best tent camping long island image
Adam
My friends and I just finished our first year of college and I want to get everyone together and go camping for a long weekend sometime this summer. I am looking for a place with a pond or lake or some kind of water to swim in and possibly even canoe some place close by. It would be great if it was more secluded so we wouldn't be disturbing anyone if we are loud but that is not a necessity. Thanks for your help!
Answer
I'm going to have to suggest Rifle River Recreation Area campground. My family has a cottage in Rose city, about six miles from there, so I've been going to the park my entire life. It's a fantastic place. It is in Lupton about three to four hours north of Detroit. The park is beautiful and has plenty of beaches and water access as well as a few look outs around the park. Just so you know I'd suggest Devoe beach for swimming, its very clean (the cleanest in the park), less populated and you have a large designated area to swim in and it is hardly every extremely busy (especially if you go during dinner time). This is where we always swim.
They have all kinds of camping from campers to tents to rustic cabins that you can rent. The cabins are a lot of fun and make it easier than lugging around a tent. There is a good chance that you can be as loud as you want as the park is not often overly packed, if you have a problem being quiet at your campsite there are plenty of pick nick tables and look out area's with campfires to go hang out at around the park where nobody would here you.
PLUS literally right across from the park entrance is a canoe, kayak and tube renting area (as well as a small convenience store). You can go there to rent a canoe and than they will bring it directly into the park for you and drop it off at Davoe beach, you just meet them at the docking station. I've done it plenty of times and it is beautiful and lots of fun!! Davoe is huge so there's plenty of area to canoe, as well as smaller creeks to go down, and an island in the middle of the lake that you might want to stop and have lunch at. One of the best parts is paddling back in to the beach area and just jumping directly into the lake from your canoe!
In the park there's the "fireman's" look out which is a wooden tower that looks out over all the lakes as well as the "baby mac" which is a small swinging bridge over one of the bigger rivers. The park is huge so there's plenty of little places to visit and lots of hiking.
I'm assuming you're going to have easy use of a car, you can get a campground close to Davoe that is with in walking distance (we still drive usually lol there's plenty of parking and after a day at the beach we never really want to walk back) but the park is very large so I suggest taking the car to explore.
Also the Rifle River is pretty close so if you'd prefer to tube instead of canoe its very fun, you can rent a tube and they drop you off on the river and pick you up.
I know its not in way southern Michigan but you don't have to worry about it not being rural. There isn't much but forest in this area. However, six miles away is Rose City, a small town with a grocery store and some fast food places (including a DQ) and about twenty minutes away is West Branch if you want to go into a bigger town for bowling or for a Walmart.
Its a super nice place! I go there at least four times a year. If you have any questions or anything I might be able to help you with feel free to message me!
I'm going to have to suggest Rifle River Recreation Area campground. My family has a cottage in Rose city, about six miles from there, so I've been going to the park my entire life. It's a fantastic place. It is in Lupton about three to four hours north of Detroit. The park is beautiful and has plenty of beaches and water access as well as a few look outs around the park. Just so you know I'd suggest Devoe beach for swimming, its very clean (the cleanest in the park), less populated and you have a large designated area to swim in and it is hardly every extremely busy (especially if you go during dinner time). This is where we always swim.
They have all kinds of camping from campers to tents to rustic cabins that you can rent. The cabins are a lot of fun and make it easier than lugging around a tent. There is a good chance that you can be as loud as you want as the park is not often overly packed, if you have a problem being quiet at your campsite there are plenty of pick nick tables and look out area's with campfires to go hang out at around the park where nobody would here you.
PLUS literally right across from the park entrance is a canoe, kayak and tube renting area (as well as a small convenience store). You can go there to rent a canoe and than they will bring it directly into the park for you and drop it off at Davoe beach, you just meet them at the docking station. I've done it plenty of times and it is beautiful and lots of fun!! Davoe is huge so there's plenty of area to canoe, as well as smaller creeks to go down, and an island in the middle of the lake that you might want to stop and have lunch at. One of the best parts is paddling back in to the beach area and just jumping directly into the lake from your canoe!
In the park there's the "fireman's" look out which is a wooden tower that looks out over all the lakes as well as the "baby mac" which is a small swinging bridge over one of the bigger rivers. The park is huge so there's plenty of little places to visit and lots of hiking.
I'm assuming you're going to have easy use of a car, you can get a campground close to Davoe that is with in walking distance (we still drive usually lol there's plenty of parking and after a day at the beach we never really want to walk back) but the park is very large so I suggest taking the car to explore.
Also the Rifle River is pretty close so if you'd prefer to tube instead of canoe its very fun, you can rent a tube and they drop you off on the river and pick you up.
I know its not in way southern Michigan but you don't have to worry about it not being rural. There isn't much but forest in this area. However, six miles away is Rose City, a small town with a grocery store and some fast food places (including a DQ) and about twenty minutes away is West Branch if you want to go into a bigger town for bowling or for a Walmart.
Its a super nice place! I go there at least four times a year. If you have any questions or anything I might be able to help you with feel free to message me!
Are alligators a safety issue while canoeing/kayaking on the Mississippi River?
Darry
I'm planning a kayaking trip through Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico - Anyway back to the question...
Is this a major safety issue? Would is pose as a threat if I am camping along the river? What should you do if you did encounter one?
Answer
Ok, I don't have stats for that area, but here in Florida, in the past 50 years or so, alligators have been responsible for about 26 human fatalities... compare that with dogs, which kill more people every year, and really, alligators aren't too much of a threat at all...
What time of year do you plan on going? Just to be on the safe side, I would avoid late March through May, due to courtship and territorial issues... most "attacks" on canoes and kayaks are misunderstandings... gator is hanging out on the bank, paddler comes around a corner too close, scares the gator, gator makes a break for deeper water and bumps the bottom of the boat on it's way, ~however~ during that time of year, all a gator cares about is the fact that there is something else as long (or longer) than it "swimming" through it's turf, when real attacks on kayaks or other small craft do occur, they are usually during that time frame. (early this year an 11 footer attacked a kayak on the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge... luckily it was shallow water and the gator was more concerned with the kayak than anything else)
Fed alligators pose a special problem... they don't recognize the specific people who feed them, they just recognize the basic shape... I know of several boat ramps here in Florida that have had trouble due to people feeding alligators (or "improperly disposing of fish cleanings") where every small boat that was launched would be bumped by large alligators... again, I don't know the stats up that way, but I'm sure it's similar... 95% of attacks by alligators here in Florida link back to the gator being fed.
My suggestions? Avoid being out on the water at dawn and dusk... alligators are crepuscular, most of their hunting takes place during these times.
As inviting as it may be, don't decide to go swimming if it's not in a designated swimming area... You're in their turf, the very few "unprovoked" fatal attacks here in Florida have been on people swimming in remote areas and the attacks were all by extremely large alligators.
Stay back from overgrown shorelines... just because most "attacks" on kayaks are bump and runs, doesn't mean that some surly gator won't wreck your 'yak any time of year... if there's a bunch of cover, assume there's an alligator, and give it plenty of room so it knows you're not a threat... try not to make them feel trapped (remember, alligators are more comfortable and feel safer in the water than out of the water.)
Don't feed them... this includes "incidental feeding" If you're catching fish for shore lunch, don't throw your cleanings back in the water... catch a trash fish? Treat it like it's a game fish and let it regain it's strength after a fight and swim off on it's own rather than just tossing it back... tired injured fish that have been caught and released are an easy meal for alligators, and they ~do~ know what a person with a fishing pole means.
Pick as open of a bank as you can find when going in to camp... cattails and other clumps of vegetation are ambush points for alligators... you want to be able to see as much of the shoreline as you can, and not that I think an alligator would come up into your campsite and bust into your tent to get you, but set up camp as far back from the water as possible...
While alligators deserve every scrap of respect you can give them, they aren't out to get anyone... however, if you do find yourself in an unlucky position, just remember that people who don't fight back don't get loose (not promising that everyone who fights back does get loose, but if you don't try, you've got no chance)... gator bumps your 'yak? Bump him back with your paddle if it's not a bump and run... heck, drop your anchor on his head if he gives you a chance and you need to... there aren't many soft spots on these animals, but if you're in the position where you need to use them, you need to know them... the fleshy spot where their nostrils are, eyes, and if you're unlucky enough to be in a position to take advantage of it the glottis (the flap at the back of the mouth that keeps the water out if they open their mouth underwater)... you find your hand in a gator's mouth, you grab for whatever you can get inside there if you've got any movement in your hand anymore.
Something else that I'm reminded of from when I was working on the tour boat... had a family from Louisiana on and they were commenting on how much bolder alligators here in Florida are than they are up that way... Louisiana has a much more extensive public hunt than Florida does, and alligators that way know that people are bad news... here in Florida people are more likely to feed them than shoot them, so ours are more.... "friendly" (please note the quotation marks... they're not really friendly at all...)
Main thing is just to give them room if at all possible.
Have fun, and wear a PFD.
Ok, I don't have stats for that area, but here in Florida, in the past 50 years or so, alligators have been responsible for about 26 human fatalities... compare that with dogs, which kill more people every year, and really, alligators aren't too much of a threat at all...
What time of year do you plan on going? Just to be on the safe side, I would avoid late March through May, due to courtship and territorial issues... most "attacks" on canoes and kayaks are misunderstandings... gator is hanging out on the bank, paddler comes around a corner too close, scares the gator, gator makes a break for deeper water and bumps the bottom of the boat on it's way, ~however~ during that time of year, all a gator cares about is the fact that there is something else as long (or longer) than it "swimming" through it's turf, when real attacks on kayaks or other small craft do occur, they are usually during that time frame. (early this year an 11 footer attacked a kayak on the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge... luckily it was shallow water and the gator was more concerned with the kayak than anything else)
Fed alligators pose a special problem... they don't recognize the specific people who feed them, they just recognize the basic shape... I know of several boat ramps here in Florida that have had trouble due to people feeding alligators (or "improperly disposing of fish cleanings") where every small boat that was launched would be bumped by large alligators... again, I don't know the stats up that way, but I'm sure it's similar... 95% of attacks by alligators here in Florida link back to the gator being fed.
My suggestions? Avoid being out on the water at dawn and dusk... alligators are crepuscular, most of their hunting takes place during these times.
As inviting as it may be, don't decide to go swimming if it's not in a designated swimming area... You're in their turf, the very few "unprovoked" fatal attacks here in Florida have been on people swimming in remote areas and the attacks were all by extremely large alligators.
Stay back from overgrown shorelines... just because most "attacks" on kayaks are bump and runs, doesn't mean that some surly gator won't wreck your 'yak any time of year... if there's a bunch of cover, assume there's an alligator, and give it plenty of room so it knows you're not a threat... try not to make them feel trapped (remember, alligators are more comfortable and feel safer in the water than out of the water.)
Don't feed them... this includes "incidental feeding" If you're catching fish for shore lunch, don't throw your cleanings back in the water... catch a trash fish? Treat it like it's a game fish and let it regain it's strength after a fight and swim off on it's own rather than just tossing it back... tired injured fish that have been caught and released are an easy meal for alligators, and they ~do~ know what a person with a fishing pole means.
Pick as open of a bank as you can find when going in to camp... cattails and other clumps of vegetation are ambush points for alligators... you want to be able to see as much of the shoreline as you can, and not that I think an alligator would come up into your campsite and bust into your tent to get you, but set up camp as far back from the water as possible...
While alligators deserve every scrap of respect you can give them, they aren't out to get anyone... however, if you do find yourself in an unlucky position, just remember that people who don't fight back don't get loose (not promising that everyone who fights back does get loose, but if you don't try, you've got no chance)... gator bumps your 'yak? Bump him back with your paddle if it's not a bump and run... heck, drop your anchor on his head if he gives you a chance and you need to... there aren't many soft spots on these animals, but if you're in the position where you need to use them, you need to know them... the fleshy spot where their nostrils are, eyes, and if you're unlucky enough to be in a position to take advantage of it the glottis (the flap at the back of the mouth that keeps the water out if they open their mouth underwater)... you find your hand in a gator's mouth, you grab for whatever you can get inside there if you've got any movement in your hand anymore.
Something else that I'm reminded of from when I was working on the tour boat... had a family from Louisiana on and they were commenting on how much bolder alligators here in Florida are than they are up that way... Louisiana has a much more extensive public hunt than Florida does, and alligators that way know that people are bad news... here in Florida people are more likely to feed them than shoot them, so ours are more.... "friendly" (please note the quotation marks... they're not really friendly at all...)
Main thing is just to give them room if at all possible.
Have fun, and wear a PFD.
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