THUNDER BAY RESORT, HILLMAN, MICHIGAN

Our Opinion: Neutral, or Recommended if you are a golfer. Pretty and well maintained, but nothing here made me wish we had planned a longer stay.

Date of Stay: July 12 through July 14, 2010.

Weather During Stay: Pleasant summer weather, with highs in the 80’s and lows in the 60’s.

Site Description: This small campground (23 sites) is part of a larger resort with a golf course, lodging, restaurant, and home sites. All sites are FHU with 20/30/50 amps and cable TV. Sites are reasonably spacious, with rooms for slides and awnings, a paved patio, and heavy metal mesh patio tables and chairs at each site, a nice touch.

Roads and sites are paved. Our site (#20) was sufficiently sloped to require boards under our back wheels and jacks to allow us to level adequately. Considering that the RV park obviously was designed with big rigs in mind, that was a surprise.

Sites are separated by well manicured, thick green lawns. Plenty of trees in the area, but most of the sites are open and sunny (which we like). Rigs must be self-contained, as there is no bathhouse/bathroom. No laundry facilities either. Comfortable bird blind, a couple of horseshoe pits, a canopied shelter, recycling barrels, and a central fire ring, complete the amenities.

Rate: The standard rate is $35/night. The park participates in both PA and CCUSA, Monday through Thursday, 2 night maximum. We arrived on Monday and stayed 3 nights, so paid half price for the first 2 nights, full price for the third: $70 total.

Phone/radio/TV: Blazing fast Verizon service. No obstacles in site 20 for our roof-mounted satellite TV dish, but that might not be true in all sites. No problem, cable TV is included. WiFi available (included), but we didn’t use it. NPR on 91.5 from Alpena.

Elevation/landscape/terrain: This is a flat, grassy, nicely landscaped and maintained campground at around 800 feet above sea level. Views are of your neighbors, trees and green grass.

Lighting/noise: Each site has a chest-high light on the utility pedestal that reflected brightly on the bedroom side of the motor home. After the first night, Odel turned it off… ah, darkness. Reasonably quiet at night, with the occasional passing car on the main road or the nearby residential area.

Favorite Sites: We didn’t pick a favorite, as the sites are pretty similar. The front row sites seemed a bit more level, and face the golf course - nice view, but a greater possibility of damage from an errant golf shot (no doubt minimal).

Hiking/Walking: Very pleasant, as you can walk the residential streets of the resort or walk the golf course, following the last golfers of the day. Wear bug spray!

Comments: This is a pretty, pleasant RV park, and Odel enjoyed a couple rounds of golf, but there isn’t really anything here to induce us to return at the rates they charge. $35/night seems high for a resort with no pool, no bath/shower house, and no laundry. We did appreciate the special touches: patio style outdoor furniture instead of a wooden picnic table; the central recycling center; and Odel paid under $20 for 18 holes of golf with a pullcart. No complaints, but no accolades, either. We might use it again as a stopover if we were passing through when PA/CCUSA rates were honored.