Ben Jeffs Park is located at the Muskegon River, 16 miles east of Lake City. Seventeen hard surface primitive campsites available, pit toilets, well and pavilion on grounds.  Sixty six acres with hardwoods.  Contact Missaukee County Parks Commission at (231) 839-4945.

Maple Grove Campground is located four blocks from Lake Missaukee at the east end of Union Street.  It is a semi-wooded area with 23 campsites, electricity, water, modern restrooms and showers, baseball field and a sanitary service disposal site.  A community building with kitchen facilities is available for receptions, parties, or family reunions. A fee is charged.  Contact the City of Lake City at (231) 839-4429 for park reservations.

Goose Lake & Long Lake State Forest Campgrounds are located northwest of Lake City off Goose Lake Rd.  Rustic camping for campers, motor homes, or tents, is available with pit toilets, boat ramps, and picnic tables, but no electricity.  Fee charged, no reservations taken.

Hopkins Creek Trail Camp is located west on M-42, north on Lucas Road 5.5 miles and offers rustic camping with pit toilets on Hopkins Creek.  No reservations taken.

Reedsburg Dam State Park Campgound is located east 19 miles,on M-55 to north County Line Rd., 3 miles north.  Rustic camping for tents is availalbe with pit toilest and picnic tables at dam site.  Fee charged.  No reservations taken.

Logging camps spread throughout the county's forests. Valuable white pine trees were logged off first, then the old oak, maple, beech and other hardwoods. Lumber was cut into boards, broom handles, shingles and bowls. Wood scraps were distilled to fuel a thriving chemical industry.

The largest lumber mill in Missaukee County - The Mitchell Brothers Lumber Co. - was in Jennings. For 30 years, Mitchell Brothers was the largest employer in the county, and Jennings was a bustling company town. Experts predicted the supply of standing trees in Michigan was inexhaustible, and the local timber industry boomed.

But the end of the timber industry was already in site by the turn of the century. Lumber camps had clear-cut much of the county. Mills closed or moved on to follow the remaining standing timber. In the 1920's, after most local logging had already closed, Mitchell Brothers finally moved their operation to Cadillac. Hundreds of employees' houses were also moved. and the town of Jennings virtually disappeared overnight. Other logging towns around the county actually did disappear.

But wood-based firms have remained a part of the local economy. Several sawmills operate in the county. One manufacturer produces wolmanized utility poles. Another burns wood scrap to generate electricity.

With the crash of the local lumber industry in the early 20th century, Missaukee County settled into an agricultural economy. Where the land was good, farmers thrived, but many just eked out a living. Much of Missaukee County's soil is sandy and poor, not well suited for pasturing livestock.

But the growth of the auto industry downstate had an unexpected side effect on Missaukee's economy. Assembly line workers and their families began to head northward for vacation and recreation time in Missaukee's still wild lands, lakes and rivers. Tourism eventually became a strong element of the local economy, especially in the decades after World War II. Many vacationers bought summer cottages here and later winterized them into retirement homes.

Forestry, dairy farming, tourism and…Christmas trees. In the 1960's and 1970's, Missaukee County's sandy soil was to be a perfect medium for growing many varieties of Christmas trees, and another leg of the local economy was born. Missaukee is now in the heart of Michigan's Christmas tree-growing district producing millions of trees every year.

As industry has taken a more prominent role in Missaukee's economy, two industrial parks have opened - one near McBain and one north of Lake City. Much of Missaukee's industry is based on wood and lumber, but not all. Several manufacturers supply the auto industry. Others specialize in pre-fab home construction, archery supplies and electrical generation.