Looking ahead:
campsites filling up
The air feels slightly different around here when Memorial Day weekend comes around.
And so does camping. So you better plan now.
Several Leelanau camping spots report a busy Memorial Day Weekend and summer ahead on the Leelanau Peninsula.
Northgate-Leelanau Pines in Solon Township on Lake Leelanau is still available for Memorial Day Weekend.
“It’s pretty typical this time of year,” Lauryn Pleva said. “People book closer to the start of the season early in May, and we’ll still get people a week leading up to Memorial Day Weekend.”
Indigo Bluffs in Empire Township is just as booked as ever for Memorial Day, but there are still plenty of sites to save the camping trip. Even looking ahead to July 4, Indigo Bluffs reports bookings, but there are still openings.
“We still have a few openings into Memorial Day and are getting pretty well booked. There are just a few sites booked for July Fourth,” Indigo Bluffs Manager Becky Kevwitch said.
Wild Cherry RV Resort, north of Lake Leelanau, is waiting for the wave of snowbirds coming from the south along with “weekend warriors” that book roughly three weeks out, according to owner Brian Spinniken.
He continued saying that with the Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park closing this year, Spinniken anticipates more business for himself and the area campground.
“We anticipate an influx,” he said.
Wild Cherry RV Resort has 91 sites, and another 40 are beginning to be built in the hills of Suttons Bay Township.
Leelanau State Park in Leelanau Township reports that Memorial Day Weekend is filling up with six sites open Friday and six open Sunday night. The Park also says the campgrounds are already complete on most weekends throughout July and August.
DH Day campground in Glen Arbor appears to have sporadic availability through Memorial Day weekend, according to recreation. gov.
TC State Park, one of the busiest campgrounds in the region, will be open briefly from spring through July 7 before closing until 2027 for $8.5 million in renovations. These include addressing congestion issues and improving access to campsites, removing the non-accessible pedestrian bridge over U.S. 31, and more.
In other Leelanau Memorial Day events, Leelanau County Government Center and Leelanau and Glen Arbor Townships will host Memorial Day services in honor of fallen military personnel.
Last year, nearly 1.3 million Michiganders were expected to travel for Memorial Day weekend in the second-highest Memorial Day holiday travel forecast since AAA began tracking in 2000.
