What changed in Michigan camping for 2026

Updated June 2026. This page is the annual anchor — we refresh it each fall when the next closure list publishes, each January for the Passport rate, and each spring for the fee card.

The 2026 changes

• Recreation Passport: $14 → $15 on January 1. That’s the statutory inflation adjustment, not a DNR decision. Still the best $15 in Michigan.
• Camping and lodging prices need a park-by-park check. Rates vary by park, site type, hookups, and lodging. The DNR calls its published table a “capture in time” and points travelers to MiDNRReservations for the current price and availability. Put your dates and location into the reservation system before budgeting instead of carrying over a statewide range from an older fee card.
• The renovation closures rotate. Michigan is midway through a historic, federally funded rebuild of park infrastructure. The 2026 list includes Fort Wilkins (east campground loop into early July), Indian Lake (south campground projects, reopening mid-summer), Mears (a spring electrical window), Petoskey (spring infrastructure work), and portions of Ionia, Lake Gogebic, McLain, and Otsego Lake, among others. Closures are mostly partial — a loop here, a month there. It’s worth checking the current closure list before you book, not after.
• Michigan’s newest state park is rising in Flint — the first in Genesee County and the state’s 104th. It covers about 230 acres along the Flint River and Swartz Creek. Sections are already open, with construction continuing through 2026. We’ll update as it opens fully.

Watch list

• The FY2027 budget proposes recreation fee changes alongside the hunting and fishing license items. Proposed, not enacted — confirm prices at checkout.
• The next closure list publishes each fall. And remember the booking math: November is when Memorial Day weekend opens.

The official sources

Closures and park alerts live at Michigan.gov/StateParks; reservations at MiDNRReservations.com. Start with Camping in Michigan, explained — and see the season’s other changes at hunting, fishing, and ORV.