We stopped here to break up our trip on the way home from up north. I'd love to go back! The Old…read moreGrowth Trail was lovely to walk through in the fall. There's a cute little logging museum along the way. I loved the beautiful juxtaposition of the fall leaves with the pines and hemlocks. The path is fully paved, and a nice walk for a quick stop along I75 between Ann Arbor and up north. I'd love to go back there.

Our stay was very nice and somewhat quiet. It is summer so kids are out until after 11 apparently…read morebut... we still enjoyed our stay. It was pretty hot and we assume all were using their air conditioning units which kept causing the power to go out. But, the campground was on top of it and got it back up quickly. So, a huge kudos to the campground and its staff for taking such great care of this park. As newbies here we'd go back. We liked it.

This is probably one of the best playgrounds up north, the only real downside is the location…read more Kalkaska is a humble and honest small town, but beyond grabbing a bite to eat there isn't much else to do in town... this is only relevant if your traveling to the area from down state. Not much touristy things to do if you plan to come to this park.... downtown is cool but there isn't really shopping... back to the park: this park is tucked behind some buildings and easy to miss if you are driving through. The structure is completely wooden and connected completely through bridges, tunnels, and monkey bars. There's a sign with rules and restrictions and beyond guardians and parents the playground is meant for 12 and under in age. I brought my sister in law and nephew after we grabbed lunch at the up north grill in town (only 5 minutes away so highly recommend for lunch) my nephew is almost 2 years old but there was still tons of interactive stuff for him to do which was unexpected based on the size of this huge castle themed park. There's about 5 different slides so age shouldn't restrict enjoying. The structure is very well built and laid out so, as adults we were for the most part able to maneuver it with our little guy. A bouncy tire contraption that reminded us of a bull was a win as well as a swing that allows an adult to swing with your baby which was SOOOO COOL. Better that just pushing because it adds safety and gives you a chance to do something enjoyable with your baby while making eye contact. Wyatt was all giggles. The park was busy when we visited but it never felt crowded because how it's designed. It's both 40 minutes from my sisters house in grayling but left enoug of an impression that she plans to take Wyatt with my brother this weekend again!

A nice state campground,well maintained very clean and right on the water. Plenty of large camping…read morespots with fire pits. The state park also has a large picnic area with grills over looking Higgins lake .

Both state parks are awesome on Higgins lake. North is a calmer park, more relaxing, family…read moreoriented. South is more active, on the lake and when camping

When ever I'm in Gaylord, I like to stop into the Elk Park. Throughout the year, you can see the…read moreanimals at different stages. It's especially nice to see newborn animals and watch them grow throughout the year.

Spend hours driving the backroads looking for elk? Following the herd with the DNR? Yet you still…read morecan't find them! Well just roll up to the elk park and stop wasting gas! Nestled between the municipal building, commercial shopping and condo apartment areas is the Gaylord Elk Park! Large herd, food area right near parking and some benches if you want to hang out! My son loved seeing the elk! Snapped a few shots- hard to get good ones through the fence and it was freezing outside.

The water is so shallow you can walk super far out! Not crowded! Peaceful! & Clear water! Be kind…read moreto the locals!

Very nice place to hang out and play or relax. Very clean, lots of amenities. I was impressed by…read moreall the playground toys and equipment. Very nice memorials as well

A very pleasant little State Park located on if course Ostego Lake. The view is spectacular. When…read moreyou drive in the beach is in front of you and is very nice. However what you can't see right away is there are no dogs allowed on that beach. Which we were told off by the staff. However it turns out they do have a Dog Beach. The bad news is, it is horribly labeled. Signs don't cost that much how about a little help! Anyways you follow the path North from the parking lot, starting behind the Bathrooms. You'll walk about a half mile and finally see the one sign Dog Beach with an arrow down the stairs. Once you get down the stairs you immediately see a sign that says no dogs on Beach, that's it. So you continue going North and about a quarter to a third of a mile down you'll see a dog baggy station, so I guess at that point you've arrived. Anyways the view here is also spectacular and they have benches. This us always a big plus to me and I wish all beaches had benches! The Dog loved it and thought everything smelled intriguing. Overall a 4 star review. Needs better signage, but a great place to spend some time. Would I return? Absolutely!

This park is local for me. The campgrounds are kept up very well. They have a Store for your…read moreconvenience. The lake is beautiful and they keep the sand clean. I like to sit in the wooden chairs in front of the Store and just kick back. With my license plate sticker, they just wave me on through. They had to do a lot of work after the freeze when all the branches came down so they haven't been as available while they do the cleanup. I'll always be back here.

I came here to camp (car camping/tents) for the first camp of the summer and what a great kickoff…read moreto camping season it was for me and my group! Everything here was top notch and well maintained, probably above average from the many state park campgrounds that I have camped at through the years! What that tells me is that this is probably one of the more highly trafficked campgrounds, so there is a lot of maintenance done on it! This campground had the most "modern" bathrooms. Everything was automatic, the toilets, the sinks, the hand dryers. This is by main indicator that the bathrooms are the latest and greatest update! We also loved our campsite. We had a few of Higgins Lake peeking out from around other campsites from ours and were able to enjoy the lake breeze and sunset view from our campsite alone. It was also an easy walk to the lake, where there was a little playground/swing set AND a dog-friendly beach just right off of that playground area as well! Super dog-friendly, which was great because I brought my dog along! Lots of trailers/RVs at all the neighboring campsites, which is to be expected, especially of a more popular campground! This campground also had the most campsites that I've seen as of late (minus Ludington, I'd say)! South Higgins Lake State Park also had some great hiking trails that we took advantage of! Marl Lake Trail is a trail that is very customizable for any of your time/energy level needs - 1, 3, or 5 mile loops can be done on this trail! Other than the hiking and the camping (spent 3 days and 2 nights here), we didn't do much else at the state park, opting instead to rent a boat (from the South Higgins Lake State Park Store - see my review there for details on boat rentals and our experience!) to spend a whole day on the actual lake, so I can't attest to the other amenities this state park has to offer. But for our purposes on this wonderful weekend, it was darn near perfect and we really enjoyed our time!! Hope to be back soon! :)

Park store charges $5 for a skimpy scoop of ice cream. Old owners gave you much more for your…read moremoney. Got a bad case of swimmers itch yesterday. Would be helpful if the park had nice feet washers and showers to wash the parasites off but instead that have a dribbling high in the air "washer" where the ground is covers with piles of sand and essentially of no use. The grass is long which makes it a haven for bugs. The beach area is so small and crowded. Need to clear more edging for beach use. Overrun with boats and have to wade through them all to get to a deep enough area to swim in. Lucky if you get in the park at all on the weekends.

Very quiet location. The hosts are incredibly sweet and welcoming. The farm setting is lovely and…read morethe little historic park in back was interesting. Definitely worth the walk back there to take a look. Enjoyed visiting with the host couple, Howard and Gloria. Would like to return in the fall to see their corn maze! Stayed overnight via Harvest Host August 14-15, 2020.

This was my first visit here. We came for the "pumpkin chucking" event. The farm is meant to…read morecapture what life was like in the 1930s on a Michigan farm. Plenty of historic pieces and buildings on the property, and there seems to be plenty of events going on quite often. Great for kids. I am not into historic things however I did enjoy the pumpkin chucking and the animals on site. This makes for a fun fall event for the whole family