With all of the beautiful state parks that Michigan has to offer, why would you stay at a Kampground of America (KOA), especially one that costs $20 more per night? The answer is - you wouldn't. There is just no way a KOA can compete with the beauty and locations of Michigan's State Parks (i.e. Lake Michigan beaches).

Truth be told, the only reason we stayed at this KOA is that there was no space available at any of the state parks we wanted to stay at over a particular weekend. We would consider this KOA a one night stop-over only. It's not that the park is a bad place, but there is really nothing much to do at the park. There is the typical pool, hot tub, and so on, but those are not enough to stay.

The park has all of the modern conveniences though... Pull thorugh sites, 50 Amp electrical service, water, sewer, and so on. However, the Cable TV and WiFi are poor. The WiFi signal was weak, and the connection was continusouly dumping... so mch so that it was virtually impossible to use. Fortunately, I could get 3G service from my smartphone. And I got better reception from my roof antenna than from the park's cable TV signal.

I am writing this page while sitting in my coach at the KOA, but unfortunately, I may have to find a WiFi signal at the local McDonalds to upload the files to the server, since the WiFi connection is so bad. While you might wonder why anyone would need WiFi while camping - well that is the new norm I suppose. And since I am retired, maintaining these webpages is one of my activities. And since we're paying $45 per day for the campsite with little else to do, it would at least be nice to have decent WiFi service.

Also there are a few kid-related activities, such as a 4th of July bicycle parade and other small efforts, but again... there is really no attraction to draw a week's stay at the KOA. If you are looking at simply sitting around the campfire and not much else, then you won't be disappointed.

The park is rather close to I-196, and you might hear highway noise, depending on which spot you are in. While the park is clean, the cost of nightly stays, coupled with the lack of attraction, and I'd rate it no more than a 4 out of 10 - and that is being generous. I found more to dislike about the park than like. vacation spot. D

The park is big-rig accessable, with a few pull-through lots, so if that is your need, then your view of this park might differ from mine.

The park does have the obligatory fishing pond, but I don't think you will find much of a catch in there. You never know though, and at least there are not any alligators as it's too far north for them.

Getting there. The KOA is less than a mile from I-196 (Exit 4), so it makes for an easy stop-over along an interstate highway. It's close proximity (relatively) to Chicago makes it a convenient first night stay for those traveling north into Michigan.

The only thing we can say for sure about this KOA is that we will not likely be back. There simply is not enough of an attraction in my view to return.

References:

Coloma - St. Joseph KOA Website.