By:
Submission
Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry into state parks and recreation areas, state boat launches, state forest campgrounds and state trail parking lots. The Michigan Recreation Passport does not cover local, county, municipal, or metropolitan parks or recreation areas. https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/buy-and-apply/rec-pp
My family had a great experience at big bear state forest campground. There were 2 separate campgrounds. The first one was mostly campers and rvs. We were looking for a bit more privacy, and a spot on the water to pull up our small boat. We found an amazing site next to the boat launch. We had an approximate 250 foot walk from our site to the water where we had our boat tied off. The water was pretty clean with a beach area. The beach is currently under water because of the high water levels, but that was fine with us. We were able to anchor the boat and walk to the beach. Big bear is an all sports lake, which we like because it is nice to take a fast boat ride to cool off. There is a convenience store/ gas station a short drive away with everything you need. Plenty of locals have firewood for sale as well. We brought our own water, which I would suggest because there was no running water on our side, just a couple of outhouses. Overall we had a great time and will definitely be back!
