Summer is pretty in the UP

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan -- known as "The U P" -- is a popular summer vacation destination. Outdoor non-gaming activities abound all year on this rural and mostly wooded land mass, north of the main portion of Michigan, near Canada and surrounded by three of the Great Lakes. Summer is especially lovely in the U P. If Michigan is on your travel itinerary for this year, you'll be happy to know that there are nine RV-friendly casinos in the Upper Peninsula. Here are a few you may want to consider:

Kewadin Casino & RV Park in Sault Ste. Marie is close to Canada on the east side of the Upper Peninsula. Sault Ste. Marie is Michigan's oldest city. Kewadin's RV accomodations are reasonably priced at $10 per night and the Park is a convenient home base for sightseeing in the area. Local attractions include the Agawa Canyon and the world-famous Soo Locks. The Kewadin casino includes over 700 slots, 21 gaming tables, restaurant, deli and sports bar. RV guests are invited to use the indoor pool and other amenities at the hotel. The Bawating Gallery at the resort features the largest collection of Woodland Indian art in the Midwest. To get to this resort take I-75 to exit 392, before the bridge to Ontario, go east on Three Mile Rd 2.4 miles, then north on Shunk Rd for .9 mile.

Basically, there are two ways to get to the Upper Peninsula -- from the main part of the state (south of the U P) you drive across the spectacular Mackinaw Bridge that spans the Mackinaw Straits. There is another RV-friendly Kewadin Casino at this gateway to the U P. Although it does not have RV hookups, there is ample parking for overnight dry camping for self-contained RVs. Kewadin Shores Casino at St. Ignace is open 24 hours and has over 800 slots, 24 gaming tables and three restaurants. To get there take exit 348 from I-75, go north on Mackinaw Trail for 1.4 mile.

The Upper Peninsula is accessible from the west where it is adjacent to northern Wisconsin. The Lac Vieux Desert Resort is located in the pristine forest land of the western U P. It has an RV Park with 14 sites reasonably priced at $5 per night. The casino has more than 700 slots and 18 gaming tables plus a restaurant, snack bar and 9-hole golf course. This resort can be found in Watersmeet, MI, two miles north of the junction of US-2 & US-45.

On the north shore of the western U P is the Ojibwa Casino Resort that has 12 full hookup RV spaces available for $15 per night. This casino is located near Sandpoint Lighthouse on Keneenaw Bay on Lake Superior.

Detailed information about all nine casinos on the Upper Peninsula, including a map that pin points all locations, can be found in the fourth edition of Casino Camping, available at the RV Bookstore.

New casinos to see this summer

The Midwest has added new casinos in Iowa, Indiana and Michigan:

In Iowa, The long-awaited second Wild Rose land-based casino -- a replacement for the old Mississippi Belle II in Clinton, IA -- is scheduled to open in mid-July. It will be situated on 29-acres just off US-30 in Clinton. It will have a casino within a 60-room hotel, buffet restaurant, sports bar & grille and an indoor/outdoor event center. The new resort joins its sister Wild Rose Casino Resort located on US-18 in Emmitsburg. The Emmitsburg facility has a reasonably-priced RV Park; the Clinton resort will not have an RV Park when it opens. But there is plenty of room for RV parking.

In Indiana, two racinos, casinos at race tracks, open this month. Each racino will have 2,000 slots and electronic versions of the most popular table games. The racino at Hoosier Park opened this week. Its location is just off I-69 at exit 26. The racino at Indiana Downs is expected to open later this month. It will be located just off I-74 at exit 109.

In Michigan, the Saganing Eagle's Landing Casino opened in January in Standish, MI. The new casino is owned by the Saginaw Chippawa Indian Tribe, the same organization that owns the popular Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant. It is open 24/7 and features 700 slots and 58 gaming tables, including 18 in the poker room. The casino is RV-Friendly.

Traveling to Maine this summer?
You may want to check out the all-new Hollywood Casino in Bangor. It had been operating as a temporary slots parlor since November 2006 while the new casino was under construction. The Hollywood Casino has a 1,000 slots and the Epic Buffet. It is located near the Bangor Raceway and OTB in historic Bass Park in downtown Bangor just a mile from I-95.