Camping at Hayes State Park in Michigan

Here we go! This was our first official camping weekend with the new trailer and Juneau.

Before venturing too far away from home, we wanted to take Juneau out for a weekend in the camper to see how she would deal with camping life. She’s pretty easy going but can be really hyper—especially around new sounds, smells, and while surrounded by all the other dogs in the campground. So we picked something close to home in case Juneau is too much to handle and we have to bail.

Walter J. Hayes State Park is an hour from our house and is located on two lakes, Wamplers Lake (where Katelyn’s parents have a house) and Round Lake (where we saw freshwater jellyfish last week). The campground was PACKED but we got a space with some nice trees and shade for our first trip.

Park Offerings

  • Access to two lakes: Round and Wamplers with fishing piers

  • Sandy beach with a public boat launch on Wamplers Lake

  • Camping available for tents, trailers, and RVs

  • Lots of hiking options

  • Open year-round


Nearby Attractions

We have spent a lot of the summer out in the area, since Katelyn’s parents have a place on Wamplers Lake. Some of our favorite places in the area are:

  • Swiss Swirl in Brooklyn for all your ice cream needs, including non-dairy options

  • Watkins Lake State Park and County Preserve is the perfect place to go for a hike

  • Cambridge Junction Historic State Park which has fun, historical activities like candle making plus a farmers market

  • Meckley's Flavor Fruit Farm is an awesome bakery meets winery meets brewery meets farmers market

COVID-19 Precautions

Almost every time we went into the bathrooms to use the toilets, they were being cleaned by staff. However we can’t speak to the shower facilities as we didn’t need to use them since we had access to showers at Katelyn’s parents’ house.

Camper LifeKatelyn DavismichiganComment