Lodging, dining, a waterpark, mini golf, groceries, and more await
By Ross Boissoneau | June 21, 2025
Go ahead, call it glamping if you must. But please don’t call Alpen Bluffs a glampground. “It’s Michigan’s first outdoor hotel,” says Rob Platt, one of the owners of the newly opened Gaylord facility.
With cabins, yurts, and RV sites that all include hookups to city water and sewer, plus a restaurant, market, and other amenities, it’s hard to argue with that term. “It’s an RV resort plus 44 accommodations that are not RVs,” Platt says.
Indeed, with all its amenities, Alpen Bluffs is much more than just a campground or glampground. Start with Inukshuk Shores, an aquatic waterpark that features an inflatable obstacle course floating on a man-made pond, a sandy beach area, comfy chairs, locker rooms, and a concessions area. Alpen Point is an 18-hole mini golf course. Youngsters can mine for gems at Matterhorn Mine, a gem mining sluice.
Mulligans at the Bluffs is a full-service restaurant with seven indoor golf simulators, an expansive outdoor patio, and lawn games, including shuffleboard, bean bag toss, a putting green, lawn bowling, and croquet. The resort includes a grab-and-go store at its welcome center and Alpen Market, a full-service grocery store.
All those are open to both the public and guests. Those staying at the resort can also take advantage of other exclusive amenities: pickleball courts, a dog park, a playground, horseshoes, table tennis, sand volleyball, golf cart rentals, pedal cart rentals, bicycle rentals, food trucks, and communal fire pits.
But wait, there’s more: The upcoming Bluff Club will include a shipping container bar with food offerings from the grill and smoker, a resort-style outdoor pool, hot tub, and cabanas.
The Bigger Picture
It’s all part of a plan, according to Platt, one that came about when he saw property across from Otsego Resort was for sale. He and his business partner Craig Snyder purchased it, then began working to buy other contiguous parcels, ending up with 45 acres within one of Michigan’s Opportunity Zones. The Opportunity Zones offer tax deferral and potential tax-free growth on investments held for at least 10 years.
Platt and Synder’s backgrounds include work in construction, property management, and mixed-use development, including properties featuring living spaces, coffee shops, valet parking—even rooftop pools and restaurants. It all dovetailed nicely into the creation of Alpen Bluffs, where they wanted to bring such design details and what he calls “experiential living” to an outdoor space rather than an urban property.
The 45-acre resort is located just outside of Gaylord proper—literally one and a half miles from the heart of downtown. Platt and his partners don’t see Alpen Bluffs as competition for other resorts, but rather another attraction within northern Michigan. They say the goal is simply to offer another exciting and memorable option for families looking to have fun together. “Downtown Gaylord is unique, plus the Golf Mecca, skiing—you can walk across the road to golf and ski at Otsego Resort,” says Platt.
The Opening Slate
He says all the purchases and planning took place during the heart of the COVID lockdown. He and his partners recognized the immediate appeal of outdoor activities and business and believed that would be a long-term attraction. “Up North and the U.P. were always great destinations for outdoor hospitality,” he says.
The first part of the plan came to fruition last September with the opening of Mulligans at the Bluffs, offering winter golf leagues. Also opened were outdoor games associated with the restaurant, as well as the mini golf (including nine holes designed for ADA accommodations) and the gem mining sluice.
The next phase came in late May, with the opening of a number of RV spaces, four cabins, two pickleball courts, dog park, pedal cart, bicycle, and golf cart rentals, the bathhouses with laundry facilities and Alpen Market. Inukshuk Shores, the aquatic waterpark, opened Father’s Day weekend.
The last phase includes the balance of the resort’s 30 cabins, 14 yurts, and remaining amenities, as well as the outdoor pool. All those are scheduled to be open and available sometime between mid-July and mid-August.
The Year-Round Mindset
Platt says a key consideration was creating accommodations and attractions that could be open year-round. The cabins and yurts are open in the winter, as is Mulligans at the Bluffs. That allows them to keep a large portion of staff on payroll throughout the year.
Platt is also cognizant of the challenge endemic to virtually every business of finding enough staff. When fully open, he estimates there will be 45 to 50 staffers needed for the aquatic water park, and close to 60 for housekeeping. That’s more than 100 just for those two parts of the operation.
He also recognizes the concurrent need for housing for employees. “It can be difficult to find housing,” he admits, noting they rented one of the cabins to their new food and beverage manager.
When it comes to more housing, Platt hopes they’ve found at least part of the solution. “We own 37 acres less than a mile south. The intent for our next project is [building] a single-family-home neighborhood,” he says. He believes the cabins they purchased for the resort could be used or modified for use on that site, depending on zoning.
The Alpen Bluffs team plans to expand the resort’s social activities and offerings when the build-out is complete. That includes live music on the weekends at Mulligans, the haunted house in the cart barn at Halloween, and pig roasts, all of which will be open to the public. There are plans for special services for guests as well, including offering food delivery services to the individual campsites and intimate dining experiences along the water of Inukshuk Shores.
Though just barely open, Platt says they are already fielding requests for reservations for 2026. “We’re getting good feedback from people already. They are booking for next year,” he says.
Learn more about Alpen Bluffs at alpenbluffs.com.
