HANCOCK — Officials at McLain State Park in Hancock say they’re beginning to experience major issues with their campsites.
Many of the campsites have been closed immediately.

The Michigan DNR is closing 32 lakefront campsites at the park due to unsafe conditions and extreme erosion of the Lake Superior shoreline. A DNR unit supervisor says the decision needed to be made in the best interest of visitors.

“We had to close it due to safety issues. We’ve still got the backsites. They’re still going to be available. We’re going to do a little bit of a facelift to the park as far as directional and stuff like that where the traffic will flow,” Jamie Metheringham of the DNR said.

The DNR is working on a management plan to address issues with the park’s landscape. Metheringham believes it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.

“It’s been known for a while that erosion has been an issue. There were studying it all the way back to the ’70s. They had done some preventive measures that just wouldn’t hold up to the force of the lake,” he said.

Campsites 86 through 103 will remain permanently closed, but campsites 72 through 85 will be re–evaluated in the spring for safety and accessibility.

If sites 72 through 85 are reopened, they will be available for local sale only, meaning that they’ll only be available at the park on a first–come, first–served basis. This gives staff the ability to monitor the sites and close them if safety issues occur without having to cancel anyone’s advance reservations.