Anyone can enter a Michigan state park this weekend free of charge as it is a free parks weekend.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources parks and recreation chief Ron Olson tells us about 40% of passenger vehicles in the state are registered with state Recreation Passports, but that leaves 60% that aren’t. This weekend is for all those Michiganders who miss out on state park attractions.
“We have people that’ll come out and say, ‘Oh, I haven’t been out in a while, and I don’t have a passport, and said, let’s go’ because the weather is improving and all that,” Olson said. “And a lot of schools have just been concluding. Of course, over the weekend, that’s the intent, is to try to get people kind of oriented towards the summer months and to get outdoors.”
Olson says this is everyone’s chance to check out any state park they like.
“We know that there’s still a good chunk of the population that don’t, and we want to encourage them.”
The free parks weekend applies to this Saturday and Sunday, and will include access to boating sites and trails. In addition, it’s a free fishing and ORV weekend, so you don’t need a fishing license to fish or an ORV license to take to the trails with an off-road vehicle.
Olson reminds everyone to be mindful of water conditions in the Great Lakes before swimming and to bring bug spray out on the trails.
