May 2022, 3 nights, weekdays-weekend
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| Picnic/beach area from road in Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground |
Arrival at Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground, campsite 5
This campground is about 1½ miles off M-72 west of Grayling. The picnic and beach area is located across from the check-in spot before the campsites.
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| Campground map of Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground |
The campground has three loops. If this is your first visit, I suggest stopping at the check-in board to view the map (photo above) to see how the park is laid out, because there are no sign posts with lot numbers or info at the drives in. The only signs at the campsite loop entrances and exits are one-way signs. This was our first visit, and fortunately, our instincts took us to the last loop in, and the first waterfront site was vacant.
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| Campsite 5 in Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground |
Campsites
Most of the trailer water sites are in the last loop, numbers 5 - 9. The other loops have sites for campers on the water too, although the view is not as open to the water from those sites. There are tent sites up on the hills overlooking the lake in both of the end loops.
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| Above: sunrise through camper window on site 5 Below: campsite 9 Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground |
Campsites 5 through 9 are all great waterfront sites. My personal preference next time would be site 9, as it is a bit more private than site 5. My husband liked the more open view of the water from campsite 5.
This is a primitive campground with a hand water pump and trash dumpster in each loop. The campsite roads are dirt.
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| Boat ramp area in Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground |
Recreation
The boat ramp in the park is located at the end of the road after the campground area. We observed many boats at homes/docks around the lake. It seems like it might be quite a busy lake on weekends. Our stay was Wednesday through Saturday morning. The campground was busier/noisier our last night, although the lake was not terribly busy before we departed Saturday morning.
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| Lake Margrethe |
The lake water was clear, and the beach was sandy. We observed people swimming, fishing, and boating during our stay. We went out on the water in our inflatable boat, which we were able to tie up in the water at our campsite. The campers on site 7 had a small powerboat anchored just offshore behind their site.
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| Hanson Hills map and trail sign |
We did not see any hiking from the campground. We hiked in Hanson Hills Recreation Area, which is just over 5 miles from the campground. It appeared that there is no charge to play disc golf or hike in Hanson Hills, although this was not entirely clear. We observed self-serve pay deposit boxes, which said they were for mountain biking, so we decided to check at the office to make sure. The door was locked, and no one answered our knocks, so we ended up hiking for no charge. There were MANY ticks on the hiking trails in May! Signs said that dogs are not allowed on the trails.
Grayling breweries
We visited all three of the breweries in Grayling, which are each listed in at least one of the passport booklets we purchased. Our personal favorite, for the best beers, is Rolling Oak Brewing Company. Great IPAs and Peanut Butter Porter. This brewery has a discount in Reel Craft Pass.
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| Pretzel sticks at Paddle Hard Brewing |
Paddle Hard Brewing has an extensive selection of draft beers from many breweries along with their own. The pretzel sticks were delicious! This brewery has discounts in Reel Craft Pass and HopPassport.
Dead Bear Brewing Company has a couple of great discounts in Michigan BrewVine Passport for half off beer samplers. I prefer this kind of discount over a half-priced pint; however, we are not crazy about the beers at this location. They do have good food, and craft drafts from other breweries, as well.
Let me know if you have any questions, or info you'd like to add!
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