Mich. non-resident rip-off
Anyone else camped Mich. state parks? I don't recommend it to non-residents. First off, they charge more both for the daily camping fee and park admission. So, even after purchasing an annual non-resi...
Forum Discussion
Michigan Residents pay $11/yr by choice on our yearly vehicle registrations for a passport (an encircled "P" on our yearly stick-on color coded tag on our license plate) as WE, the taxpayers pay/payed for the parks existence and their land and structure. Operating costs for the state parks is done by the daily and camping fees paid as the park's yearly operations are self funded.
From the State Of Michigan Gov site:
"Michigan's Recreation Passport - definitely the best way to go!
$11 annual fee for MI residents gets them in any campground or recreation area that requires a fee during the year.
$30.50 annual fee for out of state visitors, or they also can pay $8.40 on a daily basis. Unless for sure you're only camping or exploring other MI recreation attractions for less than 4 days (a true shame), the annual passport is definitely the best deal, especially since this or a daily fee is required at all campgrounds.
Additional Fees, Permits:
There was some confusion from campers I talked to about additional fees or permits required besides the fee for the campsite. Here's the way it was explained to me from a representative of the DNR:
Out of State Towed Vehicle Permit: The out of state person must buy a $30.50 annual permit for the motorhome. If you tow a vehicle behind the motorhome, you then pay a one-time $6.30 charge (not per day) that allows use of the towed vehicle for the entire length of the camping stay (even if you renew part way through your stay).
All campground site fees are the same for all users, Michigan residents or out-of-state users."
If you don't like the fee structure you are perfectly welcome to not use our great state parks as there's at least a hundred others for each of you that will gladly take your place and be very happy to pay the fees and finally get a site and think they are a real bargin! We'd rather NOT have the crabby or unhappy people in our campgrounds anyway!
It gets very old seeing posters cite inflated or just plain wrong fees or conditions etc on this forum.
BTW, 32 of the over a hundred state park CG's are on Great Lakes shores with nearly all the rest on being on inland lakes with a couple being on rivers.
From the State Of Michigan Gov site:
"Michigan's Recreation Passport - definitely the best way to go!
$11 annual fee for MI residents gets them in any campground or recreation area that requires a fee during the year.
$30.50 annual fee for out of state visitors, or they also can pay $8.40 on a daily basis. Unless for sure you're only camping or exploring other MI recreation attractions for less than 4 days (a true shame), the annual passport is definitely the best deal, especially since this or a daily fee is required at all campgrounds.
Additional Fees, Permits:
There was some confusion from campers I talked to about additional fees or permits required besides the fee for the campsite. Here's the way it was explained to me from a representative of the DNR:
Out of State Towed Vehicle Permit: The out of state person must buy a $30.50 annual permit for the motorhome. If you tow a vehicle behind the motorhome, you then pay a one-time $6.30 charge (not per day) that allows use of the towed vehicle for the entire length of the camping stay (even if you renew part way through your stay).
All campground site fees are the same for all users, Michigan residents or out-of-state users."
If you don't like the fee structure you are perfectly welcome to not use our great state parks as there's at least a hundred others for each of you that will gladly take your place and be very happy to pay the fees and finally get a site and think they are a real bargin! We'd rather NOT have the crabby or unhappy people in our campgrounds anyway!
It gets very old seeing posters cite inflated or just plain wrong fees or conditions etc on this forum.
BTW, 32 of the over a hundred state park CG's are on Great Lakes shores with nearly all the rest on being on inland lakes with a couple being on rivers.
