• 79 allow camping
  
• 22 do not allow camping
  
• 16 allow winter camping
  
• Only 3 do not have a lake/river/waterbody within or on its border
  
• 2 are Cabin Only, meaning you can't bring an RV or tent
  
• 1 requires campers to charter a goddamn boat to get there, and you can't paddle out to it

Dr. Lunchables fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Dec 3, 2022

• Sites – As mentioned above, we stayed in a cabin for the first time! It was pretty neat, and only cost $51, slightly less than double a regular site. For winter camping, North Higgins is restricted to the West Campground, and only sites 82-93 are available. They are wide and deep, situated far from neighbors and nestled within old pines. They are dirt pads, but are fully modern, with power at each. Instead of kidney-shaped loops or regular circles, North Higgins takes advantage of the space it offers by setting out a meandering path of lobes. This creates a feeling of privacy and allows each section to feel unique. Because East Campground was closed, we didn't manage to get much of a look at it, but I can't imagine it would be lesser. There are plenty of trees for hammock setups, and even though there is no rustic camping, the space allows you to feel a little more "in the woods" than a lot Parks.
  
  
  <sup>The cabin's wooden table made for one of our favorite evening activities, Cribbage.
  
  
  We also got to see other Hot Tent Campers! Of course we would see this the one time we don't actually bring our tent.</sup>
  
  
  
• Facilities – We had access to one vault toilet, but there are also modern toilets in each campground, and are situated centrally to the lobes within each. We didn't get to see the interiors, of course, so not much to comment on there. The vault toilet appeared to be cleaned regularly, and offered everything we could ask for. It should be noted that you butt gets pretty cold when taking a morning poo poo, so keep that in mind for winter camping. We used to get around this at Deer Camp by keeping a toilet seat inside the camp that we would take to the outhouse when nature called, allowing our supple bottoms to remain relatively warm. Maybe you could do this if you have the space? Depends on how dainty your dainty unmentionables are.
  
  Because it was winter, the water was also shut off. This makes sense, of course, since the pipes would freeze. That meant we and everyone else brought our own water. When doing this, please keep in mind how much water you will need for cleaning! We regularly use five gallons of water a day for cooking, cleaning and drinking, so plan ahead for extended stays. The rule of thumb is two gallons per person per day. Fill your camelback bladders as well as Nalgenes, cause you'd rather have too much than too little.
  
  
  
• Amenities – As mentioned above, there is the Civilian Conservation Corps museum directly across the road from the campground, and a very nice set of trails reaching North for a few miles. The two campgrounds are attached by a nice paved walking path that will bring you to a crossing, and we saw many locals using it to get their jogs and dog walking in.
  
  
  
  
  
  The trails are wide and well-maintained, and would be great for skiing and snowshoeing (should the weather cooperate) as well as hikes. They're constructed of finely crushed stone, allowing for maintenance grading and waterflow management, making these some of, if not the best trails in structure we've seen so far. Markers are posted regularly and make the paths clear. The paths take you through different biomes, from hardwoods to pine stands and out into open fields. There is some amount of vertical fluctuation, though this is certainly not a technical hiking trail system. This is engineered to allow for winter activities, so steep, sudden drops are not present, nor are rocky interludes or narrow passes. Fire breaks, long lines of straight roads meant to prevent the spread of forest fire, enclose 40 acre sections. If you felt so inclined, you could hike these to cut across the park, though they wouldn't show much of interest, as they are utilitarian and meant for vehicles. The trails are open for biking, and given the crushed stone path, would probably make for some very fast sections. Dogs are not allowed on groomed ski trails, but this only applies to the winter, and only to groomed trails. No motor vehicles are allowed, so there's no worries about being run down by a snowmobile or ATV, depending on season.
  
  
  ^{There is a great sense of verticality to the forest, especially in the pine stands.}
  
  There is also dedicated boat-trailer parking in the grounds, which is good news since Higgins Lake itself is pretty drat big. Between Higgins and Houghton Lake, you could probably spend more than two days just out exploring on the water. We've head that South Higgins is more of a summer-time party campground and North Higgins is the more outdoorsy, granola oriented setup. Having not been to South Higgins yet, I can't confirm or deny this, but having said that, there are still multiple playgrounds and swing sets for the kids. There are boat launches, boat rentals, as well as concessions and a beach that we didn't visit for obvious reasons. Open water kayaking and canoeing is a definite possibility, though don't expect to see the whole lake if you're paddling.
  
  
  
• The Area – Situated just about where US-127 and I-75 meet, this park couldn't be easier to get to, no matter where in the state you're coming from. It's within spitting distance of Hartwick Pines and South Higgins Lake, should you want to roll these three together into a nice multi-day trip. The town of Roscommon is on the east side of the lake, and there's the requisite tourist-facing businesses on the west shore. Roscommon isn't very big, at roughly 1,000 residents, but it does have grocery stores and gas stations and all the regular stuff. Think small-town and you'll be ok. The Silver Dollar Pub, as mentioned above, is just a few minute drive away from the park, and it's got good food and plenty of beer options, plus a shitload of TVs should you need to see a game or some news or whatever.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Warnings – No restrictions on alcohol at any time in the calendar, so that's a nice bonus. Despite being so close to two major freeways, the area is very quiet and feels very "Up North," even though it's only two hours from Lansing. Dogs are welcome, but again are not allowed on groomed trails in the winter. For mosquitoes, I feel like this is probably your average Michigan fare. It didn't appear to be swampy in the area, but there are two massive lakes, so this is certainly in the low-lying grounds and it could be an issue.
  
  There was almost full bars for cell service, and I almost thought about writing up and posting this review while I was sitting in the cabin.
  
  
  
• Who is it best for? – This is certainly going to be loved by folks who like to get out on the trails or on the water. The fact that their trails are groomed for skiing means it's a must-visit for the Nordic/Cross-Country skiers. Snowshoers and winter hikers will also find a lot to love and plenty of spaces to explore. Bikers will probably feel a little disappointed by the pedestrian nature of the trails, but that's a sacrifice necessary to accommodate skiing. Hunting and fishing in the area seems like an ideal spot, though deer hunting might be a little tough with the 40-acre squares and long straight fire-break roads. No horses, but that's not a surprise.
  
  Hammock and tent campers, as well as winter campers will find this place very obliging, and the spaces are certainly big enough for any RVs.
  

charliebravo77 fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Feb 9, 2023

amenenema fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Feb 16, 2023

• Sites – We stayed in the Bishop Lake Campground, a modern setup that boasts almost 200 sites and inexplicably shares a single bathroom building. These sites are all pretty flat grass pads and without tree cover, but of course they have power. Without paved pads it means that most/all of the Bishop Lake sites can easily accommodate tents and stakes. We didn't notice any issues with soggy areas, but the lower campground seems like it would be more likely to have standing water. The lake is within spitting distance, so plan accordingly if you're going during a wet season.
  
  
  ^{Our site. Since we only had the Poop Shovel, we pitched in the dry area beyond the fire pit}
  
  There are three other campgrounds in the SRA, two rustic and one equestrian. We will probably try to stay in a rustic campground when we come back in the summer.
  
  
• Facilities – As mentioned above, Bishop Lake Campground has a single big bathroom building split between the upper and lower areas. Here's the neat part: it's open and heated during the winter! Warm toilet seats and running water to wash your hands/brush your teeth were a very nice treat. They even had a shower stall open, should you want to use it. The facilities were clean and up to date, though they might be a little messier during the summer when you've got all the sites using a single building. Inside the hallway between the bathrooms and showers they had a pretty cool little diorama with taxidermized (didnt know that was a word) animals in the area. They were all pretty sad looking, but it did have neat facts about the local flora and fauna. Unfortunately, we forgot to get a picture. If you go, please take a couple pics and post em!
  
  Since they don't have drinking water stations open during the winter, we didn't get a chance to see if the water was any good. When we visit again, we will try the hand-pump wells and report back.
  
  
• Amenities – I covered the trails in the intro, but I'll just reiterate: the trails rocked and are worth hiking. They weren't as well-maintained as North Higgins, with the pea stones and CC Ski grooming, but they were much more fun to hike through. We didn't do any of the biking or horse trails, obviously, but Brighton has a surprising (to me) number of hills and valleys, with little ponds and pockets isolated from the surrounding area. The other stuff I will leave to a summer review.
  
  
  
  
  
  Brighton is also home to some big Sandhill Cranes! There were two pairs of them in the campground when we were there, and they were constantly yelling at and fighting with the geese.
  
  
  ^{Goddamn dinosaurs man, they're so much bigger in person.}
  
  
• The Area – Brighton SRA is unsurprisingly located in Brighton. I've said Brighton a lot. Brighton. It's pretty drat easy to get to off of 96, and is just a few miles from everything you could ever need. No small town caveats or restrictions here. Brighton
  
  
  
  ^{A - Ace Hardware, B - Boomers Party Store, C - Jonna's Market (beer, liquor, wine, pizza, deli), D - Jet's Pizza}
  
  
• Warnings – You can't have alcohol in the Bishop Lake day-use area April 1 - September 30th, but that doesn't include the campground or any of the other areas. To restrict the Emerald Ash Borer, you can't bring Ashwood with bark on, but come on, you shouldn't be bringing wood anyway. Let's save some trees, folks.
  The beaches are also
  Apart from that, there's not much to say. We didn't have any bug problems, but of course it was winter. We will return to this one after a summer trip and maybe have more to add.
  
  Oh! Plenty of cell service, so don't worry about your ability to shitpost during your camping trip.
  
  
• Who is it best for? – Seems like a very classic "Everybody Park," given the equestrian trails and camping, dedicated mountain bike trails (which I imagine are as good as the hiking trails), and many lakes for boating and fishing. Hammock campers won't find much use in the Bishop Lake modern area, since the tree cover is very low, but I'd bet that's less of a problem in the other two rustic areas. The fact that this is open year-round and also has full modern amenities during the winter puts it pretty high up on the list for recommended winter camping spots. The rugged terrain as well as the accessibility (did I say Brighton yet? It's in Brighton.) make this an across the board winner.
  

Oracle fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Jul 25, 2023