PA to Michigan- campground ideas needed
Hello all. Planning a trip to Michigan. I have 2 + weeks. Leaving this weekend- and just going to enjoy the ride with no hurry to get anywhere! 29' Class C with a toad. I am spending 3 nights at La...
Forum Discussion
Just a heads up:
During the week before a major summer holiday, you may well find a few openings at many Michigan State Park CG's. Lots of people skip that week as the next week has a 3-4 day weekend thru Monday or Tuesday and there's rarely any openings over those 3-4 days in most CG's in the state and not only in the state parks.
More openings will usually be found in the week before Labor Day as many kids are home getting ready for school to start or in the fall sports practices and band practices and other programs and registering too. Most schools start on Tuesday after Labor Day but some now begin the week before Labor Day in Michigan.
Today FWIW:
Presently here in Grand Haven, MI it's the finale day of the annual U.S. Coast Guard Festival is happening and the CG's and rooms are full for about 50 miles from Grand Haven in all directions as there's hundreds of thousand of people in town for the huge 10 day festival which is extremely popular. Grand Haven is the only mandated, voted on and passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by the president years ago "Coast Guard City USA" and where the annual CG Festival has been held for over 90 years now.
Annually, 350,000 to 500,00 people attend the festival and it's nearly 50 public events and venues of which most are free and the incredible Saturday long parade and constant events for all of all ages from morning until after the gigantic Fireworks show and other events after it gets dark at night with several hundred thousand people lining the banks and all the closed down streets for about a mile length spectacular finale that always ends on the first Saturday in August at around midnight. Lots of parking all around the area and swarms of busses and school busses shuttle people from outlying parking areas to the waterfront all day. Hundred of RV's are allowed to dry park on private and church etc parking lots for the festival too and they overflow every year.
A huge carnival down the main street, 5 CG ships open for touring, a Tuesday huge free street dance with a professional band, many beer tents with food too plus over 80 restaurants and another approx. 60 mobile food vendors around town at the VFW, Eagles, Elks, American Legion, and others. Huge craft fair in Central Park, programs every night at the waterfront stadium with about 4000 capacity for each. So many other events and things to do in each day of the 10 day festival. Lots of everything for all ages every day. Tens of thousands of boats here for the festival as we have 29 launching ramps for the public and over a hundred miles of navigable inland waters not even including Lake Michigan. Pure sand beaches galore and a very long fancy popular boardwalk.
Wife and I had volunteered for over 25 years in traffic control and communications but at over 75 it's time for the younger taking over. Takes 1100 to 1200 local people all working together each year to put on the festival and It's huge and NON-profit.
Next week returns to closer to normal around here but always popular and busy in this voted "The Happiest Seaside Town in America" and hundreds of other accolades given too. Just a wonderful place to live for all ages and has outstanding schools always in the top 5% of the entire nation and to work and retire in too and why we won't ever move away. Less than 3% unemployment and only 85% of the national 100% average cost of living. NO rundown areas here and safe 24/7/365.
During the week before a major summer holiday, you may well find a few openings at many Michigan State Park CG's. Lots of people skip that week as the next week has a 3-4 day weekend thru Monday or Tuesday and there's rarely any openings over those 3-4 days in most CG's in the state and not only in the state parks.
More openings will usually be found in the week before Labor Day as many kids are home getting ready for school to start or in the fall sports practices and band practices and other programs and registering too. Most schools start on Tuesday after Labor Day but some now begin the week before Labor Day in Michigan.
Today FWIW:
Presently here in Grand Haven, MI it's the finale day of the annual U.S. Coast Guard Festival is happening and the CG's and rooms are full for about 50 miles from Grand Haven in all directions as there's hundreds of thousand of people in town for the huge 10 day festival which is extremely popular. Grand Haven is the only mandated, voted on and passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by the president years ago "Coast Guard City USA" and where the annual CG Festival has been held for over 90 years now.
Annually, 350,000 to 500,00 people attend the festival and it's nearly 50 public events and venues of which most are free and the incredible Saturday long parade and constant events for all of all ages from morning until after the gigantic Fireworks show and other events after it gets dark at night with several hundred thousand people lining the banks and all the closed down streets for about a mile length spectacular finale that always ends on the first Saturday in August at around midnight. Lots of parking all around the area and swarms of busses and school busses shuttle people from outlying parking areas to the waterfront all day. Hundred of RV's are allowed to dry park on private and church etc parking lots for the festival too and they overflow every year.
A huge carnival down the main street, 5 CG ships open for touring, a Tuesday huge free street dance with a professional band, many beer tents with food too plus over 80 restaurants and another approx. 60 mobile food vendors around town at the VFW, Eagles, Elks, American Legion, and others. Huge craft fair in Central Park, programs every night at the waterfront stadium with about 4000 capacity for each. So many other events and things to do in each day of the 10 day festival. Lots of everything for all ages every day. Tens of thousands of boats here for the festival as we have 29 launching ramps for the public and over a hundred miles of navigable inland waters not even including Lake Michigan. Pure sand beaches galore and a very long fancy popular boardwalk.
Wife and I had volunteered for over 25 years in traffic control and communications but at over 75 it's time for the younger taking over. Takes 1100 to 1200 local people all working together each year to put on the festival and It's huge and NON-profit.
Next week returns to closer to normal around here but always popular and busy in this voted "The Happiest Seaside Town in America" and hundreds of other accolades given too. Just a wonderful place to live for all ages and has outstanding schools always in the top 5% of the entire nation and to work and retire in too and why we won't ever move away. Less than 3% unemployment and only 85% of the national 100% average cost of living. NO rundown areas here and safe 24/7/365.
