2026 Traverse City, Michigan R-Pod Rally - Event Date: 18 Jun 2026 - 21 Jun 2026

This will be our 7th consecutive Rally held at Holiday Park Campground, which is located just south of Traverse City, Michigan.  For planning purposes, it has been and will continue to be held each year over Father’s Day weekend (this year checking in on June 18th, and checking out on June 21st).  Holding it during this shoulder season weekend allows us to request 30-35 sites each year from a campground that’s extremely popular.  35  sites have been reserved for this year’s rally, and site registration will close on March 31, 2025.  Anyone desiring to still attend will need to contact the campground directly to see if any sites are available.

June 18th, being the first day of the Rally and the arrival date for most, is intentionally laid back, with no official R-Pod Rally events scheduled.  Those interested are welcome to spend 3-4 hours around an informal bonfire starting around 6 pm at Site 177, which we commonly refer to as Command Central.  We call Site 177 Command Central because all official Traverse City R-Pod Rally activities happen there.  

Also this year, the Traverse City Pit Spitters baseball team’s home schedule coincidentally coincides with our R-Pod Rally, so we’ve included another optional event for Thursday, June 18th.  The Pit Spitters play in the college-level Northwoods League, and that night they’ll be playing a second game of a double-header beginning at 7 PM at beautiful Turtle Creek Stadium, which is only 1 mile away. 

Friday is intentionally set aside as free time to visit the gorgeous Traverse City area, until 6 PM that is.  At 6 PM, we will all gather at Site 177 for a potluck, with everyone bringing a dish to pass and/or dessert, their own beverages, and their own table settings.  Very tasty hot dogs are the main dish, courtesy of your hosts.  Those wishing to eat something else are certainly free to bring or grill same on their own.

After dinner, we'll give away some promotional items provided by Forest River.  We’ll then have a lengthy conversation about all things R-Pod, hosted by some of our more talented and knowledgeable R-Pod owners, where everyone gets a chance to share stories and ask questions of the experts.  Thereafter, those wishing to do so will spend the rest of the night around the bonfire at Site 177 getting to know one another better.

On Saturday from 11-2 PM, we host a “Tour ‘de Rpod,” during which time those willing to open up their R-Pods to fellow campers get an opportunity to show others what improvements they’ve made.  Participation is totally voluntary, but better than 75% of campers typically choose to participate.  Some people even claim this is the best part of the entire weekend!  Then it’s free time for the rest of the day, until we once again gather at 6PM.

At 6 PM, we’ll once again convene at Site 177 for a leftovers potluck.  After dinner, we’ll be holding our back-by-popular-demand White Elephant gift exchange for those wishing to participate.  You can bring either 1 or 2 items, valued at no more than $50 each, for this fun-filled event hosted by yours truly.  Allow us to suggest not to bring any 'recycled items' and also if there’s something peculiar to your hometown or your area/region, that you consider bringing that along as one of your gift(s). 

Every participant pulls a number out of the hat, and each gift can be stolen/acquired by others up to a total of 3 times maximum.  Participation in this gift exchange, as with all other official R-Pod Rally activities, is entirely optional but highly encouraged.  After that, we once again convene around the bonfire on Site 177  to enjoy our last night of camping together if so desired

That’s about it.  Very laid back.  Very friendly atmosphere.  Lots of intentionally built-in downtime.  Attendance and participation in all optional and official events totally voluntary.  It’s not uncommon for games of euchre and corn hole to crop up during down time.  Also, even though Traverse City has so much to offer visitors, most people typically hang around the campground the entire weekend.

Hopefully that gives you an idea of what the 2026 Traverse City R-Pod Rally is all about.  As this year’s Coordinator, please let me know if you have any further questions by responding directly to this email.