Introduction:
We enjoyed this very green, very well maintained county park just 15 minutes north of downtown Kalamazoo.
Click here to read about our criteria for campground reviews.
The Basics:
Overall Rating: 4.4/5
Price per night / Discounts: $30 / None
Campground website: Markin Glen County Park
Our Site #: 23 FHU
Privacy Rating (how spacious and private do the sites feel):
4/5: Site spacing here is good, but there are not a lot of mature trees, so it does feel pretty open. Fortunately, we never had a neighbor on our patio side, but even if we did, I don't think it would have been an issue. There was a great deal of space.
Location Rating (accessibility to points of interest or to major highways):
3.75/5: This was a real mixed bag for us. On the one hand, the park is about 15 minutes from the downtown area, which sounds pretty great. However, when we tried to pick up an Uber (because we wanted to go to the breweries and not have to worry about driving), we could not get anyone to come pick us up, There are hardly any Ubers (or Lyfts or regular taxis) in the city, and the ones that do exist, do not want to come up to the park. So, if you're planning on being a responsible drinker, you'll need to pick a DD, because there are no other good options. That was a bummer.
Site Quality and Big Rig Accessibility Rating (utilities and accessibility of campground hook ups):
5/5: Site quality was excellent and accessibility was perfect. Large, level, concrete sites with all the utilities in easy to reach places made us very happy. Roads were wide and easy to navigate.
Technology and Customer Service Rating (online resources, reservations, campground wifi, and staff):
4/5: You have to call for reservations, but the folks at the office were friendly. No one was at the front guard shack when we checked in, so we just went to our site (we had already paid in full). The manager came by a bit later and just told us to stop by for our car tag. When we did, he provided a ton of helpful information and suggestions about the area. Really great customer service. When we wanted to extend our stay a couple days later, I couldn't do so over the phone (because they can only book sites by phone more than 2 weeks out). In order to book during the two week window, you have to go to the guard shack - and the guard shack can't run a credit card. All of that was a little weird for such a modern county park, but in the grand scheme of things, it was no big deal.
Overall Value Rating (the overall value of the campground; was it overpriced for what it was?):
5/5: Given the awesome sites, pretty park, walking trails, and ponds, this campground offers an awful lot of bang for the buck. We thought their $30 per night price was a steal.
Summary:
This is a large, green, very pretty county park campground. The campground was built in the early 2000's and it shows. The roads are nicely paved, the sites are level concrete, there are full hook ups, and nice walking trails throughout the park. The only complaint we had, and it's not the fault of the campground, was that we couldn't get an Uber or Lyft to come pick us up. It's rare that we stay near a city of any size that we can't get a ride to and from the city (we are sticklers about not drinking and driving, so it's probably more an issue for us since we like going to breweries.) Overall, this was an excellent stay.
