Orchard Beach State Park is a 201 acres (81.3 ha) state park

State park

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...

  in Manistee Township

Manistee Township, Michigan

Manistee Township is a civil township of Manistee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,764 at the 2000 census.- Communities :...

, just north of Manistee

Manistee, Michigan

Manistee is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,586. It is the county seat of Manistee County. The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county. The derivation is not certain, but it may be from...

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. Situated on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

, the park offers a beach, campground and hiking trails.

History

The park was developed by the Manistee, Filer City and Eastlake Railway Company and opened in 1892. After the company stopped trolley service to the park, the site was purchased by the Manistee Board of Commerce and deeded to the state to become part of the Michigan state park system.

The National Register of Historic Places has called the park "one of the most intact examples of a Michigan state park developed in the 1930s and 1940s under National Park Service guidelines.... retain[ing] the majority of its CCC-era buildings and physical layout."

The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 on December 8, 2009. The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

's weekly list of December 18, 2009.

Facilities

• Camping - 166 modern sites, 1 cabin
• Picnic Area
• Picnic Shelter - Reservation required
• Playground

Activities

• Swimming
• Fishing
• Hiking - 3 miles (4.8 km)
• Cross Country Skiing
• Metal Detecting

External links

• Orchard Beach State Park Michigan Department of Natural Resources
  Michigan Department of Natural Resources
  The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor and accepted by the Natural Resources Commission...
  
  
• Orchard Beach State Park Protected Planet (World Database on Protected Areas)
• Orchard Beach State Park, National Register webpage