Ghost stories and campfires are as inextricably linked in the American imagination as any summer activity could be. Some campgrounds in Michigan take this love of the outdoors and the spooky one step further, offering murder mystery camping. These themed camping trips offer the whole family or camping party an opportunity to channel their inner Sherlock Holmes and help solve the mysteries through guided activities and performances explaining the cases to be solved.
What is a Murder Mystery Camping Trip?
The definitions for this kind of camping trip vary from site to site. Some campgrounds offer dinner theater murder mysteries where the audience participates in solving the crime; others offer theme weekends where activities and shows combine to make the murder mystery come alive. Still other sites provide campers with the raw materials for creating their own murder mystery trip such as stories about a campground's haunted history and ghostly sightings. Nearly all campgrounds advertise their programs as being appropriate for all ages, and many offer reduced or free tickets for small children.
Ghastly Mackinac
Fort Mackinac, part of the Mackinac State Park system, offers a murder mystery program called Ghastly Mackinac: Murder, Mystery and Mayhem. Campers can see the show during July and August and then retreat to their tents and campfires to contemplate the spooky park in which they are camping. According to MackinacParks.com "Over 115 years of death, disease and deranged discipline have left its eerie mark within this stone fortress, leaving behind stories of truth that are much stranger than fiction." Tickets to the show that dramatizes these stories must be purchased ahead of time.
Fort Macinac State Park
7127 Huron Road
Mackinac Island, MI 49757
906-847-3328
www.mackinacparks.com
Petoskey KOA
Petoskey KOA offers an all-inclusive murder mystery weekend. The price of admission includes accommodations, food, activities and a T-shirt. Accommodations at Petsokey range from cabins and cottages to traditional tent sites. According to KOA.com, campers are in for "an exciting weekend that will test your detective skills. Our Murder Mystery Weekend uses experienced actors and is tailor-made for our park."
Petoskey KOA
1800 North US 31
Petoskey, MI 49770
231-347-0005
Lake Huron Campground
Lake Huron Campground hosts an annual mystery weekend culminating in "the Big Family Murder Mystery." Located on Lake Huron, one of the Great Lakes, the campground offers access to water activities on the lake as well other inland waterways in addition to its mystery program. You can tent at Lake Huron campground, rent a cabin or stay in its state-of-the-art RV park.
Lake Huron Campground
2353 N. Lakeshore Road (M-25)
Port Sanilac, MI 48419
866-360-CAMP(2267)
www.lakehuroncampground.com
Thunder Bay Golf and RV Resort
For those interested in mystery and RV camping, Thunder Bay in Hillman offers a murder mystery weekend. According to ThunderBayGolf.com, guests become live players in a game of Clue. The site elaborates on the weekend's activities: "As the dessert reception begins on Friday Night, so does the murder, deceit and deception. You and your fellow sleuths will search guest rooms, question suspects and analyze evidence to figure out the motives for the crimes."
Thunder Bay Golf & RV Resort
27800 M-32
Hillman, MI 49746
800-729-9375
www.thunderbaygolf.com
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