The state is planning to launch a pilot program this fall welcoming owners and their pets to state parks.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will launch the initiative in November, allowing select cabins to host up to two pets.
Maia Turek is with the Department of Natural Resources. She said national data helped push them towards starting the program.
“What we were finding is that more than 65 percent of the population considers their pet when making travel arrangements. For example maybe they can’t travel on the weekend because they weren’t able to find somebody to either watch their pets or a kennel might not have availability, especially on weekends when they tend to fill up quickly.”
Turek said the hope is that allowing pets will increase visits to the five state parks participating in the pilot.
“During the pilot program we’re going to be getting surveys from people who are bringing their pets to stay with us, and we’re also going to be taking in surveys from people who are staying in the cabins and maybe not traveling with their pets because we want to get both sides.”
Participating state parks are in Leelanau, Cheboygan, Laingsburg, Lime Island, and Harrisville.
Turek said pets can begin staying as early as November for an additional fee of ten dollar per night.
The DNR is an underwriter for WCMU News.