Young State Park. located on Lake Charlevoix, was my first campground of the season this year! We…read morehad a great time here and this state park has a solid campground. You don't get too many views and the campgrounds are all open and organized into 3-4 loops that you can easily see and access from wherever you are by foot or car within the campgrounds and to one side they are all bordered by a line of trees that have walkways cutting through them at each loop to the beach and shore of Lake Charlevoix! Because of this, you can typically see the lake through the trees, but no campsite has direct access or prime views of the lake all that much, so no stress about there being a better campsite closer to the lake over a different one. Given that I camped here in early June, the weather was still a bit rainy, so we didn't get to spend too much time on the beach given that every time we did, it would start sprinkling. We tried a couple of the hikes, but they were all pretty muddy and one in particular was boggy and my friend's foot sank in deep past her knee! So just a few things to watch out for if you've gotten some rain leading up to your camping trip here. Other than that, there is plenty of great beaches here for laying out if the weather allows, plus Lake Charlevoix is wonderful for taking the boats out and they have a boat launch at a different spot within the park. It's wonderful for all the activities with the whole family and the furry family members as well! We had a great time even with the rain!

Review 1 for State Park 1 on the Circle Tour…read more This State Park is 5 stars all the way. Reason it ranks high is location, location, location. Nestled on Lake Charlevoix this state park was a toss-up when we were choosing. Sleeping Bear Dunes was packed and we were in search of accommodations to reserve so we didn't have to mess around. We opted to come to Young State Park. It turned out to be a diamond in the rough and a perfect place for us to spend our first nights on the escape! Our campsite was spot on, especially having chosen the site without having been there before. It wasn't secluded but it was perfect considering it was the Fourth of July weekend.It was also dog friendly and had some really cool well marked and unmarked trails. Some of the trails were a bit muddy and some were just perfect. There was one trail though that was the best and led us to the perfect view of Lake Charlevoix. There we enjoyed a day of chilling on the beach and watching our mutt romp around. This was truly the biggest highlight and I'd come back for this access alone, time and again. The sunset, the fires and the hustle and bustle of the Charlevoix area all made for a great time. We ventured into town and perused the scene with our pup as well as ventured around the surrounding area to soak up the sites. This State Park was clean and an enjoyable stay for us! Get here, relax and enjoy! Nuff' said!

When ever I'm in Gaylord, I like to stop into the Elk Park. Throughout the year, you can see the…read moreanimals at different stages. It's especially nice to see newborn animals and watch them grow throughout the year.

Spend hours driving the backroads looking for elk? Following the herd with the DNR? Yet you still…read morecan't find them! Well just roll up to the elk park and stop wasting gas! Nestled between the municipal building, commercial shopping and condo apartment areas is the Gaylord Elk Park! Large herd, food area right near parking and some benches if you want to hang out! My son loved seeing the elk! Snapped a few shots- hard to get good ones through the fence and it was freezing outside.

We love this spot for a bit of a view and some great stairs! You can also choose to go the 'back…read moreway' and hike through the woods to get to the overview which is what we do! I prefer going down stairs than up them so that is my secret hiking too! Always a lovely time to hike here as there is quiet and lots of tree cover so it is cooler and restful. The hike is not too strenuous but also not just a walk which is perfect. We didn't get many bugs which was also nice and could go without a walking stick too. I love that they have separate trails for biking and hiking as well as a disc golf course that meanders through the woods. We are usually almost alone when hiking which is perfect if you want to just focus on nature. The overview tends to be a bit busier so we did meet up with more people toward the end, but everyone is very kind and friendly. Love this spot and we go as often as we can!

The hike starts off rough if you're unable to walk up 450+ steps. It definitely makes you wonder…read morehow good of shape you're in. There's plenty of benches along the large staircase to assist your travels. The overlook at the end of the stairs makes it worth it. Absolutely stunning. The view of all the house, trees, and lake blew me away. I could sit up there for hours. Once you reach the overlook, the hikes starts. It's a beautiful 2+ miles hike. Plenty of trees, animals, and plants to keep you company on the walk. I would live in the woods here If I was able.

For a person who likes to party in a campground, this place is for you! But I personally like my…read morespace in a campground. The sites are packed close together and you can tell they packed in as many stilted as possible. (There are around 300 sites). There is always noise, kids riding their bikes everywhere, and campers packed up like sardines. If you like staying up late with your friends, this place is great, but I personally could've had a better experience.

Best camp ground in Michigan! The water is great and super clear, there's events for the kids…read moreeveryday ran by the awesome park rangers. Highly recommend spending a weekend here.

A very pleasant little State Park located on if course Ostego Lake. The view is spectacular. When…read moreyou drive in the beach is in front of you and is very nice. However what you can't see right away is there are no dogs allowed on that beach. Which we were told off by the staff. However it turns out they do have a Dog Beach. The bad news is, it is horribly labeled. Signs don't cost that much how about a little help! Anyways you follow the path North from the parking lot, starting behind the Bathrooms. You'll walk about a half mile and finally see the one sign Dog Beach with an arrow down the stairs. Once you get down the stairs you immediately see a sign that says no dogs on Beach, that's it. So you continue going North and about a quarter to a third of a mile down you'll see a dog baggy station, so I guess at that point you've arrived. Anyways the view here is also spectacular and they have benches. This us always a big plus to me and I wish all beaches had benches! The Dog loved it and thought everything smelled intriguing. Overall a 4 star review. Needs better signage, but a great place to spend some time. Would I return? Absolutely!

This park is local for me. The campgrounds are kept up very well. They have a Store for your…read moreconvenience. The lake is beautiful and they keep the sand clean. I like to sit in the wooden chairs in front of the Store and just kick back. With my license plate sticker, they just wave me on through. They had to do a lot of work after the freeze when all the branches came down so they haven't been as available while they do the cleanup. I'll always be back here.

It's a fun course that require lots of different shots. The fairways are fair but the rough for…read moresure is rough! I love to play a quick round here. There are 24 holes and it's very score-able.

I wanted to go disc golfing over Labor Day Weekend. For some reason I feel the high heavens had…read moreother plans. the plan was to get to the course around 10 am so the heat wouldn't be too much of an issue. struggling with the motivation of a stubborn brother, we arrived at the course at 4:15 pm. dinner on the other side of town was supposed to take place around 6:30 pm. brother had never played before, so the plan was to just play 18 out of the 24 holes which meant I would not be able to check out the entire course. this was a sacrifice I was willing to make, but not necessarily enthused about. we get brother set up with a nice little innova disc package from Dunham's (apparently one of the few disc golf retailers that could be found in p-town). the course directions that were obtained from pdga.com were clear, concise, yet not so much about the "park is 1 mile down on the left..." If you've driven a mile and still haven't seen the park on the left, just drive farther. I would guess it's about 2-3 miles... but hey, I wasn't keeping track of the exact mileage. The course itself was very clearly marked, in fact, they even labeled the pro tees and the am tees and listed the distance to the basket. first hole: heavy brush and rough on one side, mini island of trees on the other. In order to get to the basket, you have to hook around go beyond the brush a little, but miss the tree island. brother did not execute the hooking. straight shot right into the brush. After a half hour of educating brother that you can't just give up looking for your disc after 5 minutes (the first hole of your first ever game) and that the one he lost was in fact the best of the bunch, I found his disc and we could continue the debasement to come. the holes are all pretty short compared to the other courses I have played. if you are not a skilled player and you don't want to spend half your time in the rough fishing for your discs, I highly recommend trying one of the other courses in the area...

The parking lot is a little hard to find, since it's not directly next to the road. You turn onto a…read moredrive, go past a fence, and turn left and you'll see it ahead of you. There is a small dog and a large dog area. The large dog area is a large rectangle. This gives your doggy a large area to run. The area is a little boring. There's no tunnels or climbing thing, no agility course. Just an open space. They could use some benches. That being said the dog seemed to love it. Overall a 4 star review. Would I return? Yes, when in the area with my puppy.

WANNA DRIVE THE GREEN WITH YOUR PUTTER? Double eagle putt par 5s? If so, this is the course for…read moreyou! Not in good shape at all and somewhat over priced for what you get, but super fun to shoot super low rounds.