Michigan's McLain St Park

[The_Kroc]

went to reserve a site for August but the sites on Lake Superior were not available. Was told they were only used for overflow on busy weekends. Does anyone know if they are first come first served or what? Thanks.

[michigansandzil]

bid_time wrote:

michigansandzilla wrote:

wing_zealot wrote:
There is no such thing as FCFS in MI state parks. All sites are reserveable.

Not entirely accurate. There are some that are not reservable and first come first serve, but they are very few and far between. Not all campgrounds have them. 😉

Hum - I would be interested to know where those FCFS are in MI state parks. That would be a new one on me, I have never heard of that before.

Seven Lakes SP has several. Ludington SP has one site. North Higgins Lake SP has one site. Wilderness SP has a couple. Sleeper SP has several. Not that you'd have a chance in Hades of getting that site in Ludington, but it's still there. Someone does end up with it though. It must be like winning the lotto. 😉

There are more, I just don't remember off the top of my head. When you bring up the state park website, leave the date empty and look at each campground. Each site that is FCFS will show up as a yellow site having "restrictions." When you click on the site, it will say Nonreservable, which is FCFS. Lakeside sites on McLain appear to be the same way. Not every park has them, and they are hard to get. I don't think someone would have a ton of difficulty getting one at McLain though. As a back up, I'd reserve a traditional site. Upon arrival you can always transfer to a lakeside if there's one available.

[bid_time]

michigansandzilla wrote:

wing_zealot wrote:
There is no such thing as FCFS in MI state parks. All sites are reserveable.

Not entirely accurate. There are some that are not reservable and first come first serve, but they are very few and far between. Not all campgrounds have them. 😉

Hum - I would be interested to know where those FCFS are in MI state parks. That would be a new one on me, I have never heard of that before.

[michigansandzil]

wing_zealot wrote:
There is no such thing as FCFS in MI state parks. All sites are reserveable.

Not entirely accurate. There are some that are not reservable and first come first serve, but they are very few and far between. Not all campgrounds have them. 😉

[2gypsies1]

Have you considered Fort Wilkins State Park at Copper Harbor? We like it a lot!

[The_Kroc]

Thanks, I'll phone the local number tomorrow to see what's going on. Storm damage makes sense, maybe they will open the sites sometime this Summer

[rexlion]

In late fall 2014 a storm washed away some of the shoreline in McLain, taking some of the CG roadway with it and damaging some of the campsites. I don't know what they did in 2015 to repair things. Perhaps what you were told is related to this damaged area? Not sure.

[wing_zealot]

There is no such thing as FCFS in MI state parks. All sites are reserveable. If you show up without a reservation you can get a site if one is available. But you may have to move the next day if someone has that site booked for the next day. And believe me, you will move, no negotiation. The sites on the lake might not be reserveable due to environmental concerns (erosion, loss of plant life and such). But there is no such thing as sites that can be had by showing up vs. reservation.

[GordonThree]

I don't know the park, but usually Lakefront sites are always reservation only, and sometimes even a premium price.

The website matches what you were told, those lakefront sites are non reservable.

Best bet would be to call the ranger's office at 906-482-0278, hopefully a live human will answer and can provide additional information.