Nice walking trails. Beautiful nature preserve. The boulder display is amazing. A great place to go…read morewith family.

Nice walking trails - I think it's about 1.3 miles around the trail one time. Little benches to sit…read moreon and reflect on the world's problems or to just be in nature. Lake is pretty and calming. I saw a couple deer and some little furry friends while on my walk. Not sure if you should stay on the trails but some others who were walking were not......

A very large park built around 2 lakes. Over 11000 acres with over 40 miles of trails…read more This area offers camping,fishing,boating just to name a few of the many activities offered. Trails are marked but are unpaved and hilly and they can get muddy and slippery when wet so bring hiking gear. Some trails are also used for mountain biking. Plenty of parking is available .

Love these trails in the fall--when the mosquitoes are not bad. Many trails have good hills--but…read morebe careful because there are lots of rocks and roots, and fall leaves make them less visible. Dogs love it here, too. There are endless possible routes...we often do Crooked Lake.

Check the county website or facebook page before you go!! Recently, the beach at Independence Lake…read morehas had to be shut down several times for high e coli levels. One of the posts said that this is because of the amount of geese that have been frequenting the lake this year or because of runoff from rain. We went once before we knew about the e coli issues and actually had a great time. The beach (we thought) appeared clean and the water was the perfect cool temperature on a hot summer day. The swimming area went deep enough that we could float away from the littles on the shoreline. There were two life guards on duty. They have really amazing facilities where a get together was being held under the pavilion. They have a snack station, but we brought our own chips and sodas. They also have a splash pad with water slides. This area was closed when we went, and you have to pay a little more to access this area. They also have some cool trails and a frisbee golf course. You can bring dogs, but not to the designated swimming area. I hope they figure out the e coli issues because we would love to go back.

Very nice park. Clean water , beach , trails. Not too…read morecrowded. It's hidden in backroad. Definitely will be back again. My daughter enjoyed this park.

I loved it, the water was clear and refreshing, would highly recommend visiting this placeread more

Very cute. Lots of wetland to see without risk of getting lost. There were lots of birds to see! I…read morewish there was a pier to fish from.

Soft sandy beaches, no seaweed in the swimming area, and lots of space. There's a sidewalk between…read morethe grass and beach - Lots of tables and grills too Electric vehicle charging stations Bathroom/changing rooms but the open air kind (see pics) Would be nice if there were any vending machines or snack stand of sorts

Beautiful park, wasn't over crowded. The beach area was…read moreclean and raked. The water is crystal clear and there's plenty of wildlife...

There are lots of lakes nearby for swimming and hiking. Brighton State Rec is not one I would go…read moreback to. The beach at Bishop Lake was too small for the amount of people and the water quality wasn't great. The water was shallow, murky, and slimy. The trail around the lake was also crowded and not peaceful. Many people were riding their bikes or walking in between the camp grounds and the beach. Some signs or trail activities were falling apart and in need of repair. If you want to be around a ton of people while enjoying the outdoors, you'd have fun. It wasn't for me.

I visited on Saturday, October 4th driving a rental vehicle registered through my insurance…read morecompany. We purchased a grey rec sticker attached to the windshield. My family purchases rec passes for all of our vehicles. When the booth worker, Connie, asked if I have a rec pass on my vehicle, I replied yes, and she waved me in. She did not stand up to view the sticker. I parked in the Bishop parking lot and soon after noticed a white vehicle speeding through the parking lot. Connie the booth worker blocked the back of my car into the parking space with her personal vehicle and jumped out screaming, so angry she was nearly foaming at the mouth. Connie jumped out of her car, and ran to my driver's side window screaming at me as I sat bewildered in the driver's seat of my car. "What do you mean you have a rec pass, you don't even have a Michigan plate?!! Go back to the booth!!" I asked Connie to remove her personal vehicle from blocking my vehicle and obstructing my movement. I told her I don't feel comfortable with her behavior and that I wanted to leave the park. Connie said, "Good, leave!" I stopped at the booth and asked for Connie's name and the contact information for a park's supervisor. Connie replied- you don't need my name. They know who I am in the park's office. She then walked into her booth and slammed the door. I had Deb with DNR drive to the booth to speak with Connie and address her bizarre and over the top behavior. When I asked Deb whether booth workers are deputized or authorized to pursue and block parks goers with their personal vehicles, she smartly replied, "What do you think?" MI Legislature allows DNR officers to write civil tickets only to visitors without a rec pass. Under no circumstances should a civilian booth worker impersonate an officer, chase, pursue or physically block a person who they believe is not carrying a rec pass.

Located at Brighton State Rec area in Bishop lake. Anchored huge inflatable…read moretrampolines/mountains/giant slides. There is a pricing scheme for 45 minute sessions running all day, depending on the package you get 1 or 2 sessions, or all day use. They provide a life vest, assemble the children in the beach area, and release them en masse to charge the inflatables. One life guard at the structures, one ashore to overwatch. This is for kids, but very strenuous. Small kids and those with mental difficulties had a very hard time (and obviously those with physical issues are not able to play). Plus the slides do not have water pumping down them. No social distance in the age of covid

This place is awesome. I run a youth program, and the kids love this place...and I do too! I spoke…read morewith the manager there, and she offered us a group rate. She was super nice, and easy to deal with. We enjoyed our time there so much, that we returned several times over the summer. Thanks Jump Island! One thing I will note: There are a lot of negative comments about the staff there. I will say that some of the life-guards seemed a bit nonchalant sometimes, but were never rude to us.