The shoulder seasons of late fall and early spring find me reluctant to commit to backpacking–it’s just too cold and wet. The rustic cabins and bunkhouses offered by the DNR are a nice compromise. This past weekend some friends and I stayed in the yurt at Muskegon State Park in order to hike the park’s great trails. Here’s what we learned:
The cost:
$78 per night plus an $8 processing fee, so $164 for the weekend, divided amongst attendees. Make a reservation by using the “Overnight Lodging” option: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/camping-and-lodging/lodging
Accommodations:
While the yurt could technically sleep seven (two sets of bunk beds, one with a lower double mattress) and two fold out cots, it would probably be pretty crowded. We had one person in each of the bunk beds, and one person on a cot. I found the cot relatively comfortable since I had a Z-rest pad and an inflatable Thermarest on top of it, but it might be a bit narrow for a bigger person.
There was a small table and two chairs, hand-crafted by the park staff. While their style was charming, they were not terribly practical because they were so heavy and only sat two. We brought a folding craft table and camp chairs to use for playing games and storing food, and that worked out well.
We stayed pretty toasty using the woodstove, although the yurt was freezing when we arrived. Temps outside were in the high thirties both nights. You must commit to getting up every couple of hours to throw more wood in the stove or it will be chilly when you wake up! I also found the stove vent to not be the best–I’m really sensitive to air quality, and the 90-degree bend in the stove pipe probably meant that not all the smoke was getting out as quickly as a straight stack would have vented. If you have asthma or sensitive lungs, this might not work for you. There was wood in the yurt, and plenty of extra in a nearby shed. I imagine that during the winter it might be a lot harder to keep warm, as the canvas yurt walls wouldn’t provide much insulation for holding the heat. I brought a 20-degree down quilt and was very comfortable, but I’d probably bring my 0-degree for winter.
There was a small battery operated lantern on the table when we arrived, and the yurt dome and windows provide some light, but you really need a bright lantern or something to have enough light to play cards, etc. There is a thin rope on a pulley to hang a lantern from, and we used it to hang a rechargeable LED light I’d brought.
The yurt is located off of the far corner of the Winter Sports Park parking lot. Arriving after dark would be a little tricky if you weren’t familiar with the location. A small wagon was helpful for moving in gear. There is not a water pump like a traditional camp site, so plan to bring your own. There is a privy nearby. Two parking passes were provided, with a notice that additional vehicles parked overnight would be towed (regardless of state park pass status). I was a bit surprised by this, since it hadn’t been mentioned in the instructions email sent by the park ranger, but upon my return home I checked the website again, I did notice that it says only two vehicles allowed on the “more information” tab on the DNR website. It seemed like a pretty quiet time of year, so we decided to risk it (we had five vehicles) and no one got ticketed or towed. This is the only cabin or bunk house I’ve rented where the number of people it could sleep wasn’t reflected in the amount of parking allowed.
The area around the skating rink and luge run was lit up for night hiking, and we enjoyed taking a stroll each night after dark. We also spent some time walking the beach, the break wall, and hiked several of the parks’ trails, some of which had interpretive signs regarding wildlife. We spent some time sitting around the firepit by the yurt, as well. Overall, I enjoyed our stay!
Exploring Michigan and other cool places 