Michigan ranked 7th best state in America for camping

Michigan was recently ranked as the seventh best state for camping — and we'll have to agree to disagree.

In order, Michigan came in below California, Washington, Texas, Florida, New York and Colorado in the ranking by Lawn Love.

The company, which helps homeowners find lawn care, used public data on 25 metrics categorized by access, quality, supplies, safety and affordability to create the ranking. It calculated weighted scores for each state in each category and averaged the scores for each state across all categories.

Michigan ranked first when it came to park safety and total deaths. It also ranked first in variety of campsite activities. Here's how Michigan ranked in the metrics, categories and overall.

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How Michigan ranked in the metrics

• Number of campgrounds: 10th

• Total campground acreage: 20th

• Number of campsites: 10th

• Total acreage of state and national parks: 10th

• Total percentage of parkland: 11th

• Number of camping trails: 14th

• Number of hiking trails: 14th

• Variety of campsite activities: 1st

• Number of attractions: 10th

• Share of highly rates (95%+) campgrounds (with 10+ reviews): 17th

• Average consumer rating of campgrounds (out of 100%): 11th

• Number of campsites with toilets: 7th

• Number of campsites with water: 7th

• Number of camping supply stores: 15th

• Number of RV rental offers: 21st

• Total park deaths (2010-20): 1st

• Natural Hazards Index: 4th

• Phone coverage: 27th

• Average nightly rate at campgrounds: 20th

• Average price for camping rental (income-adjusted): 33rd

• Average RV rental cost (income-adjusted): 29th

• Average limited-time pass price (income-adjusted): 21st

Michigan's rankings in the overall categories:

• Access: 10th

• Quality: 14th

• Supplies: 17th

• Safety: 5th

• Affordability: 31st

Top 10 states for camping

1. California

2. Washington

3. Texas

4. Florida

5. New York

6. Colorado

7. Michigan

8. Virginia

9. North Carolina

10. Minnesota

Until we see metrics for overall beauty and hidden gems factored into this ranking, we'll stand firm that Michigan camping was very underrated here — but that might be the best part of camping in Michigan.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan ranked 7th best camping state in America