I was just driving through and seen this pier on the map and thought I'd stop for a break…read more What a fantastic river front park. Peaceful and lots of nice waking paths. Many on the paths go out over the water which was super cool. If you driving though this would be a great place to stop and have a picnic or just wander around. With all the piers I bet I'd be a cool place to do some sunrise photography .

Beautiful views and awesome bridges. My husband and I came on a quick walk here while we were in…read moretown. It was very peaceful.

OMG we cannot say enough about how much we enjoyed our day here. Everyone was spectacular including…read morethe flight to the lodge by Rusts. Steve our guide was great. Very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The food was awesome and we were greeted by a smile by the young lady at the counter (I feel bad I don't remember her name right now). She is amazing. Very helpful and accommodating. Everyone that we interacted with was nice. The fishing was great. The streams are beautiful. You need to make sure you can walk in the terrain. Be equipped. The next time we visit it will be for a few days. They have beautiful cabins you can rent. The prices are reasonable. Alaska isn't cheap but well worth saving your pennies for! Life time memories for sure.

From the owner: Hand-built out of native white spruce logs, Riversong Lodge has been providing guests with a truly…read moreunique fishing and lodging experience since 1974. We're located at Lake Creek, a famous Alaskan river known for its abundance of native fish species. At Riversong Lodge, our accommodating staff is always eager to provide you with an unforgettable stay. Meanwhile, our experienced chefs are hard at work cooking up something exquisite. Contact us today to reserve one of our eight comfortable cabins.

These guys were amazing, helped us with everything we needed. But most importantly did everything…read morethey could and saved our trip. If I could give them a 10/5 stars I would

Worst possible service and interaction possible. I called about making a reservation with the…read morecampground and asked to talk to the person that handles that. She said that was her but the woman that answered the phone seemed like she didn't have the time of day for me and also had a really bad attitude. After she treated me this way I would never recommend any family or friends to go there. There is plenty of other campgrounds next to the lake to stay at. The lady that answered the phone needs to learn how to talk and treat potential customers.

Crystal Lake is an all-sports spring-fed lake in the Township of Crystal, Michigan, near Carson…read moreCity. It is 724 acres in size and 70 feet deep at the deepest point. It is approximately eight miles around by walking or driving. Our daughter-in-law's parents have invited us often to join them at their cottage on Crystal Lake. It is great for boating, kayaking, water skiing, jet skiing, swimming, fishing, and more. Sometimes it gets almost too busy but early mornings are always calm and the best time to sit out and enjoy a cup of coffee. Over the years we have had fierce debates over whether there are actually fish in the lake but some fish have been pulled out once in a while...sometimes even keepers! It is only about an hour from Lansing and two hours from Detroit; a relatively short drive compared to the similar lakes much farther up north. Now back to my nothing box (google it) to stare at the lake.

Love this magical park. Love the Imerman family for giving Saginaw this special park. Beautiful…read morehiking and love the dog park.

Even though it is not the most beautiful park, it is great for walking around to get some fresh…read moreair. I see fish in the water but due to the advisories I think most people would prefer not to fish here. There are also a few grills and large gazebos that can be reserved for local residents in case you want to have a cookout. If you have a dog or child they can play in their designated playgrounds. Admission is free to local residents as well, as long as you display the sticker provided.

This is a really nice place to see owls and Bald Eagles. Very big bald eagle population in this…read morenature preserve. Just before sunrise and sunset it's not uncommon to hear Coyotes howling or to see Wood Ducks. It's a nice hike. Five miles of well defined trails in 220 acres of woods and water.

I've been going here for as long as I can remember. Apparently, it's one of the most popular…read moretourist places in Michigan... mainly just so your kids can jump off the dam and go swimming. The campground itself is very rustic: no electricity, hand water pump, outhouse toilets. The park is free to enter and is a popular fishing spot. The dammed side of the river is very rocky and strong current, and the water level fluctuates from flooding into the forest to a bunch of rocks depending on the season. It certainly offers a rewarding fishing challenge if you can fight off the crayfish, snags, and kids jumping in the way to splash in the water. For a better fishing experience, go to the lake side. Shore fishing is met with blobs of grass and minimal catches, but if you take a small boat out into the reservoir, it's filled with sizeable bluegill, smallmouth bass, and the elusive northern pike. I go to this area several times a year for fishing, photographs, and nostalgia.

Capt. Ed and his first mate Jeremy found us some great Walleye. They're really knowledgeable about…read morefishing on the Bay and give you pointers to help reel them in. I'd definitely book with them again.

From the owner: We take clients charter fishing in saginaw bay for walleye and perch. We also fish for walleye in…read morethe Saginaw River and Detroit River. We have the latest electronics and gear on both of our boats. If you are jigging, you will get a choice of different size rods. For trolling the bay we use 7 foot walleye rods, with Okuma Convector CV20 reels, spooled with Berkeley Big Game fishing line for our crankbaits. We use brand name and custom painted spoons on lead core line once the fish move into deeper water in June and July.

We were here just after Labor Day so the beach was pretty much dead which was awesome for us as we…read morehad the whole place to ourselves. The wind made it a bit too chilly to do much outside from walk along the beach but had it been a bit warmer it would have been a great place to go swimming or wading. I hadn't realized that nearby is also a dark sky park so I imagine you'll have some dynamite night sky gazing if you're there after sunset. I'd love to come back and take some astrophotography shots with my camera this coming summer. Also worth noting, not sure if this is the case in peak season times but the park has a solid public restroom as well. Very clean!

2020-07-25. Oak Beach County Park, Port Austin, MI…read more In Michigan, everyone boasts of the beauty of the mitt; the scenic scapes of the UP (Upper Peninsula), the old world charm of Mackinaw and Mackinac Island, and the great outdoors of the Grand Traverse County. But there's another part to every mitten, and today my travels took me here, to Michigan's thumb. Well, to what I call the Thumbnail to be more precise. The thumbnail I refer to is the coastal areas of Michigan's thumb, from Bay Port to the West, to Harbor Beach to the east. One thing this area isn't lacking are beaches, beautiful sand beaches bordering Saginaw Bay or Lake Huron. While many a property here gets a piece of the water, there are many pubic beaches as well. The beaches are smaller and encompass only a few hundred feet of waterfront, but they make up for it in how many there are within close proximity to one another. Caseville has a decent size beach, but is often very crowded, and with COVID still looming around, we decided to go further north to Port Austin. Our day began at Bay Port to pick up some smoked fish, then to the Port Austin Farmer's Market. After that I had 3 beaches picked out. Oak County Park, Veteran's Park, and Bird Creek Park. Bird Creek Park is a 1000 foot expanse of beach to the immediate east of the Port Austin State Harbor. From here, you would be able to see personal boats come and go. The parking lot has enough space for about 70 vehicles, and spaces fill up by early afternoon. Not finding any spots within social distancing guidelines, we moved to the west side of the Port Austin State Harbor to Veteran's Waterfront Park. It's about half the size of Bird Creek with approximately 500 linear feet of beachfront. This side has the breakwater, so if you're in to boat spotting, it's not the optimal side to be on. While these two parks are adjacent to each other with only about 500 feet between them, there is no direct path to get there on foot. You will need to drive from one lot to the other. The parking lot is proportionally smaller here with about 40 parking spots. Not having any luck at Veteran's we moved to my original choice of Oak Beach. During our journey west, we passed by several other beaches. 4 miles away is Port Crescent State Park. Being a State Park, a Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry. We had ours, but if you don't have one, no worries, you can purchase one at the entrance. The cost is $12 for the year + $5 convenience fee for not purchasing it when you renew your License Plate tabs. This beach is the largest of them all by far, and spans about 2 miles. There's one central lot, and despite the price of parking, many come to enjoy this beach. This was my backup beach, so we pressed on westward. The next beach is at McGraw County Park. A small pubic park with no pavilions and only about 400 feet of beachfront. After this one is our destination, Oak Beach County Park. This park is much bigger compared to McGraw with two large pavilions, a playground, 2 horseshoe pits, and about 700 feet of beachfront. Here, we were lucky enough to find both a spot on the beach and in the parking lot. In addition to the pavilions, fixed charcoal barbecue grills are scattered throughout the park for public use. There are restrooms with one shower stall in each as well as a rinsing well to get the excess sand off your legs before heading home. Still on the Lake Huron side, the water is much cooler and the water remains shallow throughout the buoy markers for swimmers. At spots there are pockets where the water does get about 5 feet deep, so if you have little ones, take care to make sure they don't wander off to far on their own. If you venture past these deeper wells, it gets shallow again (about 3 feet). The bottom is sandy so muddy waters are kept to a minimum. Overall a nice beach with nice amenities. 4 stars. The great thing about this beach park is that there is a nature center about a half mile away. The Huron County Nature Center has many hiking trails that are well marked and pets are welcome. Overall, Michigan's Thumbnail Coast boasts many smaller beaches which is quite a nice change from the densely populated ones of Metro Park and Stony Creek. The water is cleaner and cooler, a bonus on those really hot days. There is one more beach if you continue on the Journey to the West. Thompson County Park is very similar to McGraw County Park, with about 400 feet of beachfront and no pavilions or playgrounds. So don't give up if you can't find a spot straight away. Our day trip was to conclude with a stop at Rybak's Ice Cream, but they were closed due to COVID, so we checked out The Grindstone General Store and Blue Moon Ice Cream Shoppe. If you would like to experience more, come dine-with-me.yelp.com I'd love to have your company... Bon Appétit!