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Silver Lake vouchers?

8K views 49 replies 21 participants last post by  cruzer72 
#1 ·
OK so I heard you need to get vouchers so you can get in to Silver Lake?
Few of my buddies decided to go up and they couldn't get in until like 5pm and had to get a voucher. So they had to turn around and went home pissed. Then The people I'm going up with on the Th said they needed my license plate number so they could get me a voucher the night before in order for us to get in the next mourning. Can anyone enlighten me of this new situation up at Silver?
 
#2 ·
Entry Vouchers are required on summer weekends and holidays.



www.michigan.gov/dnr



SILVERLAKESTATE PARK

9679 - W STATE PARK ROAD
MEARS, MICHIGAN49436

TELEPHONE: 231-873-3083


ORV VOUCHER SYSTEM


There are two types of vouchers: Dune Ready Vouchers and Parking Lot Vouchers. Dune Ready Vehicles are those that enter the Silver Lake State Park ORV Area from public highways and go straight into the sand dune off-road area without the need for the parking lot / staging area. Parking Lot Vouchers are for those who require a staging or parking area for their tow vehicle and /or trailer. Both types of vouchers are free to park visitors and are distributed from the Off-Road Vehicle Voucher Center located at the corner of Fox and Ridge Roads, about ¼ mile east of the ORV Area entrance.



The Voucher System season:

Vouchers will be handed out starting mid-May, at 12 noon on Friday, two weeks prior to the Memorial Day weekend and then continuously through the summer on weekends/holidays until the Sunday following Labor Day weekend.


Voucher distribution times:

The voucher distribution point on Fox Road will open at 12 noon on Fridays for Dune Ready Vouchers and at 9:00 p.m. for Parking Lot Vouchers. The Voucher Center be open as traffic and use require until at least 11 p.m. Fridays and re-open at 7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday and Holidays. You may also purchase your State Park and ORV permits at the same location, which will continue to help speed up entry into the ORV Area.
Voucher time periods:

Parking Lot Vouchers will be for two periods: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.or 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.Parking Lot Stand-by Vouchers will be distributed once parking spaces for those periods are exhausted. There are five Dune Ready Voucher periods: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Arrivals after 7:00 p.m. do not require a voucher. A person can get Dune Ready Vouchers for both Saturday and Sunday and/or the Holiday at the same time. In order to give people the opportunity for the limited parking spaces, Parking Lot Vouchers will be available at 9 p.m.the day before they are to be used. Once the day's Parking Lot Vouchers are all given out, visitors may choose to be placed on the Parking Lot Stand-by Voucher list for the following day. There may be times when Parking Lot Vouchers will be required, but Dune Ready Vouchers are not, such as on some Holiday weekends.
 
#5 ·
No, you can't get vouchers in advance for a different weekend. You can get them on the Friday preceeding the weekend. The whole purpose of this is so that everybody gets an equal chance to get in and it cuts down on the congestion.

Each person is allowed to get 2 vouchers. So, if your buddies get there before you, they can get your vouchers. That's why they need your plate number.

If you understand the system, it works quite well. If you're dune ready, it takes a whole 5 minutes.

OH, and your statement about this "new" system..... it's not new. It's been an established system for years.
 
#6 ·
I don't like this voucher system. My primary complain is that you are not able to get vouchers for upcoming weekends. Why is it that they only give them out on Friday before the weekend, but not for the next weekend? This systems sucks for me because I usually get there Friday night or Saturday morning. On most weekends it's not a problem to get a voucher, but on holiday weekends it's horrible.
 
#7 ·
I had some conversation with Pete about this. They felt that if people would get them the week before, it has a couple problems.
1) people may get them and then not show. So all the early vouchers get taken & then not used because someone bails. If they give them out when you are there, they know they'll get used.
2) Sort of the same thing. It makes it unfair for someone to snatch them the weekend before & not give the guy who drives up to get a chance.

Their system is pretty much a first come, first served.
 
#8 ·
I know that there would be more no show if they were giving them out early, but that's already a problem now. I always get two vouchers for each day, and most of the time, I will just use one. And if it was truly first come first serve, they should not be giving out the vouchers for the entire weekend. They should give them out only on the same day. This would cut down on no shows and would give people equal chance to get in.

Another matter that gets me mad, is the line formation the night before, either to get vouchers or to get into the park. How is this first come, first served if people leave their cars there overnight?
 
#9 ·
Howell,
As far as I know you can not leave youre vehicle there overnight. I would like to see some changes as well. Why not charge a buck or two for the early vouchers (and/or make them available online), this way very few people would "waste" vouchers.

I am also wondering when they will be releasing July 4th vouchers???
 
#50 ·
I am pretty sure for the 4th that you will be able to get vouchers on Thurs. 3rd starting at NOON .


As for ORV 's and State Park stickers at the voucher center , dune entrance , State Park Campground and Some of the buggy shops around town and some gas stations. Also out of state people is a different price for the state park pass.

Make sure you plate matches the voucher before you get in line. If you get one for someone else that has already been stamped for a different plate , just go back thru the voucher center and they will update it. On holidays they watch it that alot andwill make go back and do what I just said , plus go to the back of the line.
 
#13 ·
curious... what the hell do you do there for 8 days? I'm bored there in an hour
 
#19 ·
Is your wife the crabby bit$% that yelled at us last year?:tonka: We pulled in with the motorhome & trailer. My wife hops out with the walkie talkie to spot me and this lady in a seasonal sitting on her porch says....... and I quote........... "don't you dare even think about putting one of your tires on my grass". Ironman walks over & says "wow, what a nice way to be neighborly":sonicjay:

Can't remember lot #'s but as you come in the park, we're right on the left in the corner.
 
#31 ·
I very rarely 2-track in the summer. I hate the dust. I've never actually explored the 2-tracks in that area.

Ok got a few people coming over from wisconsion to go to Silver Lake, what all do they need to get in. Plan on driving in dune ready.

ok so,
1. voucher
2.? MI ORV sticker ?
3. ? State parks sticker ( daily pass) ?

is that all that's needed if that or what?
There are a variety of brackets available to mount your flags. Some clamp on to front hooks. Others look for a bumper bolt to attach to. The simplest way is to have a 1/2" hole drilled somewhere where you can stick your flag. For jeeps it's quite simple because you can drill a hole through your winch plate or the top of the bumper if you have an older c-channel bumper. If you have a truck with front hooks, just buy the u-bolt bracket they sell.

Either way, bring a few wrenches to mount your flag.:thumb:
 
#27 ·
Ok got a few people coming over from wisconsion to go to Silver Lake, what all do they need to get in. Plan on driving in dune ready.

ok so,
1. voucher
2.? MI ORV sticker ?
3. ? State parks sticker ( daily pass) ?

is that all that's needed if that or what?
 
#34 ·
Interesting to note, the noise level testing procedure for trucks appears to have changed as they apparently are testing according to motorcycle rated RPM procedure which 1/2 rated HP. The motorcycles can do that because the MIC prints a book up to specify all the RPM's. The problem with the trucks is, there is no book to look up 1/2 rated power #'s. So, some vehicles they could look @ the tach and tell you 1/2 way to redline if your vehicle has a redline. Newer vehicles are doing away with orange and yellow zones for tach because so many engine available with each vehicle it required a different tach face for each one.
We, GLFWDA had Pete and his supervisors in agreement with a 2000 RPM for gas and I think 1200 RPM for diesel. Have to go look at previous literature handouts.
As long as full size are not being unduly singled out we should be ok, but those of you who frequent Silver Lake often will have to let us know if enforcement starts to get lopsided.
jim-kb8ymf
 
#35 ·
Jim, that truck I built a few years back has over 800 horse and now a 300 shot of nitrous and he never even gets looked at going in, not for sound anyway. Kinda odd. He has a set of bolt on flowmasters (with I think 4 or 5 inch inlet/outlets) but they dont do too much as far a sound supression goes. I think they are more than fair so far.
 
#36 ·
I actually like the voucher system . . . say I want to get in early on saturday morning. I get there early friday and get my voucher (whether it gets me in at 11am or 3pm I don't care) and then I go get hammered and lounge around until It's my turn in line.

As opposed to the old system where I get in line on friday night and wait there with my truck until the line starts moving in the morning . . . (is this close to the way it used to be? I never went up there until the voucher system was in place ~1999?)
I can go do whatever i want and not worry about getting a place in line. You don't need the plate number when you get the voucher either. You only need the plate number when you get the voucher stamped . . .

About the only thing i don't like about it is that so many vouchers go unused. I know in our group we have anywhere between 4-8 vehicles that might go in. Sometimes all of them decide to go in the dunes, most times only like 2 (my Jeep and my Dodge, hehe) The other guys not necessarily like to go in every day for whatever reason, but we still get vouchers for everyone, just in case. I'm sure there is some formula that they use to figure out about how many are issued vs. how many actually get used however.
 
#37 ·
Years ago the lines used to go along Silver Lake into town. I remember in 1976 cooking breakfast while in line right where the ice cream parlor is now at before you get to the lake. My buddy had a van & we had the sliding door open & we had a coleman stove sitting on the floor.
 
#41 ·
I believe that the shank on the end of the flag is 1/2" dia. They are about $15-20.
If you can't make yours work there are a few stores that sell different combinations of brackets.
 
#45 ·
FYI I believe the voucher place is open until midnight on friday nights. That has worked out really well the past few years for us (sucks waiting in line for hours on end). Just make sure everyone decides on dune ready (i.e. you don't need a spot in the parking lot for your tow vehicle or trailer) or obviously parking lot voucher.

And tell your buddies from WI to be safe and respectful we don't need another place closed down.
 
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