Michigan State Park Unveils New Food Storage Rules—What Visitors Need to Know

I'm kind of embarrassed to say this, but I grew up in Michigan and didn't go camping until I moved to Grand Rapids in my mid-20s and became friends with a group of people who took a yearly camping trip.

Get our free mobile app

I was so nervous as we pilled into the car, I didn't know what to expect, but that weekend end giving me so many great memories I'll never forget.

After that weekend, I knew that camping was something I really enjoyed doing.

Read More: Bring Your Pet And Enjoy These 20 Pet Friendly Michigan Beaches

Fast forward to last year: I was heading with my wife, Lindsey, to a campground near Torch Lake to spend the weekend with her family, but we had car trouble and ended up arriving late at night.

I was so tired from the long day that I decided it would be a good idea to take an edible and started putting our tent together.

After everything was set up and my edible started kicking in, I was able to enjoy the food I got from Culver’s.

When I finished eating, I looked around but couldn’t find a trash can.

Even though I know you're not supposed to, I put the trash in the empty fire pit, which ended up being a mistake.

Several hours later, I woke up to strange sounds outside our tent.

For a few moments, I thought I was going to be killed by a big wild animal like a black bear that was hungry and could smell my empty food bag.

Thankfully it wasn’t a black bear and her cubs, but instead a group of hungry trash pandas who shared a similar love for Culver’s ButterBurgers and cheese curds.

Read More: 25 Things Michigan Is Known And Famous For

I'm lucky it was just some hungry raccoons looking for scraps, but it's very important that when you go outdoors, you properly store your food.

That's why a popular state park here in Michigan has just put out new rules for storing food.

Isle Royale National Park Announces New Food Storage Rules

On Tuesday April 14th the Isle Royal National Park shared on Facebook the new food storage rules and why they why it's important to follow them.

Food storage may not seem like a big deal, but trust me, you don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night with a bunch of hungry animals wandering around your campground looking for leftovers.