#MiStateParks: gear rental, geodesic domes, Zoom backgrounds and more

Over the last few months at many of your favorite outdoor spaces, we've shifted a number of facility and amenity opening dates, employed new health and safety protocols, and altered some services – important actions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. 

While state parks, boating access sites and motorized and nonmotorized trails stayed open throughout the past few months, campgrounds, overnight lodging facilities, state forest campgrounds, dispersed camping, DNR-managed harbors and Silver Lake State Park ORV Area have reopened in recent weeks.

Before heading out to any state-managed land or facility, first visit the DNR COVID-19 response page for updates on openings, facility/campground closures, safety information and more.

Visitors are reminded that everyone still needs to do their part to protect themselves and others while enjoying the outdoors. Practice proper social distancing – at least 6 feet – when around people who are not part of your household, and wear a face covering when in an enclosed indoor space.

Do you like to camp and spend time outdoors, but find it pricey or don't have room to store your equipment? 

Thanks to our latest These Goods are Good for Michigan partner, there is a perfect solution: you can rent gear.

With Arrive Outdoors, you can easily rent premium camping and outdoor gear and apparel, and get it delivered right to your door. It's easy: 1. Reserve. 2. Receive anywhere. 3. Return for free.

You can rent everything from tents and cots to cookware, furniture and more! Ten percent of your rental supports Michigan state parks if you use this link. 

Starry skies, rushing waterfalls, scenic landscapes, historic sites and a roaring campfire are just a few of the DNR's new virtual videoconferencing backgrounds now available.

These images not only add interest and beauty to your screen next time you meet with friends, family or colleagues, they also serve a practical purpose. When meeting online with people outside your immediate circle of contacts, security experts recommended using virtual backgrounds to obscure details of your home and surroundings.

This new collection of high-resolution images is compatible with several virtual meeting platforms and also can be used to perk up computer backgrounds.

Have you slept under the stars in a geodesic dome or spent a night in a rustic cottage or safari-style tent?

If any of those options piqued your interest, check out our innovative, new partnerships with Tentrr, Arrive, Recreation Resource Management and the many small businesses who rent RVs.

Visit our overnight lodging page to see all the new and long-standing options.Many of the new overnight options will be available soon. 

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many outdoor enthusiasts have found themselves turning to gardening as a new (or revisited) hobby.

Did you know that gardening – or rather farming – operation contracts exist in nearly a dozen Michigan state parks? As part of a creative approach to help prevent or eradicate non-native plant species, small businesses farm sections of land in the parks until DNR stewardship crews can plant native species that help restore the biodiversity of that region.

Contracts require farming plans that define the kind of herbicides used, how crops (mostly corn, soy or hay) will be rotated and which standing crops will be left as wildlife food plots. Farmers can sell their products, making these arrangements beneficial for more than just wildlife and native species.

If you're interested in upcoming business opportunities, including farming operation contracts, keep an eye on Michigan.gov/StateParkConcessions.