Watch out for cost of Michigan State Parks

Hank MI,

So true and a very good point.

The land where most Michigan State Parks occupy would be incredibly expensive to purchase and prohibitive to pay for if used as a private CG park. The cost for a campsite fee would likely be a couple hundred dollars per day just to satisfy the ROI debt without even figuring in the utilities costs or development costs or operating/maintenance costs and I'll just bet all employees that work there want to get a paycheck. Whoops, forgot about property taxes etc. Then there's that dirty word some refer to as "profit" as without it, the CG will close anyway and it sure wouldn't take very long!

the silverback wrote:
I have lived in Michigan for 73 years. I would recommend you check out private parks not state parks. probably get a nicer park for less money.

There are plenty of private campgrounds in MI but the state parks are in the prime locations. On Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, and many of the more popular inland lakes. Apples and oranges.

No fee is charged when just showing up at a Michigan SP CG without having a reservation as that's what we have done for 51 years now including even before any such reservations were even thought of thru today. The West Michigan Shoreline popular SP CG's of course are always booked full or close to full all summer long and there's 15 of them on the shoreline from the Indiana State Line just up to Mackinaw City in the Lower Peninsula alone. A few more in the Upper Peninsula on Lake Michigan. Then there's another 6+ just a few miles inland from Lake Michigan in the state.

That means there are approx 25+ SP's in Michigan that are on or near Lake Michigan alone with many thousands of campsites to choose from. Can't possibly post the exact occupancy for all of them and why there's the reservations system to begin with. Over 100 Michigan State Parks and the $10 reservation fee doesn't go to the state park and since the parks are so heavily used, must be post campers/users sure aren't avoiding them because of the $10 one time fee for their stays!

Michigan State Park CG's have limitations of lengths of stay so they are not ever plugged up by some "full timers" or "seasonals". RV's have holding tanks and they are there to be used so what's the excuse? RV's would be cheaper to buy if they elimited all those tanks etc but then would it still be an "RV" or just a "park model"? Most state's laws for state registrations have requirements and designations! Lots of freshwater outlets close to the sites for all to use and no one is allowed to hook their hose to them and hog it and we hope they keep it that way. Plenty of 30 or 50 amp electric at the site and good dump stations and blue lagoon transporting is allowed if that's needed or wanted or some will take their RV to the dumpstations if needed. No biggie!

Thousands of CG's in total in Michigan and having nearly 300,000 total designated campsites in campgrounds and doesn't include the dispersed free camping in the several million acres of state and national forests in Michigan. Manistee National Forest in West Michigan alone is over 531,000 acres in size.

Michigan State Parks are virtually all self-funded operated/maintained by state law. Some of the less popular parks are grouped together with nearby very popular parks to keep them viable and maintained. It's necessary for some.

Anyone in state or out of state using a Michigan State Park CG for only one week's time period or using of various parks during one year will find their daily rate to be very reasonable and right in line with most other states and a lot less than in many. Anyone can cherry pick in any state to assemble examples of maverick cost numbers possibilities for about anything. That has nothing to do with the "averages" the vast majority experience! One needs to do what's right for them and meets their wants, needs, amd budget stiuation!

A $10 reservation fee is crazy...especially if if covers 1 night or 15 nights. Knock it down to a few dollars per night. That way, you can stay for as long as you want and not feel penalized.

For a one-night stop in your situation, I would not recommend any Michigan State Park. Most state park campgrounds/sites are in the $25-35 range per night for electric only, but dump stations. There is a $10 online reservation fee for any length of stay (1 night or 15) so the per night cost varies. I'm not sure about just showing up to the office. The Recreation Passport fees are in line with the national parks. Much cheaper for annual than per day, but you have to use it 5+ days in order for the per-day costs to be insignificant.

That said, our family loves LSP! We have camped there 4 years in a row the week of July 4th. It's hard to get a reservation. It is busy. However, there are 354 campsites that have 90%+ occupancy every weekend Memorial Day through Labor Day. Most sites are close, so I am picky about which ones I'll book. The park is fantastic if you like sand, trees, and water. Sunsets at Lake MI expansive beach, smaller Hamlin beach for windy days, lazy river, miles of hiking/biking, lighthouse, dune overlooks, etc. This year we missed out on our typical week and went elsewhere. A friend that we also camp with at LSP stayed at a private campground in town instead last week. He said it sucked because all they did was drive back and forth to the park.

So I do encourage you to come back and try LSP or our other great state parks for a longer stay to spread out the fees and lower the per night cost. If you liked Platte River, you'll like many of the state parks too.

I see some agreement with my post and some not and some valid arguements and some not. Still; $49 for a site which has only elec, isn't paved is too much regardless of the circumstances resulting in that fee. For those who won't quibble over an extra $5 or $10 I have no answer but I think we need more quibbling over lots of prices of products.

It blows my mind how when an OP writes or highlights something, that could be of sharing interest to others, that there is always one or two that need to pooh pooh the OP. Why even reply if that's how you feel!

To the OP, thank you for highlighting this which we've duly noted on our state by state notes pages we refer to a lot when planning our destinations.

We are totally anti ourselves on states and provinces that are getting totally out of whack on their CG fees, as well those that charge crazy non-resident fees for a fishing license compared to a resident rate. Most visitors won't even use their license as much as a local to deplete things, and for sure they are causing us to divert our tourist/visitor dollars elsewhere where we are felt more fairly treated and more importantly appreciated. This "them and us" mentality isn't appreciated by many we've found during conversations around the campfires. In our experience besides ourselves, several also comment that they feel the same way about high sales tax states/provinces and non-resident owner tax locations as well.

Bottom line is we all pay our money and make our choices, and can vote with our dollars by where we chose to spend them.

the silverback wrote:
I have lived in Michigan for 73 years. I would recommend you check out private parks not state parks. probably get a nicer park for less money.

That is completely opposite from here in TX (thank goodness). Most private parks are akin to setting up in an unpaved parking lot.

RedRocket204 wrote:

wbwood wrote:

RedRocket204 wrote:
Spend tens of thousands of $ on an RV, TV and supplies.

Complaining on the internet about $5 - $10 extra a night for an out-of-state charge = priceless

Has nothing to do with how much you spend on your rig, if one is comparing apples to apples (parks to parks), then it is a legitimate complaint. Of course, no one is forcing it upon them. But they have every right to sound off about it.

And what is sounding off about it on this forum going to do? Seems like their time would be better spent contacting MI State Parks.

Aside from all that... if they have a right to sound off about it, then I have a right to sound off about their sound off? :)


The simple solution is to not spend money on something you don't agree with and move on with your life.

I think that is what they are doing. They are just venting and letting others know about the ridiculous price of a state park without apparently very much on the hookups and tight spaces (although I've never seen it).

I know that people tend to go to state parks for one of the following reasons (and sometimes more than one reason).

- More natural setting
- Larger and more private sites
- Low cost

I guess more people that like it there are opting for just the first reason and not the others.

I have lived in Michigan for 73 years. I would recommend you check out private parks not state parks. probably get a nicer park for less money.