Pinckney Recreation Area — Attraction in Dexter Township

Pinckney State Recreation Area comprises several connected, but scattered parcels of land that surround private lands and land owned by the State of Michigan. The village of Pinckney is the largest settlement in the area, lying just to the east of the northeast corner of the park. Hell lies within the park and is the center of recreation at Pinckney State Recreation Area.

Hell grew up around a sawmill, gristmill, distillery and tavern. All three were operated by George Reeves. Reeves moved to the area in the 1830s from the Catskill Mountains in New York. He purchased a sawmill on what is now known as Hell Creek in 1841. Reeves' family sold the land to a group of investors from Detroit in 1924.

The investors increased the size of the millpond by raising the level of the dam creating what is now Hiland Lake. The area soon became a summer resort area attracting visitors for swimming and fishing. Henry Ford considered building some manufacturing facilities in the area but decided against it. Just west of the present Pinckney park, the federal government had developed the Waterloo recreational demonstration project in the 1930s and the state acquired the lease of that area in 1943.

The next year, the Michigan Legislature appropriated monies for the purchasing of land in southeastern Michigan and for the construction of state parks. The park grew through the 1940s and 1950s with money from a number of sources.

Pinckney State Recreation Area is home to several campgrounds and many miles of hiking trails. Bruin Lake Modern Campground has 186 modern campsites. Electric service for recreational vehicles is provided along with modern restrooms. Other facilities at the campground include a boat launch, fishing and swimming areas and a playground. Blind Lake Rustic Campground has ten rustic campsites with vault toilets. This campground is a hike-in camping area. Crooked Lake Campground is also a rustic campsite with 12 camping areas. Additionally, one yurt and one cabin are available to rent at the park.

Silver Lake is a center of park activities with swimming beach on the lake as well as access to a number of trails including the 17-mile (27 km) Potawatomi mountain bike trail. The 35-mile (56 km) Waterloo-Pinckney Hiking Trail runs through the two parks (passing through Park Lyndon County Park between them). The park is also open to hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, picnicking...

I stayed here several times in 2016 in varied seasons, I'm just getting around to writing reviews now.

Most of my stays here were off season...April and November a couple of times each. Because it was off season the water wasn't hooked up yet but that was okay. I had water onboard.

I stayed here as an alternative to a hotel, I didn't hang out at the campground, I left each morning at 6:30 am for a dog show and didn't return until late afternoon or early evening.

Because I was new to camping, I loved the quiet atmosphere of the practically empty park. I was able to choose the spots I wanted.

There are large grassy areas to walk a dog. Unfortunately, I saw off leash dogs (my pet peeve) each time I was there. I didn't encounter any problems because I went the opposite way, but I did have to change my plans and not go where I wanted due to off leash dogs.

There are no rangers off season. You register by phone when you get there.

There are three areas to this park. The upper area is not paved. I first chose there for the view of the lake, but moved in subsequent visits for the levelness of the paved spots in the lower loops.

There are some great spots here and they go fast. In fact the whole park books up fast and 6 months in advance as state parks do in Michigan.

It appearred that the lake for swimming, boating and fishing were the main events. There are some cabins and a couple of yurts and there is tent camping as well.

The last time I stayed there it was approaching "on season" and the place had quite a few more campers. I didn't like the atmosphere as it got more full. Like I said, I am new to camping, but it seemed tome people opened their doors, told their kids to go. I had to stop my car to avoid having a 3-4 year cross in front of it. They were totally unchaperoned.

I get the feeling that this can be a loud and rowdy place to stay on season.

It was conveniently located to where I needed to go, so it worked out great for me. I would not stay on-season though, because the close together sites and loud atmosphere...

The Glenbrook Yurt was my most recent attempt at staying at the Bruin Lake campground. I was less than impressed, unfortunately the yurt being off site from the main campground, it is closer to the hiking trail system. Being that close, hikers and boaters are constantly showing up and interrupting anything you are doing. The Yurt itself is nice and it would be an awesome camp site if it was truly more private. I would expect people had I reserved one of the Yurts at the actual campground location. The Yurt does have solar lighting and a fan. Use them conservatively as the batteries don't last long when both are in use. No outlets are available for phone charging, brick a external battery pack or solar charger. There is no running water and there is a vault toilet. There is a picnic table near the fire pit, along with a camp grill and some outdoor chairs. The Yurt is surrounded by a nice deck that offers some very nice views. You will also have access to the Hiland lake canal to the chain of lakes. The reason I rated it so low was the rude people that constantly interrupted our activities by hiking off trail and showing up at the site or just coming ashore to...