Campground Review – Fox Park, Cedarville township, near Escanaba, MI

 

(this is one of series of posts of various campgrounds we have been to over the years... I am going through my files in alphabetical order and posting past camping trips in my blog.... something to do over this long long upcoming winter---- sigh)

 

This is a little township park right on the waters of  the bay of Green Bay where it enters Lake Michigan.  Our motorhome is so long that we only fit on site number one.  It’s so wooded along the entrance to the park, with trees so close to the turn, that we can not swing to go into the rest of the park.  Did you know motorhomes don’t bend in the middle?  

There are 25 sites in this park, it’s all rustic with no hookups.  We have only seen a few tents, popups and pickup campers in here each time we camp at this campground. The township of Cedarville does not have a website, but I found some information on the park here on this website:

http://hunts-upguide.com/cedar_river_detail.html

Site number one faces right out onto the beach, and we sure like going here, if the other parks along this stretch are crowded.  Most folks pass this one up because of the lack of hookups.  Which makes it MORE desirable to us, being quieter and less crowded.

There is a picnic area with playground north of the park, but mostly we find that the beach area is the main attraction.  No rules posted, no lifeguards, and dogs get to run free along the sandy beach, dashing in and out of the waves to their heart’s delight. 

Only drawback is that you can hear the traffic noise on M35 as it’s a narrow long skinny park situated between the beach and the road.  Once you are near the water, past the dunes, you don’t hear much at all.

(These photos are from last summer’s camping)

 

Here we are on site number one, facing right to the water and beach…..

 

 

The beach has hardpacked sand along the edge, perfect for walking and dog-playing

 

 

Tall pine trees along the narrow dirt road coming back from the picnic area

 

 

This marshy area north of  the park has overgrown into a nice spot to watch birds and wildlife coming to the water for a morning drink.  We saw deer and turkeys wandering in the early morning through the grasses.

 

 

The dogs sure enjoy the freedom on the beach here, as they can run and play and fetch and get in the water.  Herding dogs usually don’t care for water, but don’t tell our dogs that.  They have camped since puppyhood with my siblings Labs and Beagles, so they think it’s normal to fetch sticks and play in the water. 

 

Duke even puts his whole head UNDER the water to fetch things….

 

 

Sooo Steveio had a “Great Idea”  to put our rig on the beach like he sees them do down in Texas!   I had to put my foot down and disappoint Steveio by forbidding him from doing what he insisted would be a Great Adventure!

(he said some wives don’t let their husbands have ANY fun!)

 

 

Some days it’s totally worth it to get up early, when you see things like this….

 

 

These next photos are from camping here in 2006 with our older Coachmen motorhome… with that one (28ft) we could make the turn into the rest of the campground.  The furthest site at the far southern end of the park is very private and secluded.   Even that section of sandy beach is somewhat separated from the rest of the park. 

   We had to back in one way and twist the other way quickly to keep the tires off the soft sandy areas, and locate them on the harder packed dirt to stay level and UNstuck!  

 

This was just lovely to have such a view.. 

on a perfect day with blue sky and not a cloud in sight!

 

 

What a quiet remote site… with nobody else around!   The sand dunes were so much fun to play on with the dogs, and we had episodes of *squeaking sand* when walking on them.  Read this about squeaking sand:

Squeaking sand is rather odd. You walk along a beach and as your feet drag the sand lets out a chirp similar to squeaking chalk. Why does this happen? What causes the noise?

Squeaking sand can be found on beaches on every continent in the world (except maybe Antarctica). Not all beaches squeak though, it only occurs when a certain types of sand (silicates, carbonate of lime, etc.), with grains at a certain size (around 300 micrometers), create layers from the wind and moisture. The sand also has to be well weathered, smooth, and fairly spherical.

The strange squeaking noise is caused from the friction of the layers rubbing against each other.

Also, polluted sand will not squeak. So if a beach stops squeaking, it's because foreign matter has mixed in with the sand and taken away its voice. So if your beach squeaks, you know it's clean.

For a much more technical review (including some mathematical equations) check out this site. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nori/boom/RMP.html

   

 

We stayed here four days, and the dogs sure enjoyed running around too off leash, nobody else was around us at all.   It was mild, sunny and enjoyable.

 

I remember on this particular camping trip, our little Duke doggie found a tiny moth or butterfly huddled in a small space under this picnic table.  He kept poking his curious little puppy nose in there to sniff it, and it would flutter it’s wings and tickle his nose!   He would jump back in surprise, give a little yip, and stick his nose back in there again!   We checked on it the first time to make sure it wasn’t a wasp or a spider.  He played with that little creature for quite a while before it decided that enough was enough and flew away.   His disappointment was so evident and he slumped down with a big sigh!

 

 

Looking at this view from the comfort of a lounge chair, under the awning, is so relaxing.

It may not be the ocean, or a fancy ritzy RV resort, but it’s the best we got here in Wisconsin, only 60 miles from home and a great get-away from the day-to-day grind!

 

 

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