Sportman's (woman)'s campground

[Alitra]

Hi folks, was wondering how much interest there is out there for a campground in Northern Michigan that is geared towards the hunter. More specifically, groups/families of hunters.

The campground would be located within a few miles of state/federal land for hunting.

I'm thinking of a small campground that doesn't rent individual spaces, but rather an "area" that a group of hunters can set up base camp. Folks would rent this area and set up multiple tents/trailers and have a good ole hunting camp experience with friends and family without having to worry about "disturbing" the camper next door.

It would be fairly primative but there would be facilities available for cleaning your game. A very large central fire pit for gathering around and cooking on. You could even leave a big pot of stew simmering over the fire for the evening meal.

Perhaps a screened in pavillion area with lots of tables that you can gather under in foul weather conditions and shoot the chit or play cards. It would be "your" group's pavillion where you can talk about what you want and relive the hunt without having to worry about offending anyone but your buddy.

It would be a place where the sight of a gun doesn't send folks running and screaming for cover.

How about a kennel for the hunting dogs? Or would you prefer to keep the dogs chained at your tent?

Is this something that might interest you? If so, if you had a say in designing such a place, what would you include. What would that ideal thing be included that would just make you kick back and sigh in content?

What would be a reasonable price to charge for this home away from home?

Thanks for any imput!

Alitra

[NEMichsportsman]

Its a neat idea.All the features and suggestions are something that I would want like to see if I went to a campground.

I just dont see it being a big money maker for the owner.

Alot of people have their own camps, belong to a club, or they have a tradition of going to a specified peice of public land. Seems that this would be best suited for Rondezvous and Jamboree events, or a group that wanted to have a common place to meet where hunting and fishing access was nearby.

I don't mean to sound negative because I think it is a good concept, I just don't know if it would work out as a business venture.

[gilgetter]

always looking for a place to lay my head, get a shower,and food i dont have to cook.dont like to set up a camp and leave it on state land ,cant be sure it will still be there . a room goes for about 50 a nite a campground is about 10 or 12 a state land camp is free.you set a price if you provide a good service you should do ok

[trapstercarl]

I could see it as a real possibility.
There’s all kinds of hunting to be had in the great state of Michigan and a lot of people don't have the access to a "camp up north" .
My family is a prime example with older family members dying off, the camps are getting sold and that is the end of a tradition. A lot of younger people would like to start there own family hunting tradition And I think this camp would be just the place for a lot of younger generation hunters. There’s a lot of responsibility . People getting drunk and being loud and obnoxious also Vandalism and such. Would this be an actual campground setting? With more than one group or just an individual group camping area? I think a combination of the two would be best. With big campsite locations so a whole families can camp within the boundaries of there campsite. With more than one campsite so there’s multiple groups of family hunting groups. Basically the same as a normal Campground but catered more toward a hunting crowd. With the dog kennels and game cleaning area and such. Also a buck pole would be a nice touch.I think that its a great idea .
carl

[Alitra]

Thanks for the input and keep it coming please, either positive or negative!!

I don't expect this to be a large income producing venture, more of something to help supplement retirement income. The campground, homemade maple syrup sales, maybe some jerky and smoked summer sausage. A tad bit of bill money while having a venture that will keep us from getting lazy and fat in our old age. ;)

The camp will actually be set up for family get togethers, but, we won't be having get togethers all the time so my thought was actually renting it out for other "family" hunting camps.

Trap, what your talking about is exactly what I was thinking of when I started out with this thought. I listen to my husband, his brothers, and cousins talk about all the great times they had at "squirrel camp" or "deer camp" growing up, on the property their dads owned together.

The last of those brothers died a couple of years ago and the property is long gone, but those memories they have will last forever. The tradition is continuing now with their grandchildren and great grandchildren, but only because someone in the family does own a few acres we can get together on.

I want this camp to be a place where the traditions can be passed on from one generation to another, for those who don't have their own place. A place where you can proudly walk through the campground carrying a handfull of dead squirrel by the tail without having to worry about young Jimmy's mother threatening to sue ya cause you traumatized Jimmy with the site of dead critters!

Trap, at this point this is just an idea my husband and I are throwing around. Don't know yet if we would restrict it to only one group of campers at a time or more than one group.

If its more than one group then I think you kind of lose something of the "family base camp" type atmosphere we are looking at. Then you would have to worry about leaving your stuff laying around and wonder if somebody's kid dumped a bag of peppermint candy in your stew pot while you were gone hunting (ok, so based on personal experience you still have to worry about that at your own camp!) :eek:

A little drunk and roudy would be okay if it was just YOUR family. Ever have a horseshoe tournament at 2 a.m under the canopy of headlights? Good clean fun, but not something you could do with other campers around.

On the other hand, with more than one group of campers, there is some amount of fun in a my buck is bigger than your buck competition. ;)

And a buck pole would be a must!

Alitra

[English]

IF there is good squirrel hunting in the area I can see where my group of friends might use it once or twice a year. We hunt squirrels with dogs and try to make a trip or two a year to Northern Michigan usually in the early fall. We've hunted the Baldwin area on the western side of the state as well as Glennie and Sanford areas on the eastern side. Keep us informed.

Kennels would be great! But a place to tie out several dogs would work.

Shower space would definitely be a bonuse.

Mike

[Alitra]

We're gonna find out if there is good squirrel hunting in the area, I have a squirrel dog also! (Ladner BMC, just turned 1) Well, I want to have a squirrel dog, we'll find out this coming season if he can actually do more than tree in the yard. ;)

If nothing else, as long as this sale goes through, we'll be turning this 20 acres into our own squirrel haven by planting habitat for the little tree rats. As it is we've spotted some nests on the property now.

Baldwin is where we have squirrel camp at now. I'm the only one with a dog right now but I'm hoping to start a new tradition. The guy who owns the property is into coon dogs and has never tried squirrel dog hunting, but he is really excited to see what my dog turns into.

I think I've seen your posts on SDC English. I've been spending a lot of time lurking there trying to figure out how to train this dog.

Alitra

[Michihunter]

I for one would certainly welcome something of that nature. My friends and I have been known to be a bit loud at times and to know that we could do this without censorship or offending anyone would certainly be nice. We all practice good manners in the presence of others and have the utmost respect for other peoples propewrty. It's just that there are too many people that want a quiet stay in the campgrounds and we're from the more primitive mindset. :D

[chrisu]

I used to haul my pop-up camper into the deer woods in October and November. Sometimes it would cost 20# of LP to keep us warm!!!:lol:

Now that I have 30' travel trailer, I am starting to scout out a place to park during the seasons as the places I took the popup are a bit rough for this RV. A venture like yours would be great. Plus it is always nice to swap stories with other hunters!