And boy am I glad I did.īackstory.I traveled to Indiana Dunes with my wife, our 10 year old daughter and our two boxer pups. I was able to spend a weekend at Van Buren State Park during a trip that was primarily spent in Indiana. Very negligent on the part of the Michigan DNR to continue the use of these two sites. I am a big supporter of state parks, in all states, and this is the 1st time that anything like this has happened to us. If we would have been in a tent, the water rose so quickly that I am sure we would have been completely soaked and our gear ruined. Actually I feel that these two sites should be closed until they can resolve the drainage issues. I feel that the DNR and the camp attendants have a responsibility to inform campers of this when selecting these sites. Evidently after talking to some other campers, who visit this park regularly, these 2 sites have flooded this way for years. I am sure that if it would have kept raining, the power post would have shorted out. The water came up to within 6 inches of the switches on the power post on our site. The pop-up next to us, the water was up to the bottom of it already. Fortunately the rain let up fairly quickly, or I think that our trailer would have flooded out. I was wrong, On our last day we woke up to the sound of heavy rain and when I looked out, the water was already over a foot deep and rising. I wasn't too concerned about it, as we are in a 5th wheel camper and didn't think a couple of inches of water would be that much trouble. After getting set up in the site, a neighboring camper, who camps in this park all the time, told us that the site we were in and the site next to us #27 had a tendency to flood. After checking with the park attendant, we were told that there were 2 sites available for the extension. We spent 4 days at site #201 and then decided to extend our stay. My wife and I spent 10 days camping here. The beach it self is pretty rocky for about 20-40 feet until it becomes smooth again (the water is still fairly shallow). There wasn't a lot of space for people to claim. The beach it self was very, very busy - especially due to the fact that the beach was only 10ish feet wide. The main pathway to the beach was completely eroded and there was a small detour that caused a significant back up people getting to / leaving the beach. There are quite a few trails in the area to the beach and surrounding dunes, but they are not well marked nor maintained. With the structure of the campsite, there were few to no mosquitos in the area which was great. Additionally, the lot sizes themselves very extensively, you may want to take that into consideration when choosing a location within the campsite. This isn't the spot to go if you would like privacy. We had some very friendly neighbors who gave us some tips on how to stay out of the crosshairs of DNR. The campsites themselves are very close together (close to your neighbors). The campgrounds themselves are very nice, well maintained (including the washroom facilities). Despite how busy they were that particular weekend, they did a great job of trying to maintain the cleanliness of all the bathrooms and facilities.ĭespite signs requesting everyone obey certain restrictions due to the spread of Covid, there were very few following the rules. The staff at the park was very friendly and helpful. We recently spent a weekend camping at this location with a group of friends. I would have given the park 5 stars, but on a Saturday when I went to run 8 miles, an employee stopped me and said I would have to pay the $9 rec fee/tax. You will eventually reach the Kal Haven Trail, but I turned around and ran south along South Beach, for a short stretch, before getting back on the path and heading back to my vehicle. I should note that on my 8 mile run, when the park trail came to an end, The city of South Haven has a paved path that continues on. There was plenty of shade and all three of my runs were very enjoyable. It wasn't like I was camping, or going to the beach all day. I reluctantly asked if I needed to purchase the recreation pass ($9.00), which I saw on a sign on the way in the park, but she told me that wasn't necessary since I am only running on the paved path. She said I could park in the small parking lot near the start of the path. Perfect! I have been running 3 times a week, 4 miles, 6 miles and then 8 miles, so the path, an old railroad bed, would be great. Upon arrival, I called the park and asked if the road was a safe place to go for a run and she said it probably would be, but there was a paved trail that started outside the campground entrance and went north to South Haven. I found Van Buren State Park was only about 10 minutes from us, so I went there. My wife and I were visiting the Covert/South Haven KOA and I needed a place to run.
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