Suggestions for loop around Lake Michigan

[JandC]

We are taking a 2 week trip up around Lake Michigan beginning the first part of June. The first campground we will stay at is the State Park in Muskegon MI. Then on up to Mackinaw Mill Creek CG at Mackinaw City. From there we were going to cross over and come across to the Pelican Lake CG at Pelican Lake WI. Then down to DeForest KOA (Madison WI) where Camping World will be installing some equipment on the Monte. From there back to central Illinois.

First off, any info on these CG's would be great since we are staying 3 or 4 days in each place. We are familiar with the one in Muskegon only. Also, if anyone has done the loop around Lake Michigan what roads were good/bad. Thanks in advance.
Joe

[sailer]

I would not stay at Mill Creek in Mackinaw city as we had a MOC rally there a few yrs ago and it was a bad ending. They are not friendly to Montana people . The sites are very small also Tons of places to stay close to there. PM me if you want the total story. sailer

[navybanker]

We made the trip around Lake Michigan in 2010 and there weren't any bad roads that I remember. We started in Wisconsin to the UP and came back down the west coast of the LP of Michigan. This was a great trip. I think you can search for the "the great circle" tour and find a lot of info on the trip. We didn't camp in any of the campgrounds you mentioned and only one state park just north of Twin Rivers in Wisconsin. There is a lot to see and do in two weeks!

[bethandkevin]

We drove through Mackinaw Mill Creek last year. We were not impressed. Most of it is like being in a field with some cedar trees separating you from the next camper. We did like Straights State Park just across the bridge. Some nice pull through 50 amp sites with actual grass. There's a KOA just outside Mackinaw City-very small though. 60-90 minutes further down US2 is Indian Lake State Park-very nice large park with several lake front lots above the water. If you go there don't miss Kitchitikipi Springs-a beautiful natural spring you won't believe possible. Also nearby is Fayette State Park-too small for most of our rigs, but there is a preserved copper mining town there that you can walk through at your own pace (free too with a State Parks pass which is required for entry into any Michigan Sate Park). The cost of the pass for non-residents is $30.50. There are many waterfalls within a few hours drive of Indian Lake S.P., be sure to check them out if you have time. June should be an excellent time to see them with the spring run off. In case you can't tell, we're HUGE fans of the U.P. and are headed there again this year in July. Here is a link to the Michigan Parks reservation website:http://www.midnrreservations.com/
US131 is a good main highway that will take you all the way to the bridge and through some nice towns. US2 is also very good in the U.P.

[Rainer]

When we did our big once around the U.S. odyssey in 2010, we stayed at the Gaylord KOA (http://koa.com/campgrounds/gaylord/) when visiting the Mackinac Island. It was a beautiful RV park, and we'd go back there in a heart beat.

[JandC]

06/12/13: Made the loop around Lake Michigan and are currently at the DeForest KOA (Madison WI). Going to have Camping World install some options on the Monte here before making the last leg home. We stayed at the State Park CG in Muskegon starting out which was ok. Cheap, big private sites, 50 amp, no sewer or water hookup. But it was a easy dump station with extremely good water and a friendly staff. We decided to give Mill Creek CG a try mainly because we were going to spend some time on Mackinac Island and it was very close. I know some of you had bad experiences in the past but they were very friendly. Had full hookups and the site was about average size. Now that we have done the Island we probably would continue up into the U.P. to stay next time. The next stop was Pelican Lake CG. It was a pretty area and we did have full hook up, but it was tight backing in even though the sites were huge. They decided it looked nice to line the roads in the park with big boulders on one side, which if you were backing in a 28' trailer may not have been an issue, but backing in something as long as mine was a little tricky. The interior roads were narrow and one end of the park had such a tight turn there was no way a rig my size could have made it. The road we had to use had two small tight hills that brought the back of my truck within 3/4" of hitting the Monte when breaking over them. We would not recommend Pelican Lake CG for anything larger than a 28' 5er. The KOA here in Madison is great. All pull through sites, nice heated pool, full hook ups, and very friendly staff.