Alcona Park West Campground

One lane and only 7 trailer spots — on summer weekends you'll be jockeying for position. Get there early Saturday morning or plan for a weekday trip. Once those spots fill, you're out of luck unless you're camping on-site.

GPS tends to route you to the wrong campground entrance. You want the west side specifically — if your phone is taking you to the modern full-service campground, you've gone too far. Look for the Alcona Park West signs and trust those over your nav.

Alcona Dam Pond levels are controlled by Consumers Energy at the dam, so water can fluctuate without much warning. The ramp is usable most of the season, but in late summer and early fall the water can drop enough to make launching anything with real draft a bit dicey. Stick to smaller boats and you'll be fine.

The real advantage here is pairing the launch with a camping trip — you've got primitive sites right there on the west side, so you can have your boat in the water in minutes. As a standalone launch it's modest, but as a base camp for fishing Alcona Dam Pond for a few days, it's hard to beat.