Camping on the Peninsulas: Interlochen State Park

Nestled between the crystal clear waters of Duck Lake and Green Lake sits a gem for family car camping: Interlochen State Park. Just a short two and a half hour drive from Grand Rapids, this park is plenty close for your family's next weekend get a way.

With hundreds of campsites, this state park is bustling on the weekends during the summer. But with it's spacious and wooded campsites, you won't really notice your neighbors. As well, the wooded lots provide plenty of shade so you don't fry during the summer heat.

From your campsite, it is just a short walk to the beach and campstore on the shore of Duck Lake. The water of this lake was ridiculously clear the weekend we were up there. You can go swimming at the beach (beware of swimmers itch) or rent row boats or kayaks for a fee from the camp store. And since it is just a short drive to downtown Traverse City or to Sleeping Bear dunes, there will be no shortage of things to do.

A few weekends ago, we made the trip up to Interlochen State park with some friends of ours. My wife, son, and friends headed up on a Thursday during the day to get everything set up. I headed up that evening once I was done with work.

When I got there, we finished setting up and started roasting hotdogs. It was a great weekend for camping. The weather was amazing, nice and cool. Ok, it rained for a little bit on Friday morning, but you can't call it camping unless it rains, right? There were really no bugs to complain about. I didn't even use bug spray at all the entire weekend.

Most of the weekend was spent relaxing around the campsite, just enjoying being outside. We ate a lot, like on most camping trips.

Jonah got to explore around the campsite and just be a boy.

Our friends who came along, Justin and Nicole, brought their new puppy. It was great to see Jonah play and get used to being around a puppy. There might be one in our future, but maybe in a year or two.

We spent a little time at the lake, where Justin and Nicole tried to teach Hobbes (the puppy) to swim. We just enjoyed the scenery.

We also let Jonah play on the swings for a little bit. So fun to watch him laugh as he swings.

 Besides that, most of the time was spent around the campsite, in the hammocks or around the campfire. After Justin and Nicole left on Saturday, we went on a short hike around sleeping bear dunes. I'll do a separate post about that later. On Sunday, we spent a little time downtown Traverse City and then took the scenic way home.

It was hard to believe that was the first time we had been camping in the last two years. Time flies, especially when you have a young kid.

Overall, it was a great weekend. But any time you get a sunset like this, you know it is going to be a good time on the peninsulas.