Holly Recreation Area

We thought we'd give Holly Recreation Area a try. Campground is in "loops", each fairly apart from each other. The closest "lake" was mostly lillypads and scum. No swimming there, but the lake with the beach (and overpriced lake inflatables, $20 for 60 minutes use!) was a drive (or looong walk) from my site. (We're in the Oak Loop).

Playground equipment leaves much to be desired. Old swings and slide here, down a ways it's a climbing dome and some other metal thing. I don't know what genius thought putting a basketball court right next to a camping area was a good idea, but the constant "blap blap blap" sound got tedious real quick. Speed limit is 10mph, people seem to add 10 to that, so watch the kiddos. I even saw an official State van zip by my site at at least 15 to 20mph. Not great.

Every site is paved, which is nice, but I've never seen SO many unlevel sites. Some slope back, some forward, or to the side. I mean virtually*every* site in this loop is unlevel. I'm not exaggerating in the least. Hard to believe they thought this was OK. I drove each loop, noting the level ones, which was only a handful total.

We're close enough that we *should* get all the Detroit TV stations, yet I can get none. T-Mobile only gets LTE, which is slow.

Vault toilets in the loops, modern restrooms/shower out on the main park road. Unless you like long walks, expect to bike or drive to them. The modern facility near me was ok, showers ok, but there were lots of spiders in the stall I used. What's a lot? I counted 15 on the walls. It IS camping though, so kind of expected.

It is pretty though, very wooded, but sites clear & well spaced. (though, again, mostly all unlevel to some degree.) Road and site pavement is in good condition, and sites clearly marked.

Note: someone says there's wifi here. There is NOT, and I don't think any Michigan State Parks do.

I doubt we'll return here.

This was the 1st State Park we’ve stay at that was South of us (because everyone knows Up North is where it’s at!) and it’s definitely convinced us to try more parks in Southern Michigan!

We stayed in the Maple Loop (site 6) and it was very calm and quite. It seemed like one of the loops with more level sites... some sites in other loops looked like you'd need to make sure to pack extra leveling blocks to get the camper leveled out front-to-back.

PROS:
-Most sites feel secluded from neighbors with trees surrounding
-140+ sites for RVs with long cement pads
-Cement pads are *just* wide enough to make for easy parking, yet not make it feel like camping in a driveway. Lol!
-Far from any busy roads and super quiet during the day
-Multiple playgrounds throughout the park for kids
-Showers were clean and the water was always warm even during peak showering times.
-Gorgeous calm lake — great for kayaking! (They even have kayaks & stand up paddle boards available for rent!)
-Floating water park, which looked like a blast!
-First, you should know I’m an adamant recycler (and even compost when at home), so, seeing recycling collection cans & bottles throughout the park was a plus for me!
-There were hiking trails, but we didn’t get a chance to explore them.

CONS:
-The beach and campground are in separate parts of the park – definitely bike-able, but if you’re brining more than just a towel, you’ll probably want to drive!
-It was pretty far away from any town, so make sure not to forget anything! We had to drive a half hour to get to a store other than the gas station.
-There were some VERY un-level sites (front-to-back), so, you’ll need those leveling blocks!

The campsites have nice blacktop drives and pads, and are heavily wooded. However, the pad is not level. It slopes significantly toward the road and slants to the side. It was raining when we arrived and the leveling pads were slipping on the blacktop as we tried to level side-to-side. When we were preparing to leave the next day, one of our wheel chocks slid on the wet blacktop allowing the trailer to move, bending a stabilizer. We paid for electric hookup, however the power post for site 138 is more than 25’ from the closest edge of the pad and basically in the next site. Our power cord would not reach. Also, the dump station was still out of service when we were there.

Sites in the hickory loop are nice and wooded with all sites having a view of the woods out the back of each site. Sites have paved pad for camper , but some pads have 2-4 inch drop off making a pretty bad trip hazard. Area has rolling hills making sites difficult for tents and some unique locations for the fire pits. Overall great camping experience. Will camp here again.

Some will say that this is one State Park that has something for everyone. If your a woody camper then you will find some very nice woody sites nestled among some large tree like oaks and maples. Then you can also find some very good group sites which are larger. Some are full sun.

There are several great hiking loops which keep you inside the park acres, and offer much wildlife. There are 2 playgrounds which are newly renovated, basketball courts and frisbee court are available. New restrooms and showers make the stay comfortable and convenient. There are 5 camping loops and 2 cabins for rent.

Crossing over to the south of the park is McGuiness lake. It offers a very nice beach and a store with food, boat and float rentals. Public access is also available, but is a no gas motor-no wake lake. Fishing year round offers bass, bluegill and some pike. Very near many attractions such as Renaissance Festival, Mt Holly for skiing.