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

Campsite 22 is not very secluded, even with the trees around the edges. We could easily see campers on both sites next to us when seated at our fire pit.

Stream that the hiking trail crosses south of the campground
at Ionia State Recreation Area

Ionia State Park Recreation Area hiking & amenities

Hiking was the same as I had remembered it, although I had not remembered all of the flowers. We saw at least five different wildflowers during our hike around the lake! We were able to get to the trail from the back of our campsite. It is about four miles around the lake without any side trips (we took a few!).

Flowers along the hiking trails in Ionia State Recreation Area

Although the trail is quite hilly in some spots, it was still a fairly easy hike. We observed a couple with two smaller children (under 10), who also hiked around the lake. It just took them a bit longer than it had taken us. We were hiking in opposite directions, and crossed paths twice; once near the beginning of our hike, and again when we were near the end. We saw them nearing the end of their hike after we left the sanitation station with our trailer a few hours later. 

Snake we saw when we took a less traveled trail off the main trail

Fire ring on the beach at Ionia Recreation Area

We hiked around the lake two different days, and in opposite directions. The first day, we took two trails off the main trail; one that ended up in the group campground, and another that went out to a point along the lake.

We left around 10:30 AM on Sunday, and waited over 15 minutes at the sanitation station. There are two dump lanes, and there were six trailers ahead of us, counting the trailers already in position.

Area information

Confluxity Brewing in Portland is about 15 miles from the campground. We liked this brewery when we visited there once before, so we decided to visit again. It became a dual purpose trip, as we also needed to get a few things from Menards, which was on the way. Again, the service, beers, and food were all great at Confluxity. They have discounts in the HopPassport and Reel Craft Pass.

Let me know if you any questions!