Tent camping in Michigan?

Carly

Where are good places to camp in Michigan? We're tent camping this summer, we'd Like to either have trails, biking, site seeing, or something like that! Thanks.

Answer
Michigan has great national forests with less-developed campsites and dispersed camping.

Two National Forests are located In the Upper Peninsula, the Hiawatha (879,600 acres) in the eastern and central region and the Ottawa (927,440 acres) In the west; the Hiawatha National Forest Supervisorâs Office is located In Escanaba, and the Ottawa National Forest Supervisorâs Office is in Ironwood. In Lower Michigan, the Huron National Forest (425,460 acres) is found in the northeast and the Manistee National Forest (521,060 acres) is 1ocated on the west side of the Lower Peninsula.

Campground Camping Areas
Au Sable River area description
Au Sable National Scenic River area description
Au Sable Loop Campground and Day Use Area
Buttercup Campground
Cathedral Pines Campground
Gabions Campground and Day Use
Meadow Springs Campground
River Dune Campground
Au Sable River - 4001 Canoe Landing to Lake Huron area description
Au Sable River Primitive Camping
Lumberman's Monument Visitor Center area description
Monument Campground
River Road National Scenic Byway area description
Rollways Campground
Corsair Area area description
Round Lake Campground and Day Use Area
Hoist/Reid Lake Areas area description
Horseshoe Lake Campground area description
Jewell Lake Campground
Reid Lake
Hungerford Recreation Area area description
Hungerford Lake Boat Launch and Campsites
Hungerford Trail Camp
Mack Lake Motorized Trail System area description
Mack Lake ORV Campground
Meadows ORV Complex area description
Meadows ORV Campground
Lake Michigan area description
Lake Michigan Recreation Area
Little Manistee River, National Scenic Study River area description
Bear Track Campground
Old Grade Campground
M-37: White Cloud to Baldwin area description
Benton Lake Campground
Brush Lake Campground
Condon Lakes West
Highbank Lake Campground
Indian Lake Campground
Minnie Pond Campground
Nichols Lake South Campground
Shelley Lake Campground
Timber Creek Campground
Twinwood Lake Campground
Walkup Lake Campground
M-55: Manistee to Cadillac area description
Hemlock Campground area description
Marzinski Horse Trail and Campground area description
Marzinski Horse Trail Campground
Pine Lake Campground
Sand Lake Recreation Area
Manistee River area description
Manistee National Recreation River area description
Blacksmith Bayou Access Site
Government Landing
Red Bridge River Access Site
Sawdust Hole River Access
Manistee River Trail area description
Seaton Creek Campground
North Country National Scenic Trail area description
Pere Marquette River area description
Bowman Lake Area area description
Bowman Lake Campground
Pere Marquette National Scenic River area description
Bowman Bridge Campground
Claybanks Campground
Elk Canoe Campground
Gleason's Landing Campground
Logmark Rest Stop
Sulak Campground
Whelan Lake Area
Pine National Scenic River area description
Peterson Bridge South Campground
Shore-to-Shore State Horse Trail area description
Luzerne Horse Trail Campground and Trailhead
McKinley Horse Trail Campground
South Branch Trail Campground and Trailhead
South Branch Pine River area description
Pine River Campground
Wagner Lake Area area description
Island Lake Campground
Wagner Lake Campground

What are the best tent camping resorts in Colorado?

ash

me and my soon to be husband are going for our honeymoon but I want to pick the best, most beautiful, most fun place to go. Where we can go to the spa, swim, horseback ride, hike, ski, bike, maybe sports like tennis, and do a lot of different things since we are planning to be there for two weeks. thank you!

Answer
Ash, I'm not aware of any tent camping resorts in Colorado. There are resorts and there are tent camping sites, but I don't think I have ever heard of them combined. Is that what you are looking to find?

Anyway, what time of year to plan to come to Colorado, there are many fun things to do, but it might be difficult to both bike and ski unless you come in the spring or early summer.

It also depends on your budget, skiing at the major resorts can be very expensive ($70-100 per day plus rental fees for equipment). There are plenty of smaller ski resorts around the State that are more reasonable.

Some places to do some research on...
Winter Park (great skiing, nice small town, sledding near by... also beautiful in the summer with lots of activities like mountian biking, hiking, horse riding etc. )

Estes Park (a beautiful summer and fall destination)

Vail / Beaver Creek... an amazing (and expensive) winter vacation spot.

Pagosa Springs - less expensive, great any time of year, not far from visiting Mesa Verde or riding the Durango to Silverton train.

Ouray - Known as "Little Switzerland", great any time of year, particularly great in the winter if you've ever wanted to try ice-climbing. A beautiful place for all sorts of summer adventures. I'm looking forward to taking my wife to the Chipetta spa this summer not far from there.

Steamboat Springs - what a cool mountain town, it has some of the best atmosphere in the state. Skiing & hot springs are excellent in the winter. Hikes, horses, bikes, and hot springs are king of the summer activities.

Aspen - Whoa, now here's a town that will really leave an impression. This is likely my favorite area to backpack in the State. I haven't skied here yet, but all the resorts in the area are world class. This would really be an amazing honeymoon spot any time of year, but I'm not sure how close to town you'll be able to stay if you want to use a tent for your accommodations.

I would suggest planning on staying in hotels or resorts for several nights of your trip to make the whole experience a bit more pleasant for a romantic get-away.

Bed and Breakfasts are a fun way to travel around Colorado, you may be able to work your way around to a several parts of the State in two weeks time.

If you fly to Colorado, you will most likely fly into Denver or Colorado Springs for affordable prices. But, if you are among the super rich you can also fly into Vail, Aspen, and Steamboat to cut drive time significantly from Denver.

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Is it safe to camp in the wilderness?

Austin

I know this sounds like a stupid question but I've grown up in a family where we don't camp or do anything outdoorsy and I would like to start learning to live and survive outdoors. I live in the country where there is an area way behinde my house that is a good spot to start learning however I know in my area there are bears, coyotes and other wildlife in the area back there and I am wondering how safe it would be to camp out there in a tent. Carrying anything more than a bb gun or a knife is out of the question so with that in mind is it safe. Thanks!
I can't carry more than that because I live in a house hold where guns are not allowed and I do not have a firearms license

Answer
It's not a stupid question. If you want to learn how to do wilderness camping, I suggest that you go with a group of people that have experience and can teach you skills. If you live somewhere where there is an REI, LL Bean or EMS outdoor store, they often have backpacking seminars and classes. You can also look on Meetup.com and see if there is a camping group in your area. You don't state how old you are, but if you are a teen there are groups like the Scouts where you can learn wilderness skills.

I've camped my whole life (more than 50 years) in areas where there are coyotes and bears and have never been bothered by them. As long as you don't leave food or garbage lying around your campsite they will have no reason to come near you. The people on here who claim you need a weapon to camp are silly and delusional. In fact, people who carry weapons camping are statistically more likely to hurt themselves or another person than to defend themselves from an animal. Most Black bears and coyotes don't bother people -- you have a million in one chance of anything happening to you camping out near where you live. We have black bears on our property (there are 100 acres of woods behind us) that come up on our porch to steel cat food. We chase them away by banging on a pan. The biggest danger in the woods is tick bites -- be sure to use bug repellent and check yourself all over each day to make sure none are stuck to you. You can get Lymes disease from tick bites, a nasty illness.

Besides a clean campsite, one way to deter animals is to pee around the edge of the area you are camped in, by the way.

Backpackers! Tent decision help?

rdsgbbftgc

Short version:
Tent 1- 5lbs, size is 95% of my perfect size
Tent 2 -6lbs11oz and is 125% of my perfect size

Do I buy the smaller one that is a nice weight and I just have to be conscious about not touching the walls at night? Or get the bigger one and carry unnecessary weight? This tent is for me alone and maybe a medium size dog.


Long version:
So, I've always been a car-camper, and am slowly building a different system so I can hike a few miles and then camp. Maybe 5 miles, maybe 10, not sure. I'm interested in the Marmot Limelight 2p(2-person)(http://www.rei.com/product/828149/marmot-limelight-2p-tent), but am concerned about the size. I bought it and when I'm in it diagonally with my sleeping bag I fit pretty much perfectly, my feet are right at the walls, but I tend to toss and turn at night and am not sure if it's worth it to get the 3-person version(http://www.rei.com/product/828150/marmot-limelight-3p-tent) which is pretty much only wider, but laying diagonally will get me more room. Also, I want to bring my future dog. We could cram in the 2-person decently enough I think.

For the purposes of this question, lets assume these tents are the only options. I know there's other tents that can work as an in-between option for me, but please let's leave those options for a different question.

So, I'm hoping to learn from other's mistakes. Is it generally better to get lighter weight stuff, but "rough-it" a bit more since I'm not going to be living in it for months at a time, or get something bigger and more comfortable but 2 lbs heavier since I'm not hiking 50 miles?

Thanks for your help in advance!

Answer
I would never choose a tent I didn't fit into, it makes no practical sense. Leaking shouldn't be a problem, but your head and feet will be cold in the winter without any air between you and the tent walls. And if you are a fitful sleeper already, the annoyance of being pressed against the walls isn't going to help.

You must be really tall, or maybe you're sleeping on a cot or thick air mattress that is positioning you up into the narrower portion of the tent. I'm 6'1" and have no problem fitting in the Limelight 2p.

Regardless of the overall length of your trip, you're going to have a maximum comfortable pack weight to be able to enjoy a full day of hiking. If you're just hiking in-and-out, staying for a few days or even a week at one location, the extra weight probably isn't going to be a factor. Even if it is, there are ways to save weight on all tents. You can leave behind the stuff sacks and tent stakes; just stuff your tent into your backpack, slide the poles in afterwards, and use found wood to cut stakes on-site. That will save you a pound or more in weight. You can literally shave off another 4oz or more by cutting-off labels and unnecessary pockets, loops and straps from your tent and other gear. This all might seem extreme, but consider that a down jacket like the Patagonia Down Sweater weighs under 14oz, or you can get 4 to 5 servings of cooked rice, beans or pasta per pound of dry weight. Besides, as anyone who's walked the walk knows, the lighter your pack the happier you'll be.

I think you're unnecessarily limiting yourself to a model of tents that aren't the best choice for your body. And in doing so you are eliminating options that could both be more comfortable AND reduce weight. I'd suggest you research the REI Quarter Dome T2 Plus tent. It is 6" longer than the Limelight 2p yet weighs only one extra ounce. If that's out of your budget you might look at the Eureka Spitfire 2, a non-freestanding tent that provides 10'9" of length in a 4.5lb package. Don't be concerned that Eureka isn't considered one of the "elite" tent brands, I've owned a Eureka Backcountry 2 tent for 20 years and it is still my choice for backpacking.

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