Camping season is in full swing at Michigan state parks and private campgrounds across both peninsulas.

And while most of us have our camping groove down, we all remember when maybe we didn’t have such outdoor finesse. We’ve been the newbies, or maybe the parents with wayward whiners, or even the Boomers with big bucks and a ginormous RV to prove it.

All of these different ingredients can make every camping trip more interesting. So we’re offering up descriptions of seven types of campers you might meet during your next stay. We know there’s more to add to the list, so cheers to getting the conversation started.

In this file photo, a boy roasts marshmallows alongside his sister and dad in Holland State Park. Photo by MLive.Casey Sykes

Bless their hearts. It could be the college kids who show up with bags of take-out food, a hand-me-down tent and little else. Their cooler full of beverages and their inflatable unicorn swim toy show their feet are firmly planted at the divide between childhood and adulting.

Or maybe they are the family who rented the park’s camper in the site next to yours and didn’t exactly come prepared (“Oh hi, I smell coffee. I forgot mine. Can I sneak a cup? And do you have a mug? And maybe some almond milk, because I can’t have dairy.”) We wave, we smile encouragingly - and we try to keep our distance. Or maybe that’s just me. And no, I don’t pack almond milk in my cooler.

Rows of RVs fill the Better Living Center at the 60th annual Springfield RV, Camping & Outdoor Show at Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. (Steven E. Nanton photo)

With these behemoths, you hear them before you see them. These house-sized RVs rumble up the campground road like a cross between a sleek semi and a rock band’s tour bus. While tent campers tend to roll their eyes at the arrival, the owners of pop-ups, fifth-wheels and smaller RVs openly turn and stare as these beasts approach their destination. Not heading for a pull-through site? How will he manage it? Will he angle in? Like a mini sporting event, they watch as the Baby Boomer behind the wheel neatly maneuvers it into place. This clearly is not his first campground rodeo. And the rest of the gearheads at the campground quickly look away, like they hadn’t been caught sucking in their stomachs when a beautiful woman walked by.

In this file photo, kids roast marshmallows in Holland State Park. Photo by MLive.Casey Sykes

These small RV or popup owners tend to elicit sympathy from campers when they coast in at dusk, clearly tired of fighting traffic and determined to set up camp before dark. Many seem to have a tough time getting their rig backed into the site. We’ve all seen them: One spouse directing the other with a flashlight. Trees just barely missed. Muttered profanity that makes for barely civil teamwork as they hook things up and slam shut their door. By the time the trip ends, they’re usually speaking again. And then it’s time to pack up. Overheard at a site while one such couple packed up their camper: “I don’t know what you think that item is for, but just put it down and walk away,” a man said to his spouse. “Hey, where are you going?” Her response: “I am walking away. I’ll be back when you’re done.”

In this file photo, family members and friends toss a soccer ball through the middle of their hammock forest in Holland State Park. Photo by MLive.Casey Sykes

Camping with a large number of friends or as a family reunion can be really fun. But these group camping events – spreading across a long string of sites – can be a sight to behold. Picnic tables are grouped together, vehicles are lined up in rows, and so many mesh food-storage tents pop up that it gives a whole section of a campground a carnival atmosphere. Some string up sheets between trees, creating impromptu movie theaters at night. And cornhole championships can reach epic proportions. Campers with smaller groups might admire the conviviality, but we agree on one thing: We’re glad we’re not cleaning up that mess on the last day.

- A bundle of firewood purchased at Holland State Park. Kyle Mattson | MLive.comKyle Mattson | MLive.com

These campers have an air of mystery. Their sites are nearly barren. A small tent, maybe a hammock, a few sticks of firewood that lean up against the campfire ring but go unused. Their vehicles are gone all day, hinting at grand adventures.

In this file photo, young campers zoom past on their scooters in Holland State Park in Holland, Mich. Photo by MLive.Casey Sykes

It’s so great to see toddlers and preschoolers who love camping. Through their eyes, each trip to the camp store, each walk down a trail is a huge adventure. And props to the parents who are getting their kids into the camping groove early. But when parents of young children happen to camp near each other, a curious phenomenon sometimes occurs: The Preschool Posse. Small sibling groups converge, bringing their Barbie Jeeps, scooters and training-wheeled rides all festooned with glow sticks and whistles and bells. They swarm in the middle of the road. They tend to move at a snail’s pace, with shrieking their main volume. If you’d planned an afternoon of reading at your nearby campsite, give it up. Until the level reaches eardrum-splitting, some parents – who have apparently gone deaf to that baby-toothed cacophony – will largely ignore it.

The overnight beach camping area at Burning Foot Beer Festival at Pere Marquette Park in Muskegon, Michigan on Saturday, August 28, 2021. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)Joel Bissell | MLive.com

#7 ADULTS WHO STILL TRY TO PARTY LIKE THEY DID IN HIGH SCHOOL

These are the guys who look normal by day, but keep you fitfully tossing in your sleeping bag at night with their beer-can-crushing and 2 a.m. carousing that you can only drown out by wrapping your pillow around your head. If there’s any karma, they’ve drawn the campsite next to the Preschool Posse, who will wake them up bright and early with some too-close tantrums followed by a Big Wheel parade.

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