Silver Lake State Park is a public recreation area covering that border

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

and Silver Lake, west of Mears in Oceana County,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national 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 ...

is composed of mature forest land and over of

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

Features

The park is wide and long and is divided into three segments: The northern area is an all-terrain vehicle dunes area where private motorized vehicle may be driven, the middle of the park is a non-vehicle area (the Walking Dunes), and the southernmost section is leased to a private operator. The park grounds include the

Little Sable Point Light The Little Sable Point Light is a lighthouse located south of Pentwater in the lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the southwest corner of Golden Township, just south of Silver Lake State Park. The lighthouse was designed ...

on Lake Michigan and one mile of shoreline on Silver Lake. 1996 Little Sable Point Lighthouse

History

The park originated in 1920 when 25 acres on the east side of Silver Lake were donated for park purposes by Carrie E. Mears, the daughter of lumber baron Charles Mears. In 1926, the federal government transferred 900 acres to the state, which became Sand Dunes State Park in 1949. Based upon a 1949 master plan, the two were merged, with Silver Lake State Park seeing its new boundaries dedicated in 1951.

Activities and amenities

The park's recreational opportunities include camping, hunting, swimming, hiking, boating, fishing, picnicking, and off-road vehicle driving.

Piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized wader, shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead ...

s nest in the northern portion of the ORV area.

References

External links

Silver Lake State Park
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Silver Lake State Park Map
Michigan Department of Natural Resources {{authority control Dunes of Michigan State parks of Michigan Protected areas of Oceana County, Michigan Protected areas established in 1920 1920 establishments in Michigan Landforms of Oceana County, Michigan

Features

History

Activities and amenities

See also

References

External links