West Michigan campgrounds, RV parks expect hot tourism season

As the summer camping season gets underway with the first summer holiday, campground owners prepare for a busier than normal season, expecting to serve higher numbers of families spending their vacations closer to home. More than 1,300 Michigan campgrounds expect to get a tidy share of the state's $12 billion tourist dollars.

According to excerpts from the story:

With just a few days to go before the Memorial Day weekend kicks off the summer season, retiree Richard Sevic still has much of the riverfront at the Double R Ranch Resort near Belding to himself. He slid his 27-foot Coachmen Chaparral into its seasonal spot, parked his fishing boat at the water's edge and set out a refrigerator on the green turf carpeting that serves as his patio. Soon, he will hang up his hummingbird feeders and plant his small garden.

"I always thought it was the best-kept secret in Michigan," said the East Lansing resident, 79, who has been summering at the campsite for three decades. He can plan on more company this year.

Read the complete story here.

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