What Makes Michigan Unique
More Great Lakes shoreline than any state except Alaska — and demand to match
Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes and has 3,288 miles of freshwater coastline — a figure that dwarfs every other state in the contiguous United States. That geography creates an enormous natural camping draw that has sustained strong demand for Michigan parks for generations. Families that camped in northern Michigan as children bring their own children, and those children bring their families. The repeat guest culture in Michigan RV parks is among the strongest of any state.
The demand is concentrated and intense precisely because the season is short. Memorial Day to Labor Day is the core window — roughly 14 weeks. Parks near premium destinations like Sleeping Bear Dunes, Traverse City, Petoskey, and the Straits of Mackinac fill up months in advance for those peak weeks, and guests pay rates that reflect the scarcity. Per-site revenue during peak summer at a top Michigan park often exceeds what comparable sites earn in Arizona or Tennessee — because Michigan guests know the window is short and they pay for priority access.
For buyers, Michigan parks are fully understood seasonal investments. The short season isn't a defect to be explained away — it's the fundamental nature of the Great Lakes camping market and it's been that way for a hundred years. Buyers who specialize in Great Lakes parks underwrite on annual NOI from day one, not on any monthly average that would make the off-season look like a problem.
Five Michigan Markets
Michigan's RV park markets span two peninsulas and four Great Lakes
Northwest Lower Michigan
Traverse City, Sleeping Bear, Leelanau, Petoskey
The northwest Lower Peninsula is Michigan's premier RV park market by every measure. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore anchors the destination — the 71,000-acre park draws 1.5 million visitors annually and was voted the Most Beautiful Place in America by Good Morning America viewers. Traverse City has become a genuine food, wine, and outdoor recreation destination in its own right, drawing visitors from Chicago, Detroit, and Columbus who might not have previously been campers. The Old Mission and Leelanau peninsulas offer wine touring and cherry orchard visits that extend the demographic beyond traditional camping families. Institutional buyers have targeted this corridor more aggressively than any other Michigan market in the past five years.
Northeast Lower Michigan
Gaylord, Indian River, Alpena, Cheboygan, Mackinaw City
The northeast Lower Peninsula draws two distinct groups: inland lake anglers and hunters who come for the hunting and fishing culture around Gaylord, Indian River, and the Inland Waterway, and Mackinac-bound travelers who stop near the Straits en route to Mackinac Island or the Upper Peninsula. Parks near Mackinaw City benefit from year-round tourism to Mackinac Island but the camping season itself is shorter than the northwest corridor. Gaylord's outdoor recreation economy — skiing at Treetops, golf, and hunting — creates genuine shoulder season demand that some parks capture well with the right programming.
Southwest Michigan — Lake Michigan Shore
Saugatuck, South Haven, St. Joseph, Holland
The southwest Lake Michigan shoreline is the most accessible Michigan beach market from Chicago — a 90-minute to 2-hour drive brings the entire Chicago metro to these beaches in summer. Saugatuck has built a reputation as an arts and dining destination that extends its appeal beyond traditional camping families. South Haven's blueberry farms and Holland's Dutch Heritage festival draw visitors with specific seasonal draws. Parks in this corridor benefit from a larger feeder metro population than any other Michigan market and tend to have slightly longer shoulder seasons because Chicago residents push north earlier in June than Michigan residents head to the north woods.
Southeast Michigan
Ann Arbor exurbs, Detroit metro periphery, Lake Erie shore
Southeast Michigan's RV parks serve regional demand from the Detroit metro rather than destination tourism. These parks tend to run moderate occupancy throughout the summer without the extreme concentration of the northwest markets. Long-term seasonal leases are common — families who rent a site for the full season, set up a semi-permanent camp, and use it as a summer cottage substitute. This revenue model produces more stable and predictable income than transient parks but at lower per-night rates. Buyers in this market tend to be regional operators rather than institutional players.
Upper Peninsula
Sault Ste. Marie, Munising, Pictured Rocks, Copper Country, Tahquamenon
The Upper Peninsula is a completely different world from the Lower — remote, largely public land, with a much shorter and more intense operating season. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising has become a significant national destination in the past decade, and parks near Munising have benefited meaningfully from that attention. Tahquamenon Falls, the Porcupine Mountains, and Isle Royale National Park are additional draws in specific corridors. The Sault Ste. Marie market sits at the Canadian border and captures cross-border tourism from Ontario when exchange rates are favorable. UP parks appeal to a specific buyer — someone who values the authenticity of the product and understands the extremely short season — and that buyer pool is smaller than for Lower Peninsula parks. That narrower buyer pool is reflected in wider cap rates. For UP park owners, the path to the strongest possible offer is thorough financial documentation showing what the park actually earns during its operating window, not annual averages that flatten the peak into something that looks artificially low.
Michigan Valuation
What buyers are paying for Michigan RV parks in 2025
Michigan cap rates track closely with market access and Great Lakes proximity. The Sleeping Bear and Traverse City corridor commands the tightest rates in the state — driven by institutional interest and the verifiable national profile of both destinations. The UP's wider rates reflect the narrower buyer pool, not any deficiency in the parks themselves.
2025 Michigan cap rates by location and park type
The Great Lakes shoreline premium is real and consistent. A park with direct Lake Michigan frontage trades at meaningfully tighter cap rates than an otherwise identical inland park. The premium reflects both the guest willingness to pay higher rates for waterfront access and the permanent supply constraint that prevents new lakefront parks from being developed along most of the Michigan shoreline.
Common Situations
Why Michigan park owners call us
Ready to retire from a lifetime seasonal operation
Many Michigan parks were built by families in the 1960s through 1980s who have operated the same park for decades. The operational demands of a seasonal park — opening in May, running full capacity in July, closing in October — are physically demanding, and owners in their 70s are often ready for a clean exit.
Traverse City area unsolicited offers
Institutional buyers have sent significant outreach to Sleeping Bear corridor and Traverse City area parks in the past few years. If you've received a letter and want to know whether the offer is competitive before you respond, call us for a second opinion.
Long-term seasonal lease park transition
Parks dominated by seasonal lease holders — families who've held the same site for 10 to 20 years — are a specific Michigan park type with its own valuation logic. Buyers who understand this model exist, and the right presentation of a seasonal lease park can produce surprisingly strong offers.
Upper Peninsula owner ready to simplify
Running a remote UP park involves a level of operational self-sufficiency — managing a short season, maintaining infrastructure through brutal winters, working with a limited local labor pool — that some owners reach a point of no longer wanting to manage. A clean exit at honest UP pricing is sometimes the right call.
Shoreline property with development options
Some Michigan lakefront parcels carry land value that exceeds the operating park value — particularly on Lake Michigan in the southwest and on smaller inland lakes in prime resort areas. Understanding the full value picture before pricing your park matters.
Infrastructure age and capital needs
Michigan parks that have been operating for 40 to 50 years often face significant deferred capital needs — electrical systems, well and septic, road surfaces, bathhouses. Owners who don't want to fund a major capital cycle are reasonable sellers, and buyers who understand Michigan parks know how to underwrite these situations.