minimal choices, since we only made the reservation a couple of weeks in advance. The office was not staffed when we arrived around 1:00 PM, and we had to use the yellow phone to check in. We waited for two women to finish on the telephone who had apparently set up without a reservation. I overheard one of them say that they had set up on site XX, and were checking in for one night. I then heard her say something like, "Are you sure? Because the park is mostly empty." Not that I was trying to eavesdrop; however, when people talk loudly... When it was my turn, the first thing the agent asked me was if I had a reservation. Things went smoothly after this, although it would have been nice if there had been hand sanitizer and/or wipes next to the telephone.

Campsite 54 at Otsego Lake State Park

Campsite 54

This campsite is one of the few paved sites in this campground. Apparently, it used to be a handicap site because one of the online photos has a blue handicap symbol on the tar. This symbol is no longer on the site, and the information online does not say that it is "only ADA." It is a fairly decent site considering it was a last minute reservation, and it was not on the water. We could see the lake in the distance from our campsite, as the space is open between the restroom and site 68.

Campsite 54 at Otsego Lake State Park

The trailer can be parked father to the right on this site than what we did in order to have more room on the tar. We did not do that because the fire ring on site 56 seemed kind of close to our camper, and we did not plan to have a wood fire on our site. This was our last night on the way home, so we opted to just have a gas fire in our portable fire pit. Parking father to the right also opens up the area between this campsite, and the two behind it: 67 and 68. I suppose that is a good thing, if you are camping with your neighbors!

Sunset looking over the bank near site 66 at Otsego Lake State Park

Before the pandemic, we had reserved campsite 64 overlooking the lake. There are no photos for campsite 64 on the reservation site. After looking at google maps etc., we had decided to take a chance with it anyway. We walked by site 64 during this stay, and decided that site would be our first choice, if/when we stay in this area again.

Handicap ramp in Otsego Lake State Park

Recreation: beach, boating, fishing, hiking, playground

The playground in this park is a decent size. There is a nice swimming beach, picnic area, and pavilion on the lake. I imagine these areas get pretty crowded in the summer months, as there are over 150 campsites in this park. The handicap ramp to the beach looked like it might be slippery. It apparently had not been cleaned in a while. We did not observe any campground staff during our stay. October is probably off-season; however, the campground was full. We did not use the sanitation station when we left Sunday morning, because the line was quite long.

Dock between the boat ramp and beach/picnic areas at Otsego Lake State Park

The boat ramp was in use, and we observed a few fisherman on the lake. 

Otsego Lake from Wah Wah Soo County Park next to North Central Trail

North Central State Trail starts just south of the state park and runs to Indian River. The trail is crushed limestone, and mildly hilly from the park to Gaylord. Campsite 54 is at the north end of the campground, and the park entrance is at the south end. We had biked about 1 mile from our campsite before we passed it on the trail heading north. There was no exit at the north end of the campground.

The start of our bike ride from campsite 54

We had planned to bike to two breweries in Gaylord; however, a sign on the door at Snowbelt Brewing Company said they were closed for a wedding. At Big Buck Brewery, we waited about 15 minutes for a seat at the bar in the afternoon before 4:00 PM. We learned about both of these breweries from the HopPassport I mentioned in my last post.

Let me know if you have any questions!