State Parks

[codgerbill]

In Michigan the State Parks require a Permit to enter (annual or daily), one for the coach as well as one for the Toad ( Annual is: Sr Citizens 65 and older...$6 per vehicle , residents $24 & non residents $29 and if you want to camp there is an extra fee for that in addition there is a $8 non refundable reservation fee for those popular sites that seem to fill up fast). Most of the state parks in Michigan only have electric and some have water and electric at the sites. A few have full hookups on site. They all have dump stations. I am wondering what the state parks in other states are like relative to entry permits, camping permits, reservation fees, and aminities avaliable. Is michigan one of the few that seems unreasonable for campers?

[codgerbill]

In Michigan the State Parks require a Permit to enter (annual or daily), one for the coach as well as one for the Toad ( Annual is: Sr Citizens 65 and older...$6 per vehicle , residents $24 & non residents $29 and if you want to camp there is an extra fee for that in addition there is a $8 non refundable reservation fee for those popular sites that seem to fill up fast). Most of the state parks in Michigan only have electric and some have water and electric at the sites. A few have full hookups on site. They all have dump stations. I am wondering what the state parks in other states are like relative to entry permits, camping permits, reservation fees, and aminities avaliable. Is michigan one of the few that seems unreasonable for campers?

[Beabop]

PA about $27 for FHU, less for less. No permit fee.Senior citizens $4 per night. Resident, FL, FHU or EW resident $14 non $28. MI sounds kind of high.

[NLOVNIT]

OH state parks can run as low as $15/night for non-electric sites (can be lower for Horsemens' Camp) to as high as $37/night for FHU sites. The majority of sites are electric only, but the state is working hard to upgrade (increasing amperage & adding FHU's) many of the popular parks. Here's a link to the most recent rates. No entry fees, no resident vs non-resident fee, discount rates for frequent campers & senior citizens. Can reserve on-line that includes an $8 per reservation fee.

L-

[diesellabs]

We're only familiar with SP's in the southern states, but generally $15-25/night with W&E; rare to have sewer connection at site; some require parking pass for vehicles ($3 or so for the duration); senior discounts and season passes available; generally observing that SP's are being upgraded as state budgets allow.

[paz]

Most of the state parks that accept reservations use a national reservation service such as Reserve America. The reservation fee is usually $8-10. This fee goes to the reservation service, not the campground.

We have camped at numerous state parks across the country. There are several states that charge an entrance fee in addition to the camping fee. Our experience is these additional fees sometimes raise the total camping cost higher than the going rate for the area, especially if they charge duplicate fees for the toad or tow vehicle AND the RV. If you are going to stay enough times to justify the annual entrance permit, that is the way to go; but I assume in Michigan, you would have to buy TWO annual passes (ouch). As full-timers, we usually don't stay in one state long enough to justify the annual pass.

In our experience, state parks in the northeast generally charge more than the south and west. Prices range from well over $30 for FHU to less than $10 for electric only.

For us, Corps of Engineers campgrounds are a better value than state parks because of our America the Beautiful Pass, which gives us half price camping. Most COE campgrounds have electric and water.

As far as amenities at state parks go, most we have seen have electric and water. Some have electric only and a few have full hook-ups, but usually not at all sites.

[LindaH]

New Mexico State Park fees are $10 for dry camping, $14 for a site with electric (and sometimes water, depending on the park), and $18 for full hookups.

You can buy an annual permit which pays the $10 base fee. So, with an annual permit, you can dry camp for free, pay $4 per day for electric/water, or pay $8 per day for full hookups. Most parks have a dump.

If you are an out-of-state resident, the annual permit costs $225 and is good for a full 12 months, no matter when during the year you buy it. A New Mexico resident would pay $180 for the annual permit or $100 if they are over 62 or disabled.

New Mexico State Parks range from around 3,000' in elevation to around 8,000' in elevation. We spent last summer and fall at the state parks in the northern part of the state that were at higher elevations, and never needed our A/C (a good thing, since we spent most of the time dry camping).

Oh, and you can stay for up to 21 days at a time in each park.

[Mike Finnerty]

Regarding the extra permit for the toad entering Michigan State Parks. You can get a permit for $6 that is good for the issuing park, and only for the length of your stay. If you will be going to more than 4/5 (resident/non-resident) parks in a season, it becomes cheaper to get the annual permit for the toad as well.

[codgerbill]

Is the "America the beautiful pass" the same as th Golden Age Passport?

[paz]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by codgerbill:
Is the "America the beautiful pass" the same as th Golden Age Passport? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
The America the Beautiful Senior Pass replaces the Golden Age Passport. The Golden Age Passports are no longer available and existing ones are being replaced at no cost. Next time you use your Golden Age Passport at a National Park, they will probably give you back an America the Beautiful Senior Pass. Benefits are the same as far as I can tell.

[codgerbill]

Being a codger sometimes has benny fits

[Ron Davidhizar]

We live in Norhern Indiana, in the past couple of years we have had both a Michigan and Indiana anual pass.

Even though we were out of state the Michigan one was less expensive.

The Indiana one has the advantage of being a card that you carry in your wallet. This is nice in that you can go in your RV or your car. One disapointing thing for us last year was that we live close to Potato Creek State park and we stay there during the week sometimes and travel to work from the camp ground during the day. In '06 the park let both our car and RV in on the same anual pass, in '07 they changed the rules and I needed a pass for both vehicles. If I were towing the car only one pass is required, (I thought about attatching a rope from the rear bumper to the front bumper of my Mustang, but I don't think that the park would go for it).

[DAN L]

on the left coast, oregon is the least expensive: some nice parks with water, 30a elec, and sewer for $16. www.oregonstateparks.org. washington is a little more expensive: some nice parks w water, sewer nearby and no elec for $19. www.stateparks.com/wa.html. california is the most expensive and most require reservations at an additional cost. most of or and wa parks do not require res for half of their sites. cal: www.park.ca.gov. the best deals are at blm and national forest sites. [URL=http://www.forestcamping.com.

[LindaH]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by paz:
Next time you use your Golden Age Passport at a National Park, they will probably give you back an America the Beautiful Senior Pass. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
You'll only get a new Senior Pass (or Access Pass) in place of your Golden Age Passport (or Golden Access Passport) if the one you currently have is paper. If you have a newer, plastic, Golden Age or Golden Access Passport, they will not replace it with the new America the Beautiful Senior or Access Pass.