My husband and I recently took a trip to Northern MI for a tent camping trip. This year marked the 30th year that he and I have been going on camping trips together, with our first trip having been in August, 1993. On that trip, we camped in Petoskey State Park (one night only) and Fisherman’s Island State Park (more about both of those parks in a bit).

When we went on our first camping trip together, we borrowed my mom and dad’s tent:

chain ‘o lakes campground – bellaire, mi

On our 30 year anniversary camping trip, we were unable to book camp sites in state parks. It’s been that way since the pandemic – camping has gotten that popular! Not to be deterred, I looked into private campgrounds in the area, and stumbled upon one called Chain ‘O Lakes in Bellaire, MI (southeast of Petoskey, northeast of Traverse City). It was reservable for the dates we wanted, we knew we liked that area, and as a bonus, the campground had amenities we were unaccustomed to – a swimming pool, for one – laundry facilities for another – and lastly, wi-fi! There is also a camp store that (wait for it) – actually sells alcohol! We both recently got smart phones, so the wi-fi was a big plus! Also, the sites appeared to be well wooded/shaded. Neither of us likes camping in what we call “lawn” campgrounds, which typically have little or no shade.

We would later learn from a friend living nearby that this campground may have previously been a KOA campground. Judging from the swimming pool, which are commonly found in KOA campgrounds, that’s a likely theory!

So we set up our camp on our first night and went out to dinner at a local spot (more about that in a bit). First, let’s talk about the campground’s namesake!

So what’s this about a “chain of lakes,” you ask? This “chain of Lakes” includes the legendary Torch Lake, which appears on countless “most beautiful lakes in the world” lists, among others, including Intermediate Lake, Clam Lake, Torch Lake, Lake Skegemog and Elk Lake. So we thought we’d try judging this famous lake for ourselves. Our first night we set up camp and had a late dinner at a place where could check out a sunset 🌇 over Torch Lake:

DOCKside bar and grill – great way to see torch lake!

The next day, the skies were full – but not TOO full – of fun, fluffy white clouds, the sun was shining brightly, there was a light breeze (except on lake MI, more about that in a bit) and it wasn’t muggy or too hot – so we decided that it was a perfect “beach day.” We visited a municipal park (William Good Day Park, search for that in Google maps) located on the northwest side of Torch Lake to check it out, here are a couple of pictures:

Torch Lake – Every Bit as lovely as the lists say!

Our friend Janet, who has lived in the area for about 50 ish years, said she’d never even heard of this park, so you know this place is a find! If you want to see – and get into – Torch Lake, this is the place to go! It has a nice beach, great views…what are you waiting for? There are no state parks on Torch Lake, so…

This little beach and park wasn’t the only hidden treasure we unearthed on this trip! We also paid a visit to Barnes Park near Eastport, which is located just northwest of the tip of Torch Lake – and is right on Lake Michigan. We found a lovely spot with modern and rustic camping facilities – and ACCESS TO LAKE MICHIGAN!

As any seasoned camper in Michigan knows, camping spots on Lake Michigan – in parks such as Ludington, Muskegon, Holland, Silver Lake, Warren Dunes, Orchard Lake and even the all rustic Fisherman’s Island – book up like crazy in peak season. So when we arrived at Barnes Park on a rainy Friday afternoon and saw plenty of open sites, we knew we’d stumbled upon a place we’d definitely want to camp in the future!

Sites are fully reservable through the campspot application, but you must reserve five nights if you reserve holiday weekends, and there are probably other rules as well (visit them on the very easy to find web site, just put in Barnes Park Campground Eastport in your search).

A rainy afternoon wasn’t the ideal time to see this place, of course, but we still took the stairway down to the water (later we would learn that there is also a walking path to the beach).

Barnes Park (Eastport, MI)

While on our trek back up the stairs, we found some birds we’d never seen before. There was a little flock of them, they made adorable cheeping sounds, and my husband even noticed one being fed by its mother! Now, he seems to have a uncanny knack for seeing birds in their fledgling phases! In recent years, we’ve seen fledgling Baltimore Orioles on our deck at home, fledgling mourning doves at a local beer garden, and most recently, fledgling Northern flickers. Here’s a zoomed in look at one of these:

Sadly, our attempt to visit Petoskey State Park – where our camping adventures began 30 years ago – was a no-go. We did manage to visit Fisherman’s Island State Park – another place those camping adventures began (photos coming up in a bit), but traffic in Charlevoix heading north to Petoskey was so snarled up, we just said “no thanks.” It’s not uncommon for this to happen in peak months. Oh well, we’ve visited this place before. We did take a few pics at Fisherman’s Island:

Fisherman’s Island State Park

The last lovely spot we visited for the first time on this trip was Elk Rapids, MI. This resort town is located on the western coast of the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay northeast of Traverse City (are you confused yet)? Don’t overthink it, just find a map to see where this place is, and for f—s sake, enjoy some of the best scenery you’re going to find in northern MI (the big land mass you’ll see in the background is the western side of Mission Peninsula, which is another lovely place to check out if you’re willing to brave Traverse City traffic):

Elk Rapids, MI

That’s about all I have to say about this trip – what a great way to see some old favorite spots – and find some new hidden gems that I can’t wait to revisit sometime!