A Summer on the Great Lakes Recap #1
A summer spent on the Great Lakes is the very best kind in my opinion. I tried to spend as many of my weekends and days exploring and soaking up the summer sun and turquoise water. I feel like all of us can agree, you have to get out and store up all the sunshine to take on the winter months. February has nothing on me because I'll be day dreaming (on my couch under a blanket) of all the summer swims I took!
We really packed it in this summer and I wanted to share a few of my favorite adventures we took and the pretty epic spots Cori and Indi got to swim.
First up! Ludington State Park
We kicked off our summer fun with a camping trip to Ludington State Park located on the westside of Michigan in Ludington. This is a great campground. Not only are there traditional campsites, it also offers some pack-in sites up the trail and that's what we did. Now I will be the first to admit Evan and I are no pros at camping. We've gotten better this summer but the whole idea of packing it all in and carrying it to our site needs some work! Exhibit A this picture below....
The hike was just under a mile to the sites which in our case was perfect as we were strapped with bags on our backs and pillows under our arms and Evan and I carrying the cooler packed with beers! My sister Shannon was also with us on this trip and she was in charge of the pups, which might have been the hardest job.
Now the first thing I always do when we get to the campsite is open up that cooler and grab a bevy! There are only a handful of sites spread out and they all offer a decent amount of privacy and sandy ground being so near to the water. We quickly set up our tent and headed to the beach. We did make a quick stop on the way in to the camp store and scored matching shirts because what's a family vacay without matching apparel!
The Ludington State Park beach is just beautiful, to be honest I haven't been to a beach anywhere on Lake Michigan I didn't like. But the beach itself was awesome, we hardly saw anyone else in our section of lake front and it was made up of the softest white sand that carried out into the water. Some parts of Lake Michigan are on the rockier side but this was far from it. We took our first dip of summer for everyone and little Cori got her first EVER swim in a Great Lake! And we all loved it! The beach also makes for a great sunset spot and boy it did not disappoint.
There is also a great trail that winds up about a mile to the lighthouse (1.8 from the main campground). Where you can even take a tour inside the lighthouse. No dogs allowed so we passed on the tour this time. You can also explore a trail system in the park that winds through the dunes and has some high points where you can view Lake Michigan.
Overall Ludington was a great experience! That was our first time camping at the state park and exploring that section of Lake Michigan beachfront. We are definitely planning a trip back for next summer and we will be investing in a wagon to help pack everything in for a more efficient walk to the campsite!
Leave a comment if there is anything else you'd like to know about our trip to the state park!
Cheers!
-Erin