-
Dog Days of Summer Weekend
Starts: 09/05/2025 - Ends: 09/07/2025
This weekend is all about spoiling your dogs with tail-waggin' fun, tasty treats, and pup-approved activities. Don't miss our 2nd Annual Dog Swim—the splashiest event of the summer where your furry friend gets to rule the pool! More surprises are still in the works, but one thing's for sure: your dog won't want to miss this pawsome weekend!
-
Carnival Weekend
Starts: 08/08/2025 - Ends: 08/10/2025
Step right up, campers! Smell the popcorn? Have an urge to throw a dart at a balloon? Then you're in luck—Carnival Weekend is rolling into the Gaylord KOA! Test your skills at classic fair games, score a (temporary) ink at our tattoo booth, and take your best shot at the dunk tank—splash! It's a weekend full of giggles, prizes, and classic carnival fun you won't want to miss.
-
Ren Faire Weekend
Starts: 08/15/2025 - Ends: 08/17/2025
We start the weekend at the Ye Olde Fire Pit, slow roasting a juicy...marshmallow...over a nice hot fire. Join us for an action packed weekend of jousting and juggling, knights and jesters and a starlit showing of a favorite movie!
-
Fall-O-Ween at the Gaylord KOA
Starts: 09/19/2025 - Ends: 09/21/2025
Come enjoy all the sights, smells, sounds, and tastes of FALL at the Gaylord KOA. Decorate your campsite, go trick or treating, walk a spooky or not-so-spooky trail and enjoy a weekend's worth of themed activities!
-
Fall-O-Ween at the Gaylord KOA!
Starts: 09/26/2025 - Ends: 09/28/2025
Come enjoy all the sights, smells, sounds, and tastes of FALL at the Gaylord KOA. Decorate your campsite, go trick or treating, walk a spooky or not-so-spooky trail and enjoy a weekend's worth of themed activities!
-
Otsego County Fair
Starts: 08/17/2025 - Ends: 08/23/2025
Otsego County Fair for 2025 will be Aug. 17th – Aug. 23rd. A full list of events will be coming on their website, but book your site and check back closer to the event for more details!
-
Downtown Gaylord Summer Concert Series
Starts: 05/16/2025 - Ends: 08/15/2025
Gaylord's outdoor summer music series will happen every Friday night (minus Alpenfest weekend) right downtown. These family-friendly events start at 7:00 pm in Claude Shannon Park.
If you think you'll need a break from dancing, don't forget to BYOC (bring your own chair). Drinks and food are available just steps away at Gaylord's downtown locations.
-
Turtle Time
Starts: 08/03/2025 - Ends: 08/03/2025
Take the family to the Pigeon River Discovery Center for a free workshop to learn about the Pigeon River Country State Forest and build a fun nature-based item to take home. Activities for ages 4 – 12, but all are welcome. No registration required, but supplies are limited. Just 17 minutes north of the Gaylord KOA, the PRC is a wonderful place to spend a few hours or the day!
-
Mushroom Foray
Starts: 08/30/2025 - Ends: 08/30/2025
Head to the Pigeon River Country Discovery Center and join Dianne Farner of HeadWater's Land Conservancy, for a mushroom identification tour in the PRC. This event will start with a presentation about different types of mushrooms, followed by a hike where you can put your mushroom finding skills to practice! Dress for the weather, with sturdy footwear. This program is family-friendly! Registration is required for this event.
-
Painting, Poetry, and Nature
Starts: 09/12/2025 - Ends: 09/12/2025
Head to Pigeon River Country Discovery Center for a cozy autumn evening of nature-inspired art, with warm drinks and cookies! Local artist Mary Backlund will help you get in touch with your creative side during this relaxing workshop at the Discovery Center. Get inspired through a poetry reading, then create your own nature-themed painting to take home. Everyone is an artist, especially using nature as your muse! Families welcome, recommended age 8+. Registration is required for this event.
-
Feathered Friends Youth Program
Starts: 09/07/2025 - Ends: 09/07/2025
Take the family to the Pigeon River Discovery Center for a free workshop to learn about the Pigeon River Country State Forest and build a fun nature-based item to take home. Activities for ages 4 – 12, but all are welcome. No registration required, but supplies are limited. Just 17 minutes north of the Gaylord KOA, the PRC is a wonderful place to spend a few hours or the day!
-
Native Seed Collection
Starts: 09/13/2025 - Ends: 09/13/2025
Head to the Pigeon River Country Discovery Center and assist with PRC conservation efforts in this hands-on workshop! This event starts at the Discovery Center, where you'll learn about why native seed collection is crucial for the restoration of native grasslands. Then we'll head out to the field to gather seeds, so dress for the weather with sturdy, water-resistant footwear and bring a water bottle and snacks. Native seed guides will be provided. Registration is required for this event.
-
An Exploration of the Night Sky in Science and Myth
Starts: 08/27/2025 - Ends: 08/27/2025
Head to the Pigeon River Country Discovery Center and enjoy an evening spent under starry skies with historical and scientific explanations of the stellar vista seen above. Join Historian Mary Stewart Adams for a riotous ride through the ages, following Odysseus through the stars and imaginations of some of history's most well-known figures, including Homer, Dante, Tennyson, TS Eliot, and even Bob Dylan. All ages welcome. Star maps will be provided. Participants should bring a camp chair, a water bottle, and dress for the weather. Registration is required for this event.
-
Michaywé Arts & Crafts Show
Starts: 08/08/2025 - Ends: 08/09/2025
Great event RIGHT NEXT DOOR to the campground! The 46th Michaywe Arts & Crafts Fair will feature one-of-a-kind handmade crafts, distinctive indoor and outdoor décor, original artwork, creative natural products, beautiful jewelry, and unique foods. The fair draws thousands of visitors from all over northern Michigan each summer. The 2025 juried show will be held in the park-like setting adjacent to Michaywe's award-winning Inn the Woods restaurant and picturesque Pines Golf Course. Artists and crafters will showcase their work in more than 100 booths both inside the clubhouse and under the shade trees around the pond and fountain at the two-day fair.
-
Gaylord Sidewalk Sales
Starts: 08/22/2025 - Ends: 08/23/2025
Everyone loves a great bargain and our Downtown Gaylord Sidewalk Sales will be filled with them August 9th – 10th. Times vary by store.
-
Gaylord Art & Crafts Show
Starts: 08/23/2025 - Ends: 08/24/2025
Head to the Alpine Village for an end of summer Art & Crafts Show. This two-day event will feature local artists, crafters, makers and bakers!
-
Michigan Old US 27 Motor Tour
Starts: 08/23/2025 - Ends: 08/23/2025
This is a cool event and stops in Gaylord! Starting as the brainchild of Craig Parish, this six-day tour now boasts hundreds of classic cars and stops in 13 cities from Coldwater to Cheboygen. The motor tour follows Old US 27, a route the MI House of Representatives officially designated a historic highway, thanks to the efforts of Mr. Parish.
-
Thunder Over Waters
Starts: 08/31/2025 - Ends: 08/31/2025
Thunder Over Waters takes place the Sunday of Labor Day weekend in downtown Waters, Michigan! The purpose of the Thunder Over Waters Festival is to bring families and community together to promote the village of Waters and all it has to offer.
8-11am Pancake Breakfast-Keg Bar
10am-4pm Craft Fair
1pm Parade
Kids Bounce Houses-Trailside Creamery
Fireworks at Dusk
-
Bigfoot Weekend
Starts: 08/01/2025 - Ends: 08/03/2025
Get ready to stomp into fun at Big Foot Weekend! We'll have a Sasquatch-sized time with beer and wine tastings for grown-ups, a blaster battle with foam darts, and a wagon ride through Big Foot territory—keep your eyes peeled! Please can join a Big Foot Hike and even snap a photo at our Big Foot Meet and Greet. We'll end the adventure with a cozy outdoor movie under the stars—perfect for the whole Big Foot-loving bunch!
-
The SpongeBob Musical
Starts: 08/07/2025 - Ends: 08/10/2025
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants! What a treat! The Gaylord Community Theater is putting on a production of The SpongeBob Musical at the local high school. A great night at the theater for those with kids....or just those who love SpongeBob!
Show times are as follows:
Thursday - Saturday shows are at 6:00pm
Sunday Matinee is at 2:00pm.
-
Thunder Over Waters
Starts: 08/31/2025 - Ends: 08/31/2025
Thunder Over Waters takes place the Sunday of Labor Day weekend in downtown Waters, Michigan! The purpose of the Thunder Over Waters Festival is to bring families and our community together to promote the village of Waters and all it has to offer.
Event Schedule:
8-11am Pancake Breakfast-Keg Bar
10am-4pm Craft Fair
1pm Parade
Kids Bounce Houses-Trailside Creamery
Fireworks at Dusk
-
Saturday Farmers Market in Downtown Gaylord
Starts: 08/02/2025 - Ends: 08/02/2025
-
Saturday Farmers Market in Downtown Gaylord
Starts: 08/09/2025 - Ends: 08/09/2025
-
Saturday Farmers Market in Downtown Gaylord
Starts: 08/16/2025 - Ends: 08/16/2025
-
Saturday Farmers Market in Downtown Gaylord
Starts: 08/23/2025 - Ends: 08/23/2025
-
Saturday Farmers Market in Downtown Gaylord
Starts: 08/30/2025 - Ends: 08/30/2025
-
Saturday Farmers Market in Downtown Gaylord
Starts: 09/06/2025 - Ends: 09/06/2025
-
Saturday Farmers Market in Downtown Gaylord
Starts: 09/13/2025 - Ends: 09/13/2025
-
Saturday Farmers Market in Downtown Gaylord
Starts: 09/20/2025 - Ends: 09/20/2025
-
Saturday Farmers Market in Downtown Gaylord
Starts: 09/27/2025 - Ends: 09/27/2025
-
Saturday Farmers Market in Downtown Gaylord
Starts: 10/04/2025 - Ends: 10/04/2025
-
Saturday Farmers Market in Downtown Gaylord
Starts: 10/11/2025 - Ends: 10/11/2025
