MUSKEGON

The last stop on our Lake Michigan Beach Tour was Muskegon State Park in Muskegon, Michigan.

Muskegon State Park has Lake Michigan on one side and Muskegon Lake on the other with Bear Lake and Duck Lake close by.  We were surrounded by water.  The beach of Lake Michigan was just a short drive away whereas, Muskegon Lake was just a 5 minute walk from our campsite.  We had the best of two worlds, Lake Michigan which was like being at the ocean and Muskegon Lake which was more like a traditional lake.

Our campsite was a little small but perfect for us.  It was on dirt (no asphalt) had a picnic table, a fire pit and they allowed alcohol at the campground but not at the beach.

We arrived to find our friends Tim and Trisha camped across the road from us.  We got our camper set up for the night and then we heard the sound of a freighter passing by so we hurried down to Lake Muskegon and watched it leave the channel and head into the lake.  It was massive!  And very cool to see! 

Later, we went to dinner at the Handsome Hobo in Muskegon where we sat outside on their patio.  The weather was perfect for a dinner outside.

After dinner, we went back to the campsite and played a game of Disc Toss which by the way, I suck at.  I have NEVER been able to throw a frisbee properly.  I may do ok for a couple of tosses and then WHAM! I throw it and it goes off in a whole different direction.

I am definitely frisbee challenged.

So we tried bocce ball and I was much better at that.  We played girls against the boys and the boys won the first two games but then the girls brought on the girl power and actually won a game!  GO GIRLS!!

The next day we headed to Lake Michigan for a day on the beach, where it was a little windy and cool but perfect for climbing sand dunes.  Well, for everyone else anyway.  I passed on that activity.  I know my limits!

After our day on the beach in the wind, we hopped into our truck and Kevin said “well I thought I was going to have to comb my hair but I think it’s fine”.

Tim and Trisha stayed just the one night and then left us to fend for ourselves the next 3 days.  There was a sailboat tournament on Muskegon Lake so Kevin and I headed down there just in time for the wind to die down and the boaters to call it quits 🙁

But we sat on the water and watched boats, people and dogs for awhile.  It was warm but not hot and very enjoyable.

But of course, on our last day there, the weather called for thunderstorms all day so we stayed close to camp and relaxed.  By 4:00 we decided to pack up and head home.

It was so nice to be home!!  For a few days anyway 🙂

What we liked about Muskegon:

no asphalt campground;

fire pits;

alcohol allowed;

surrounded by numerous lakes;

sand dunes;

rocks for Kevin to run;

fishing for Kevin;

lightouses;

a channel with lots of boat traffic;

hearing the sound of the boat horns;

time with our friends Tim and Trisha 🙂

What we didn’t like:

Lacking on the bike paths.  We have learned we like to bike on designated paths.  Gives us so much more to do.

RATING

So we have decided to bump Ludington up to a rating of 10 and give Muskegon a rating of 9.  We really liked Muskegon but just for the village of bike paths (and yummy ice cream) we preferred Ludington over all of them.

Our rating list:

Ludington #1

Muskegon #2

Holland #3

Grand Haven #4

Hoffmaster #5

This concludes our review of state parks on Lake Michigan.  Hope it was helpful for all who may be thinking of a vacation on Lake Michigan.  I think in the future we may do the same thing again on Lake Huron and maybe go up into Canada to explore more of Lake Superior.

Thanks for joining us on this vacation!

And onto the next ………. a road trip to California for a month stay in Clearlake.

My happy place 🙂