1. The Worst Family - I’ve mentioned before that we’ve camped next to people who only communicate by screaming. That was exaggeration and hyperbole for comedic effect. When I say that here, it is no exaggeration. The two women (presumably one mother and one grandmother) could not speak in a normal volume, they were always shrill and yelling. The children (one boy one girl, both roughly 6-10) only whined and screamed, snitching on each other for whatever petty garbage that would make their matrons yell at the other. They cried and ran amuck through other people’s camp sites.
   In the morning, they got up at around 6:30 and commenced whatever argument they hadn’t finished last night. They yelled as they packed and packed as they yelled. After they left (around 7:30) a man from Alabama walked through their now-empty site and had a conversation on his cell phone that I recall quite vividly.
   “It’s like god drat lady, you can yell at your kids all you want but its seven in the morning! poo poo!
   I miss the South man, I gotta get out of here.”
   
   We sat in our tent having coffee and nodded in silent agreement.
   
   
2. The Weather - It was cold, but not wood stove cold, so we brought a Buddy heater. It was fine for us, but I’d imagine the other tent campers were a bit nippy. Still, it didnt make us want to trek the rec area on little sleep.
   
   
3. The Battery - This was the real nail in the coffin for us. I knew it was getting weak back in Muskegon where a cold snap made turnover fail on first attempt, then sluggish on the second successful attempt. It was something I meant to replace eventually, but since it hadn’t caused any real issues in the meantime, I promptly forgot about it like a good husband.
   
   In this case, however, it meant that we couldn’t turn the car off and expect it to re-start, so our idea of driving to the trailhead was right out. A bummer, but given our proximity to Proud Lake, we decided to write it off and plan to come back.

• Sites – The whole park is surprisingly small, only 130 sites all told. They’re all modern with grass pads, much longer than they are wide. The whole situation is split into two unequal lobes by the main entrance path that leads straight down to the boat launch, but is divided much more equally by distance from the main bathroom facility.
  
  
  
  Our site, number 53, had a slight slope to it, but nothing awful. A lot of sites did, actually, and site 22 actually had about a ten foot rise on the back side, just a giant fuckin berm where you’re meant to be camping
  
  
  ^{The picture does it no justice}
  
  Stick to the sites closest to the lake and you should be fine.
  
  
  ^{Site 34, for example, is one of the best in the campground}
  
  
• Facilities – The park had clearly gotten a full remodel of their facilities and was one of the nicest we’ve seen. Full access showers (with vents!), clean, updated bathrooms, plenty of parking outside. Top notch, no doubt. I did try to taste the water, but the drinking spigots hadn’t been turned on for the season yet.
  
  
  
  
  
  Don’t judge me for having more pictures of the bathrooms than anything else in the park. I’m normal, I swear!
  
  
• Amenities – Since we didn’t get to do much here, I reserve the right to make a future post to fill this in. There are trails, but they’re not located near the campground.
  
  There are some nice sitting areas looking out onto the lake right behind the bathrooms (I’m normal!)
  
  
  
  
  Proud Lake is one of those “kind of a river” type of lakes that are actually kind of rare in Michigan but prominent throughout the rest of the country. It’s part of the Huron River system and seems like it would be a decent spot for fishing and bird hunting.
  
  
• The Area – Boy this place is easy to get to. Take 96 to Wixom, go north on Wixom Road, turn right when it ends. Easy peasy.
  
  
  
  Wixom is right there and is a regular Metro city, so it’s got all the stuff you’d ever wanna find. For example, if you need a new battery for your Jeep, it’s only about a ten minute ride from the campground.
  
  
  
  
• Warnings – Well, the campground is quite small, so you can kind of hear everybody. There is plenty of cell service and it’s right next to a populated area, so no troubles there. I’d imagine the mosquitoes are an annoyance when in season, but I’ll leave that up to Gravitee, who lives in the area, to confirm or deny.
  
  
• Who is it best for? – Loud, angry families who suck, apparently. Also transient Southern workers just looking for (and failing to find) a quiet place to sleep. My heart goes out to them.
  
  Since we had such a minor experience at the campground, I am also reserving this section for our return trip, since we didn’t get to experience much besides the bathrooms. (Normal!)
  

Dr. Lunchables fucked around with this message at 17:54 on May 30, 2024