POST 25: Benton Harbor, Eden Springs Park and Campground
Benton Harbor, Eden Springs Park and Campground
June 29th, 2017
Benton Harbor, Eden Springs Park and Campground really took us by surprise :).
After a long day of driving, we planned on to staying at a Walmart or rest area. We suddenly changed our minds. Putting the slides out in our trailer and enjoying the night a bit was much more appealing.
Using Campendium, Bill found this campground. The campground had no reviews, we decided to be the first. :). Benton Harbor, Eden Springs Park and Campground.
The gate attendant introduced herself and shook Bill’s hand welcome. What a nice touch! After we signed in, she even thanked Bill for staying at their campsite.
Our site was a 30 amp with water, and the site was a huge, 25′ by 100′. The 50 amp sites with full hookups looked a lot smaller. They had a decent playground for the kids, and were dog friendly.
The $27 for the site for the night, was after a Good Sam discount ($3.00) . There was a dump station, and showers that were clean, and it was only 15 minutes from I94.
We rated Eden Springs Park and Campground 4/5 Snails. The only reason was, it was not in the wilderness. We got spoiled over the past few weeks and had to come back to reality lol.
We would gladly stay here again. As we were pumping out at the dump station, the owner came by and gave Bill a brief history on the place. It was really quite fascinating.
BORROWED FROM THEIR WEBPAGE
If you are ever by here, look up the history as well. This is an except from their webpage
“For the History buff:
Formerly owned and operated by the House of David from 1908 to 1973, Eden Springs Park has a long and fascinating past. The park is currently undergoing restoration. As a non-profit, the park renovations are being done by a group of dedicated volunteers who welcome your interest in the trains and many on-going projects at the park. Check out park revitalization work on facebook at: “Eden Springs Park at House of David.”
The “Echoes,” House of David Baseball Club, will be playing old-time, bare-handed baseball at Eden Springs Park this summer. Games will be played on Sundays at the original field location. Admission $3/person.”
“
Post 77: Indian Bread Rock Recreational Area, AZ
POST 2: RVing from Camper’s Corner to Campark, Niargara Falls, Ont
Post 52: Our Summer is coming to an end ):
About Author
Bill & Joy
We are a retired couple, traveling through our retirement. Hopefully you find our posts helpful and/or informative.
Eden Springs Campground & RV Park in Benton Harbor, Michigan, run by camp manager Cindy, may well be one of our favorite small town parks! We are spending the month of August 2018 here and have found the venue quiet, well maintained, friendly and inexpensive ($375 for a month). I do not expect the prices to stay this low now that it has been “discovered”. They are working on adding an updated restroom, dog park and other facilities. The sites are large, level and spaced far apart from each other. We pulled in with a 42’ rig, pulling a 28’ hybrid trailer (total 70’) and easily pulled into our site without having to unhook. We had enough space to park a jeep in front of and and in back of the attached rig. The sites are designed so that no camper or RV faces a sewer connection. All of the hook ups are centrally located between two sites, with each rig having their driver side towards the hookups and their awning/entry sides facing the opposing side. Each site has a gravel space between them that could be traveled through, though campers all set up picnic tables, chairs and campfires there so practically there is no egress, thus privacy. This camp has the best WiFi of any camp we have ever stayed at. Some spots offer OTA TV and satellite reception. Ours did not as we chose to have a full tree canopy. Most of the sites offer Full Hookups with 30/50 amp service. The camp manager, Cindy, provides fire rings and picnic tables as requested, so, if you need either, just let her know when you call. The tables were clean and in good shape. The fire rings can be placed anywhere you want. As an aside, when a camper leaves, Cindy and her crew comes and removes the rings, cleaning up the residue so there is no mess left! The campground grass is cut routinely and “weed-whacked” as needed. Cindy has been one of the nicest hosts we have met on our travels. She is always pleasant, available as needed for emergencies and even delivered our mail one afternoon. She is a font of knowledge about the area and willing to share. Probably in keeping with her personality, the majority of the visitors here have been friendly, chatty and willing to help each other. The RV resort is about 10 minutes from St. Joseph, MI and multiple rural wineries in the area (a favorite pastime for my wife Audrey). St. Joseph’s is a small town located on Lake Michigan with excellent food, event venues and a lovely white sand beach. Be sure to stop at the Chocolate store in town & Silver Lake Pizza for a desert/dinner well worth the time. The town of Benton Harbor itself once was booming city/community, which has come into hard times, but we did not have any problems traveling around that area. This area also has a non-defunct amusement park attached to the campground which is being slowly renovated by a group of volunteers. They have restored several of the buildings, a fountain and a miniature train which takes visitors on a 1/4 mile ride on Saturday/Sunday. Additionally, the camp is home to it’s own 1800’s era baseball team which plays home and away games in the old bare handed style! Behind the camp is a now mostly abandoned religious enclave called the House of David which was started in the late 1800’s/ early 1900’s (Google it!). Some interesting architecture and several restored mansions for the 5 remaining members of the group. I recommend this park for someone wanting a quiet, clean stay.