CLEMENTZ’S NORTHCOUNTRY CAMPGROUND & CABINS, NEWBERRY, MI (U.P.)

Our Opinion: Neutral.  The park itself is nice, but their list of “rules” is long, detailed, and tiresome.

Date of Stay: July 26 and 27, 2010.

Weather During Stay:  Summer weather.  Highs in the low 80’s, lows in the upper 60’s.

Site Description:  The 50 RV sites in this level, grassy campground are a mix of FHU, W/E,  E only, and primitive.  50 amps available at some sites for an extra charge.  Trees provide shade for some of the sites.

We were in site 10, a wide, level, grassy pull-through with FHU (30 amps).  Utility boxes are between sites, shared by rigs facing in the opposite direction.  Sites are very spacious, with no sense of crowding.  All sites have a picnic table and a fire ring. 

Streets are gravel, arranged in three concentric circles.  The bathhouse/laundry is located in the “bulls-eye”, along with a playground.  There is a dump station on site.  Trading library in the office.

Rate: Rates are tricky to figure.  This park participates in PA, but not the FHU sites, which we needed on this stop.  We paid $24 for a 30 amp FHU site.  Want to use your AC?  Add $2/day.  Want cable TV?  Another $2/day.  Upgrade to 50 amps? Another $2/day (and AC is not included in that price).  It’s the kind of nickel-and-diming pricing that drives us crazy.

Phone/radio/TV:  No Verizon signal here for phones or aircard.  The park has WiFi (7 am to 9 pm) at the office; the signal doesn’t reach to most of the sites.  Don’t count on anything other than email and a bit of internet research, as the WiFi service has a data limit on it, so high-data-usage applications are prohibited (understandably).  Our roof-mounted satellite TV worked with no problem since we were in a very open site (so paid $2/day extra for A/C).  No reliable NPR stations.

Elevation/landscape/terrain: This is a flat, grassy, partly shaded campground at 800 ft. elevation.  Views are of other rigs, grass, and trees - pleasantly green. 

Lighting/noise:  Very dark and quiet at night.

Favorite Sites:  No favorites here.  The utilities you want will dictate your choice of sites.

Hiking/Walking: There is a short “nature trail” on the property, but the best hiking is around 20 miles away in Tahquamenon State Park, site of a well-known U.P. attraction, Tahquamenon Falls.

Comments:  The park itself - and the facilities - are quite nice and appealing, but the long list of rules and the reminder signs posted throughout the campground make you feel as though you are doing something wrong most of the time.  You can’t even put a small mat for wiping you feet on the grass by your steps (hurts the grass).  Add the extra $2/day for anything “extra”, and we ended up feeling as though our money was welcome, but we campers were a real pain!