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Winter Campout Dates – Jan 11 -13, 2019

| Updated Dec 2, 2018

Looking for adventure?

Then come join us for our annual Winter Campout at Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, January 11-13, 2019.

Jennifer and I have been doing this now every year since 2013. Once we started inviting people to join us up there that weekend, more and more folks from all across North American have come up to play in the snow. Usually, there's about two feet or more snow on the ground and we are surrounded by a beautiful forest that has been transformed into a winter wonderland.

This is different than many of our other gatherings in that it is not sponsored by the Erwin Hymer Group of North America, the corporate owners of Hymer and Roadtrek Motorhomes.

At this gathering, we make our own reservations individually with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Jennifer and I have reserved site 177. There are lots of other openings that weekend. And if you also want to head up there, you need to reserve your own spot with the Michigan DNR at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, at the Lower Falls Hemlock campground. Here's the website:
https://www.midnrreservations.com/TAHQUAMENONFALLSSTATEPARK 

The DNR folks plow out our spots for us and we spend the weekend snowshoeing, cross country skiing, exploring the beauty of the snow covered forest, taking photographs of the beautiful waterfall in the winter and socializing around a giant campfire.

Camping in the winter isn't much different than camping the rest of the year, except in two ways:

  1. We wear more clothes! Dress in layers, bring parkas, snowpants, boots, hats and mittens. Temperatures usually are in the teens, though one year it dipped to 5 below and last year, it was in the mid-30s. No matter. You'll be warm and comfortable. The outdoor exercise and the fire make it surprisingly comfortable.
  2. Your RV needs to be winterized. That means you have run RV antifreeze (the pink stuff) through your plumbing system and fresh and grey water tanks. You use the toilet in the RV just like you do any other time but instead of flushing with water, you put in antifreeze. The general rule is whatever you deposit in the toilet is flushed with an equal amount of antifreeze.
  3.  Each campsite is plowed out by the DNR and each site has electric hookups. There are no showers or running water, though there are pit toilets throughout the park.
  4. This is open to all RVers, in any kind of RV! Even tenters have joined us on past gatherings.

If you do decide to head on up to the UP, then once you have a campsite number, join our closed Facebook Group that we have set up just for this group. That's at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1697339513886451/

Let us know on that Facebook Group that you're coming and what spot you reserve.

We have dinner reservations at nearby restaurants on Friday and Saturday night and need to give them a call beforehand to let them know how many will be coming.

Here's a little video montage I did from our 2017 gathering when it was unseasonably warm:

Mike Wendland

Published on 2018-12-02

Mike Wendland is a multiple Emmy-award-winning Journalist, Podcaster, YouTuber, and Blogger, who has traveled with his wife, Jennifer, all over North America in an RV, sharing adventures and reviewing RV, Camping, Outdoor, Travel and Tech Gear for the past 12 years. They are leading industry experts in RV living and have written 18 travel books.

One Response to “Winter Campout Dates – Jan 11 -13, 2019”

December 03, 2018at11:25 am, Gary Egbert said:

Mike,
We are planning to reserve a spot but do you stay through Monday morning or leave on Sunday sometime?

Comments are closed.

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