Leisure Lake Family Campground: Nearby Getaway

Looking for a 'close to home'  easy-to-get-to fall family camping getaway?  

Consider Leisure Lake Family Campground at 505 S. Warner Road, Sumner (Gratiot Co.), 10 miles due west of downtown Ithaca, exit 117 on US 127 North.  The trip took me 50 minutes door to door, from East Lansing to the park entrance, in my 38-footer. This is a modern campground on the sandy shores of a 35-acre fishing lake (no license required because it's a private lake). Pat and Bob Barnes own and operate this mom-and-pop campground which has been environmentally developed/reclaimed from a commercial aggregate pit. Forty-three of the sites are available with sewer, and the remainder with water and 20/30/50-amp service. Tent and all types of RV camping are available.

Amenities include swimming, a playground, basketball, two modern bathhouses, hay rides, horseshoe pits, a store, a picnic/reunion shelter, paddle-boat, kayak, and boat rentals, cabins, putt-putt golf, a laundromat, free WiFi, and my favorite: serenity and Mother Nature. Make reservations by calling 616-984-2100 or by emailing Pat@leisurelakefamilycampground.com. (The park closes September 30th.)

The Barnes have a wonderful story to tell and I'm glad I was referred to them. Check it out for when you just have to go camping, roast some marshmallows, and study the clear night skies, but just don't care for those hours-long drives. I hope to see some of you there, and yes, there really are catch-able fish in that lake . . . unless the fishing pole is in my hands!