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This is only feedback on the campsite itself and not the event.

Pros:
The buildings seemed quite nice - rustic and a lovely setting for the game.
The mattresses were super comfy.
I liked that there were many cabins with few beds - Great for bunking with people who have about the same sleep schedule as yourself.
It's just over an hour drive from home to camp - awesome!

Cons:
The cabins/bunkhouses/structures were much closer to each other than I had anticipated. Oddly, I prefer a bit of distance.
Camp Rangers/Owners seemed a bit intrusive - I'm sure they wanted to make sure we were having a good time at their place, but really, I want the outside world to leave me alone for my LARP weekend.
Heat - a small space heater was heating (or not heating) the girl's side of the bathroom. I did not shower myself, but heard only cold water was available.

There's another con that's not coming to me - I'll ponder this a moment.

I agree, the park ranger seemed to be checking on us a lot.

I also had an issue with the parking. I know we tried to keep the cars in the center of camp to a minimum, and that seemed to work well until Saturday when a different group was using the cabins by the lake.

i really did enjoy this camp, it was big enough to explore but not so huge that you would get lost easy and the cabin i stayed had a bathroom in it

( i bunked with the dwarves so this was a huge plus!)

i would love to explore it more and see more plots utilize the other areas of the camp.

the park ranger was a great guy, super helpful and only looking to help out.

not for things that were not so hot.

parking was kind of weird, it does mess up the scene to see headlights at night or for a truck to drive down a path during a plot. but not much we can do.

on the same coin of the park ranger. yes he was very helpful and wanted to make sure we had a good time. he has also had a few bad experiences with messy people.
however, being checked on every third minute was very distracting during game and got kind of awkward on sunday when i went to clean up the bath house.

overall very nice location and relatively close. i enjoyed this camp quite a bit.

Good.
BUNKS. Cabins with only 8 poeple on an early schedule. LIKE.

The dinning hall is pretty nice

the camp is too close together. NPC camp is just squashed right there.

PARKING. even with the cars moved you still ruin the whole scene with them on the sight lines.

The camp is okay but not worth the price.

The Bad:
Though the ranger was super helpful, it really broke the immersion having him drive around so much.

Parking, perhaps finding a different spot farther down the path would be great.


The Good:
The tavern was awesome. I felt it added a great deal to immersion with the rustic look of it.

The cabins were great in my opinion.

I felt NPC camp was the perfect distance away. Not too close and not too far away.


I don't know how much the camp cost, but I am glad that there is more than one event at this camp.

I thought the buildings and the campground were great, the distance between buildings was fine. Parking could be better.

Also, the ranger is a ninja who will show up if you start talking about him. Hopefully he'd be around a little less now that we've proven we can clean up after ourselves.

I'd give the camp a 7 on a scale of 1 being my backyard and 10 being LARPLand.

Pros:
* The buildings are great and really add to the atmosphere. Awesome kitchen facilities, great benches and chairs with lots of seating in the main cafeteria. The Mansion house was spacious with dividable barriers, enough we could still RP (quietly) while others were trying to sleep. I loved the little cabins being used by the NPCs, I slept in one Sunday morning after the rain bunsed me out of my hammock. Quiet, comfy, and heated. The bathhouse was well-equipped, with nice hot water.

* The site itself is gorgeous. One thing I hated about Rota-Kiwan was how flat and uniform it is except for the ampitheater pit. It's great to have some woods to tromp around in (and hide in ). I might take a trip down to see it in the summer for the lulz.

* It's close to the Muskegon/GH/GR crew, big plus for me. I did have trouble finding the entrance though.

* The group that showed up Saturday afternoon to work wasn't intrusive. I felt my stomach drop when they pulled up, but they were cordial and ignored us just like we ignored them once we exchanged pleasantries.

Cons:
* The ranger was a ninja. I definitely felt like he was hovering.

* Parking is crap, especially if we end up sharing the area with other groups. They're not going to know or probably care to park far enough away to maintain our RP.

* I agree NPC camp was a little too close - this is unnecessary with a logistics team in the main building. It was nice for the few times I did have to walk there, but it was enough out of the way that it wasn't a huge issue for the few scenes that were there when it wasn't NPC camp. I think this is something that could be mitigated with a larger staff - it doesn't matter where the NPCs are if they're keeping the PCs occupied.

* The Mansion house was heated - unevenly. I don't think there were any vents in the side rooms, and with the curtains closed, it got pretty chilly pretty quickly. I shudder to think what that could have been at a March or November event.

I wouldn't mind going back, but I don't know if that site is worth 40 people.

My shower was ball shrinkingly cold and now I am a soprano. (not the mob kind.)

The camp was AMAZING. I loved the whole place. It was perfect scale, perfect cabins, the lodge was great, very even ground. I myself LOVED having easy access to parking and that my car was a stones throw from our cabin. I have ZERO issues seeing cars parked around the camp.

The 'ranger' didn't bother me either. You have to understand that he's not with the DNR. He leases that place from them, and works a separate full time job. He has owned that lease for years and has yet to even BREAK EVEN. He was there on his weekend to do work, prep the camp for use, and do maintenance he has to to get the place ready now that its spring. He had no choice but to be there, and he was still super helpful and eager to make a good impression with us.

And great places nearby for food and fun.

Did I mention that it is perfectly located?

I vote for this camp. I don't even care what the other two are like.

#1 over the years Ive been to many camps. This one is hands down top 2 or 3.

Great location, awesome trails. Being fairly level with no huge cliffs or anything is great as well.

Buildings are awesome and greatly add to the atmosphere. Nice full-size kitchen is great for food prep or just popping in to grab some coffee, well lots of coffee, lol.

I didnt get the chance to get down to the lake but I heard from a coupke people that its nice as well.

The camp was solid. It was nice that it was closer than Rota Kiwan for the Muskegon/Grand Haven crowd. I liked the general layout, and while I'd prefer to have a separate parking lot, I don't think it's a deal breaker.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Bathhouse (at least in comparison with others I've seen) and I found several areas where the ground was soft enough to present an issue for footing and ankle-rolling.

The commercial kitchen is a great feature for Chris and Bill, so if we're going to keep the current meal plan going (and I hope we do), that's an asset.

My only concern will be keeping our privacy should other groups use areas of the camp we're not using. There are a LOT of recreational areas around Gun Lake, and during the busier times of the year we could see a lot of norms.

I liked the camp, and I think it would be a good fit, but it's not a perfect fit. I don't mind driving an extra 1/2 hour or so (especially considering what the Chris and east-siders drive EVERY EVENT) to find something that's even better.

I liked the camp. The parking wasn't too big of a deal, and I think I only saw one, maybe two non-FH people. The cabins were large and pretty comfortable, they had a central 'living area' plus they were heated.

Maybe I wasn't looking, but I only saw the park ranger a few times in person, although I did notice him driving by on that yellow go-kart thing a few more times.

Being from the east side, it's still quite a drive for me (2.5 hours), so I'm looking forward to the next event's camp, which is more like an hour and a half max.

Also the weather was awesome.

Good
The locations is 30 minutes closer to me it seems, that always welcome.

I like the sleeping areas better, didnt see the bath house(my own fault) roomier and they have beds near windows with screels so the air is fresh and cool not the dank, steamy LARPer crack n ball smutz that the long houses, at the last camp, gathers in them.

I like that it is more visually open, helps refine the robustness of my inner unpleasentness.

The "Tavern" was very cool, more so because of the attached full kitchen.


Indifferent
Not a fan of the parking options, but seeing cars(unless we have to fight around em) doesnt concern me.

A sign ("wierdly dressed nerds this way" with an arrow) would be helpful for 1st timers to the cam to find the gaming area.

It seemed buggier than the last. Yay for deep woods Off!

I will have to supply canvas tarps painted like walls if we use this one and repeat the walling off of private rooms, think it will feel less "potato" that way to me.


Bad
Not a fan, at all, of theporch steps on most of the buildings. concrete isnt fun to fallon and much less safe than wood, not to mention the depth and unevenness of the tavern steps.

The trolls working in the kitchen wee creepy...just sayin.

No place to do cave/stronghold encounters(that I saw) unless we use one of the cabins (like the one Fesco stayed in, since its outta the way and kinda outta sight and a bit roomy), would have been nice for the red tear thing. But then again I am used to camps with "MOD BUILDINGS" that areperfect for scenes on the deck of a boat, or sizable "cavern", so im likely biased and they are likely to farr for FH to use often because they are east side ish.




over all...7 outta 10 id say with the last camp being a 5

Too busy to explore, but it looked like amazing grounds. (I should know, I practically kissed it Friday night.) Only thing other than the buildings that I saw was the lake, and that only for a few minutes before I had to sit with my back to it for an hour. (Thanks for that, by the way. It's not like watching boaters on the lake would have made the hour go faster. )

Didn't like the Mansion building - the heater was in the center area, and it was markably colder in both the sleeping areas along with giant beetles crawling about. Heat issue might change if the fireplace was used, don't know though.

Loved the tavern with the sheets up. Having a set of alcove rooms made it really feel like a tavern. ^_^ Didn't like its heating though - too many windows with poor seals I think, and the fireplace didn't put out enough heat to make up for it. A kitchen though is always a huge plus.

Gas round trip was a markable difference from the east side. Can't say I'm not loving that.