Great Lakes weather in the fall?

[RVcrazy]

How late is too late to avoid snow, ice & freezing temps. Some of the areas that have me concerned are Muskegon, Traverse City MI, Egg Harbor & Two Rivers WI. I am wondering if we need to shorten our trip. We like FHU, no boondocking. We don't own a generator... Thanks!

[timandsusan]

We had a great trip in 2015 to Minn, Wisconsin, Michigan in late summer to the 1st week in October. As we were heading west from the UP, we found most RV parks with FHUs were getting ready to close. We knew the closing dates before we planned the trip. For the trees, they were just getting started so that was a miss. So, have a great trip and plan accordingly as others have said.

[dewey02]

jplante4 wrote:

evanrem wrote:
I would say November 1 would be the cut off.

The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.

I think that applies to Lakers hauling taconite.
I don't recall any travel trailer or motorhomes being sung about by ol' Gordo. 🙂

[rockhillmanor]

dalenoel wrote:
In Michigan if you are only looking for FHU then most of the private parks will be closing by the end of October. Many by the 15th. It is not too cold but the number of campers makes it not economical to stay open. Some will be open all year but you will find only electric at the sites with restrooms and shower houses heated all year. Some state parks are like this.We do have some that camp in the winter for hunting and snowmobiling.

Yup, the cut off date for most CG's in the Midwest is October 1st.
You might find some open but they will have shut the water off. You will have electric and usually heated bath houses for showering.

I hit the road full timing from Wisconsin in October to head South. What a learning curve for me that was when I found out all the CG's where closed. :S

[2gypsies1]

The OP never did say when they're planning the trip. Play it safe and be in those places by mid-October and you'll be just fine.

[paulj]

So for a Washington camper it's like planning a camping trip in the mountains, or at least the east side of the mountains. Around the Puget Sound state parks tend to leave a few loops open year around, but service and hookups are reduced by mid-to-late October. Serviced forest service campgrounds start closing after Labor day, while unserviced ones stay open through the start of deer hunting (mid October).

[dalenoel]

In Michigan if you are only looking for FHU then most of the private parks will be closing by the end of October. Many by the 15th. It is not too cold but the number of campers makes it not economical to stay open. Some will be open all year but you will find only electric at the sites with restrooms and shower houses heated all year. Some state parks are like this.

We do have some that camp in the winter for hunting and snowmobiling.

[GordonThree]

FHU is a big ask for late (or early) season camping in Michigan. A handful of government parks remain open year round, I don't know of any private parks that are campgrounds and not just trailer parks which remain open.

Dump stations close up too soon as it gets too cold for the septic guys to pump and dump in the corn fields.

[jplante4]

evanrem wrote:
I would say November 1 would be the cut off.

The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.

[evanrem]

I would say November 1 would be the cut off. That is when we put the camper away. You will need heat for sure and most of the campgrounds with full connections will be closed for the season and finding a place to dump will take some planning. Point Beach state forest is a great campground in Two Rivers on lake MI and is the place I would stay when visiting.

[Matt_Colie]

RVcrazy wrote:
How late is too late to avoid snow, ice & freezing temps. Some of the areas that have me concerned are Muskegon, Traverse City MI, Egg Harbor & Two Rivers WI. I am wondering if we need to shorten our trip. We like FHU, no boondocking. We don't own a generator... Thanks!

You don't give us any time window here, so it's kind of like asking how deep a river is....
In Michigan, we have a saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes."

You need FHU, then you had best call the places you want to stay. Crampgrounds in this area open late and close early. The weather around Lake Michigan seldom gets bitter before November, but one of the worst winter storms of all time was November 11. If you are asking about the other side of winter. Well, here in the SE corner of the state, it is 64°F today, was about that last weekend and is supposed to stay like this until next weekend. There really is no telling what is going to happen. This is why the local crampgrounds don't schedule opening until May, and some later still.

There are some that are open more, and they do this for the hunters. They may open to late November, but they see them coming.

Matt

[GordonThree]

In Northern Michigan, this last fall was fantastic. It was very Indian Summer right up until Halloween, and then a switch flipped and we were into winter. However, this winter has been VERY VERY WEAK. Hardly any snow, hardly any days below 0F. I didn't even turn my central heat on until turkey day in 2016.

[2gypsies1]

Mid-October is very safe - weatherwise - for those areas. It's also when the beautiful fall leaves have dropped. Beyond can be iffy. As you know, weather changes and you just don't know what is going to happen.

[cmcdar]

One thing that the great lakes are is unpredictable!

Lake Erie and Ontario have been known to produce significant SNOW STORMS in early (first week) of October.

I would say it is very hard to call what type of weather you may incur more than a few months in advance.

Also, if you like full hook ups, you will have to contend with campgrounds closing for the season. Many close mid October.

NOTE: My campground closed October 15th many seasonal campers where still there when the October 2nd snow storm hit.

[Mfan]

We've had snow on the ground for Halloween in sw michigan.