News File Photo Sam Freel, park officer at Hoeft State Park, points out recently upgraded campsites on a map at the park’s campground in this March 2021 News archive photo.

ALPENA — With temperatures inching upward and snow melting, Michiganders are beginning to make plans for summer nights around a campfire, according to reservation numbers at Michigan state park campgrounds.

Camping reservations are up by 15% over this time last year, when people were beginning to worry whether they would be able to take their summer vacation, according to Eric Ostrander, unit supervisor for Harrisville and Negwegon state parks.

Last summer, when state parks reopened in late June after a spring shut-down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, campsites and day-use areas filled with campers.

This year, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources warned park supervisors to be prepared for another influx of campers, Ostrander said.

Even lesser-used state campgrounds, such as smaller parks in the Upper Peninsula, saw record numbers of campers over the summer, Ostrander said.

Based on reservation numbers thus far, this summer will look much the same as last year, Ostrander said.

His staff at Harrisville State Park all came back this year, despite a harried 2020 season that started with a rush of activity as soon as campgrounds opened to the public.

Programs and activities that had to be cancelled last year as a safety precaution — such as hunter education programs and Halloween festivities — may be back this year, if coronavirus-related restrictions allow it, Ostrander said.

Harrisville State Park’s campground remained full into fall, and renters have filled the park’s three cabins all winter, the busiest those buildings have ever been, Ostrander said.

A cabin and a lodge at Hoeft State Park have been similarly busy, and the campground was full over the summer, according to Park Officer Sam Freel.

“Camps were up. Lodging was up,” Freel said. “It was great.”

Four backcountry camping sites at Negwegon State Park were more popular than usual during the summer. The several-mile hike deep into the woods to reach the sites seemed to be what some people needed in the middle of a pandemic, Ostrander said.

Last summer, according to Ostrander, Michigan state parks welcomed many first-time campers or people upgrading from a barely-used tent to a full-size recreational vehicle.

The newfound camping enthusiasm means people are getting outdoors, Ostrander said.

It also means park rangers had to spend some of the summer teaching campground etiquette and helping drivers back a 30-foot trailer into a camping spot for the first time.

Staff is happy to help if it fills the campground, Ostrander said.

A camper himself, the park supervisor thinks campgrounds provide a safe alternative for people restless from being stuck at home.

“People just want to get out,” Ostrander said.