Michigan State parks

Maybe...Maybe not.

Limiting yourself to only in-state companies may not get you the best product at a good price.

There must be an in-state company that could do this...

drsteve wrote:
Are they still farming it out to another state, country, planet?

Yes, it will still be a contracted service.....and always will be.
The state doesn't have the resources or desire to do it.

I've used the Michigan reservation system many times and never experienced a problem, but then again, I use the online version. A couple of years ago while on a trip to the U.P. we had to cancel at Indian Lake SP due to a death of a close friend. We used the phone system and it went well.

I also use the Florida online reservation system and while it's different it works well. I just wish I could get into some of the more popular FL parks during the winter months. In addition, I've used an online system for Kentucky parks and again, no problem.

It's a bit concerning to hear of some of the problems people report. I guess the best thing that can be said is that a great majority of campers have no problem reserving campsites.

rexlion wrote:
No doubt the call center workers get paid by the hour, and have no incentive to hurry things along for you. :D

I never make reservations. Even at McLain, I just showed up and stayed 3 nights (July busy season).

That might work in McLain, but I suggest you don't try that anywhere south of the Keweenaw pennisula unless you want to spend 3 nights in the Walmart parking lot.

golfknut wrote:
My fear is that during high customer usage times this extra "searching" function will greatly slow down the online system.....which even now can get pretty slow during peak times.

Not sure how well that'll work... Google is fast, but only because the Google bots crawl the web continuously and catalog everything. Can the bot keep up with the fine details of a continually-changing database like the res list? I guess we'll see.

That's the first I've heard of the change to the res system. Any more info? Are they still farming it out to another state/country/planet?

2 more months and we get a new online reservation system in Michigan to learn all over again. ;)

I didn't care much for the present system when it first rolled out but after using it for a few years I've gotten used to it.

This next one sounds like it may be a "data usage hog" online.
I've heard it will not only search for a site at the campground you are looking at but will also give you options (sites) at other campgrounds that are available for the dates you are looking at.

My fear is that during high customer usage times this extra "searching" function will greatly slow down the online system.....which even now can get pretty slow during peak times.

For us, we only want to stay in the park we are searching for a site at.....we don't really care if another campground has a site.
But I can see where it could help others, especially from out of state, who are just passing through the area and want a campsite at "a" campground and don't really care which one.

rexlion wrote:
I never make reservations. Even at McLain, I just showed up and stayed 3 nights (July busy season).

That might work at McLain or some of the other UP parks, but I wouldn't try it at, say, Ludington or South Higgins, or any of the Lake Michigan parks in the southwest part of the state. Those places are packed all summer.

We stay at Michigan State Parks all the time and do it all online. It is very easy, fast and painless. However, there was an instance where we made an online reservation, then before all complete it says to call a verify, which I did and was a long process. We love the state parks, but they do need to put some money into them.

Huh? I made a reservation a couple of weeks ago, and had to call the center when my connection timed out in the middle of doing it online, and I had no problem. I don't recall listening to a bunch of recordings either.