Last Thursday, we drove north and adventured to the lovely town of Petoskey. We made reservations a couple months in advance to stay at a local campground for three days. This was our first venture at camping solo with our new camper and also our first visit to a KOA campground. The Petoskey KOA was built in 1993 on 30 acres and is hosted by the Rose family.
Upon arrival, we were able to check in quickly and were greeted by a friendly staff. We received a brochure complete with map, amenities, activities and area information. A staff member lead us via golf car to our campsite and even directed Garrin for backing in the camper so I did not have to exit the truck to do so myself.
We were given a full hook-up site (#20) on the back row near an open field and still close to the main lodge and pool area. The back of our site was surrounded by trees and we had a perfect spot to hang our new hammock. There was a private firepit and picnic table for our use at our site.
A couple drawbacks to our site and many of the sites at this campground was that the site is small and our neighbors very close. Additionally, the firepit was at an awkward location in the front right corner. I preferred the firepit location in the back corner at Pentwater as it was more enjoyable to gather chairs around the fire at night. This did not stop us from enjoying s’mores on both nights we were there though. We were able to purchase two bundles of firewood from the camp store for $6.00 each when checking in and the staff delivered the firewood to our campsite.
The amenities at this resort were quite nice and what I would call basic “glamping” or “resort style” camping. There is a camp store with fun souvenirs, supplies and refreshments. I found a extra throw for the camper and a fun “campgirl” tank to wear.
There is a nice heated pool, hot tub and group firepit. The campground offers an adult only swim from 9:00-10:00 am daily and open to all from 10:00 am-9:00 pm. The restrooms and laundry facilities are clean and well maintained. The staff picks up your trash by the curb at 11:00 am daily or you can walk it to the dumpsters.
KOA campgrounds are definitely family friendly to children and pets. There were plenty of activities going on and we found this occupied the children away from the campsites keeping it fairly quiet. Fun activities such as rock painting, water balloon toss, game tournaments, crafts, snow cones by the pool and movie showing with free popcorn were some of the highlights during our stay.
Kids could enjoy the playground, bike trails and games such as horseshoes, basketball, volleyball, ping-pong and the new Ga-ga pit. Ga-ga is a variant of dodge ball that is played with one ball. Players hit the ball at each other with their hands and are eliminated from the game if the ball strikes them on or below the knee. The last person standing wins!
For pets, the campground offers a dog run and a pet playground. They also provided pet waste bag stations.
Gucci and Tucker enjoyed walks around the campground, hanging out at our site and Gucci even relaxed in the hammock.
We enjoyed cooking on our grill at the campsite for most meals.
The resort had a group kitchen area with sinks and grills for use as well.
There was also a cafe serving pizza, hot dogs, ice cream and more. You could have a pizza delivered to your campsite if desired. They also deliver ice to restock your cooler.
We had an early start to head home that Saturday so we decided to join the “all you can eat” pancake breakfast hosted by the cafe staff. It was a bargain at $5.00 a person.
Next time, we would consider staying here again, however we will likely ask for a more secluded site. We are willing to give up full hook up if necessary to do so. Site #76 appeared quite private, a bit more roomy with trees surrounding it so we made note to remember it. Overall we enjoyed our stay at the Petoskey KOA and are happy our first solo camping adventure was a success!
