Thursday, May 6, 2021

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

Mount Pleasant Outdoor Adventures hiking and amenities

This resort has a playground, picnic areas, swimming beach, dog beach, dog park, fishing pond, activity center, pavilion, and a nature trail. There are probably even more activities that we missed. We observed a pool area, which was not open at the time of our stay.

Nature trail at Outdoor Adventures Mt. Pleasant

We observed a wedding and/or reception in the pavilion Friday night during our stay. The nature trail is less than 2 miles, including the walk around the swimming pond. We did not see anyone else walking the trail, although we observed many golf cart tracks on the trail. 


Area recreation and breweries

Although there are no area activities adjacent to this resort, there are many activities nearby. We observed several portage spots on Chippewa River---near the resort and in town. We walked a few of the trails downtown Mount Pleasant (Nelson Park, Island Park, Pickens Fields), and we biked the Pere Marquette Rail Trail from Loomis to Clare. 


Pere Marquette Rail Trail arriving in Clare, Michigan from the SE

We started our bike ride at Loomis trailhead, which is about 15 miles north of the campground. There is plenty of parking at the trailhead, and a vault toilet. On our ride, we passed a smaller trailhead between Summerton and Isabella roads with no facilities. The roundtrip ride to Clare and back was an easy trip of less than 11 miles. 


Four Leaf Brewing in Clare, Michigan 

We had a great visit at Four Leaf Brewing in Clare. Excellent service, and good beers. Our two favorite beers were Monk Love and Gordies Hop Bomb (IPA). We also shared a delicious appetizer: Red, White & Blue Corn Chip Dip.


We visited Mountain Town Station Brewpub in Mount Pleasant. We chose this location instead of Mountain Town Brewing Company because it is located on the river, and we wanted to walk some of the trails in the parks. The service was excellent, and we liked the atmosphere. The beers were good, although there were not many choices. The lights were lit on the brew stills; however, it did not look like anything was being brewed. On our way out, I asked the host if they brew the same beer at the pub as the brewery down the road. She said she did not think so because that is a different brewery. She said it has the same owners, and is called Summit Brewing. Her reply thoroughly confused me because I had found two Mountain Town locations and websites before our visit: Mountain Town Station and Mountain Town Brewing Company. When I looked at the tap lists after our visit, it looks like there are more beer choices at the brewery.


There are many parks, trails, and kayak opportunities in the Mount Pleasant area that we did not have an opportunity to enjoy. We have driven through this town many times, and this was the first time we have stopped to appreciate it.


Let me know if you have any questions!


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