Best Glamping near New Franken, WI

This was the strangest camping experience I've ever had. It was early June and there were maybe two or three other sites set up in the entire campground. I made my reservations online for a tent site and nothing indicated that the site I selected was an overflow site. These "overflow" sites were scantly numbered, and there were fewer fire pits and picnic tables than indicated online. All of these tent sites were scattered in a grass field among the frisbee golf. We were glad no one was playing frisbee golf because it was intermixed with where the tents would be, so people would be getting hit with frisbees.

My friend and I pitched our tent closest to the bathroom because we could not find the actual spot we reserved online. We could not find anyone to ask about our site other than the waitresses at the restaurant who were very busy. We ate at the restaurant too and were unimpressed. Unless you get the day's special, it is very overpriced and the portions are small.

The bathrooms were clean (because no one else was at the campground), but there was no drinking water. We were on a bike tour and had to bike over 10 miles in the morning to find some good drinking water. I don't believe I paid $25 for something that was barely a campsite and had no drinking water.

I might of enjoyed it more if I had time to explore the area and the tower, but just dropping in for the night was not a great experience. It felt the campground only came to be because somebody wanted to open a restaurant and his buddy thought it would be a genius idea to let people camp there too.

The Diamond Lake area is a great example of good places to be to enjoy the Fall foliage. A simple camp setup is all I needed to enjoy my time here. The best feature here would likely be space to roam under the trees.

This campground boast a variety of site types from cabins, to a yurt, to a bunkhouse, pull-through sites, and much more. They have a playground as well as nice beaches to access the lake from. Minigolf is yet another feature on site. If you want one place that has it all for the many types of camping you may like to do, Diamond Lake is a great camp.

Awesome campground! We stayed here for 2 weeks in our 2021 Keystone Hideout 250BH. They don't have a ton of sites and they are reserve only. The weekdays are extremely quiet but the weekends get a little busy due to the seasonal sites.

The sites are electric/water and they do have a dump station very close by. The central pond and waterfall were awesome! 

As far as amenities - the bathrooms/showers were very clean and well kept. They also had laundry services! Mowing day is on Thursdays!

The only negative with our stay (which the campground can't help) were the mosquitos, flies, and bees. So bring bug spray!!!

There are several things to do - hiking, biking, caves, Lake Michigan, etc.

The New Hope Cave is only open to tour 1 weekend of the month. It is usually the 3rd Saturday of the month but there were scheduling conflicts and it was open on the 2nd Saturday in August so we weren't able to tour. We were still able to visit the other caves and walk around and look at wildlife. If you go when it is raining you won't be able to go in many of the caves as they become flooded but it does make some really cool waterfalls! The Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse is on Lake Michigan about 30 minutes away from the campground but we definitely recommend going to see it!  We would definitely stay here again!

Located in Grayling, MI, it is just down the road from Hartwick Pines State Park, tucked back in the woods, away from the highway. It is cheaper, and more layed back than the state park. There's also a small catch and release fishing pond. Our group of friends have been going here for 5-10 years now. There are residents in motor homes that live here all year round, so the facilities are well maintained, especially under the new manager, since he bought the family run company a year ago. He has cleaned up the grounds, opening more room for campers, and has opened up a second bathhouse facility. The original bathhouse comes equipped with hot showers, and there is a place outside for motor homes do empty their refuse. The tent lot is one big open area, and there is no limited space like most other camp sites. There is also water access on them. Some lots have electrical access as well for campers who want to bring there motor homes. There is a small store for supplies for things you might want during your stay, like some groceries, bug spray, sunscreen, and other things. There is also an ice freezer with bags of ice. The grounds aren't that from from town, so if you needed anything else, it'd be a quick trip. It's a good location near both the Manistee and AuSable rivers if you want to go on a canoe/kayak/tubing trip too. I recommend this place to anyone looking to stay in the area.

Campground Review

Every year it seems there are changes at Devil's River. The campsite are still nice, though if you want privacy, there's not a lot. This is great for camping with friends or family. We usually have 4 sites with family over Labor Day weekend. This year they've added a deck off of the bathroom/shower building. It seems like it was almost done.

One night there was very loud partying at some of the seasonal campers sites. It was a bit obnoxious, but they were mostly quiet by 11pm. There were a lot of seasonal sites with Trump flags and I saw one Confederate flag…so interesting cross section of humanity.

One of the season campers had some giant inflatable climbing/bouncing things for the pond, so that kept the kids and some adults occupied. The same person also projected a movie in the new covered deck. He's a generous man, willing to share with the other campers.

We played cards and lawn games and Slammo and frisbee in all the open space and also swam in the pond. It was a great weekend, as always.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time, this time I got to test the RōM Pack from RōM Outdoors.

I'll be upfront and honest…this might be the most disappointing product I've tested for The Dyrt. It definitely isn't all bad, but the concept, in my opinion is a failure.

The RōM Pack is a convertible backpack that can unfold into a poncho or a blanket.

As a backpack…

What I like:

• It is stylish
• The material quality is heavy duty

What I didn't like:

• It is very heavy…when empty
• The main pocket isn't very large due to the excess material needed for the poncho/blanket

As a poncho…

What I like:

• It is a poncho

What I don't like

• The snaps don't stay snapped
• It is too short in the front
• It is too warm….it has a fleece lining
• The hood is small
• It looks a bit funny when you where it with the backpack straps and the flaps…I was laughed at by my family

_As a blanket…_it is great. It is warm, large enough and water resistant.

Overall, the concept doesn't seem practical. If I'm hiking and I expect rain, I'd pack a raincoat or a lightweight poncho to wear over my regular clothes. I'd dress for the weather. I'd never need a fleece lined poncho. I likely wouldn't need a blanket either…and if I did I could roll up a blanket and put it in a regular backpack.

The RōM Pack is also quite expensive at $120. The build quality is very good, but the execution and the concept are where it fails. The best "mode" is blanket mode, but I can recommend any number of cheaper blankets. I wanted to like this, but I'm afraid I can't recommend it.