News File Photo A camper is seen at an Alpena County park. Local park officials said they expect camping season to be busy again this year.

ALPENA — Long Lake, Beaver Lake, and Sunken Lake parks in Alpena County each enjoyed full campgrounds last year.

Local park officials say they expect the same at the three Alpena County-owned campgrounds this upcoming camping season.

Kevin Osbourn, who sits on the Alpena County Parks Commission, said he believes one of the main reasons the campgrounds are near capacity is because of the investment put into them.

He said new restrooms, pavilions, playground equipment, and other amenities have been added, which enhances the camping experience for people who live locally and those who are visitors to the area.

Osbourn said during the camping season last year, which runs from May 15 until Oct. 15, Sunken Lake Park rented out 5,957 sites. He said Beaver Lake Park had 6,337 lots utilized and Long Lake Park had 10,292.

Osbourn said the park’s commission isn’t able to determine if those numbers are up or down from years past because the old software the county utilized was not accessible. He said the county began using a new reservation software system called Campspot, which also tracks reservation and capacity data, so moving forward, directed year-over-year comparisons will be done.

“We do know the parks were really busy and I believe a good part of that is because of the improvements and investments that were made to them,” he said. “I think we are seeing a return on the investment.”

Many of the projects that have been done, or are slated to be done, were paid for via grants, allocations from the Alpena Youth and Recreation Millage, or the revenue generated by campsite sales. None of the improvements were paid for out of the county’s general fund.

“Youth and Rec. has been amazing for the parks and has helped us update them,” he said. “We wouldn’t have been able to make many of the improvements we have made without it.”

Osbourn said campers seem pleased with the new online reservation system. Until last year, people would have to call the park to reserve a campsite. At times, they were forced to leave a message and wait for a call back from the park managers to finalize a reservation. He said that wasn’t the most efficient or convenient way to do things and the new system gives everyone a fair shake at getting the lots they want.

“It really is more fair to the customer,” Osbourn said. “Everyone has an equal chance of getting the reservation they want and can use the map to pick the site they want out. It has worked out well.”

People who want to camp at Beaver Lake, Long Lake, and Sunken Lake parks are encouraged to book a stay soon, as weekends this summer are filling up quickly.

“I think we’re set up to have another good year,” he said. “There are a lot of exciting things happening at all of the parks.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.