Walter J. Hayes State Park is a public recreation area covering on the southeast corner of Wamplers Lake in the

Irish Hills Irish Hills is an area of land located roughly in southeastern Jackson County and northwest Lenawee County in Southeast Michigan. It was named after the numerous Irish immigrants who settled there from 1830 until 1850. Today it is known thro ...

region of the state of

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 the ...

. Most of 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 ...

lies within

Lenawee County Lenawee County ( ') is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 99,423. The county seat is Adrian. The county was created in 1822, from territory partitioned from Monroe County. Its g ...

with a small portion extending into

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

and Washtenaw counties in the Round Lake area. The park offers access to Wamplers Lake and completely surrounds Round Lake, which connects to Wamplers Lake via a channel navigable by smaller boats. Other scenic lakes including Evans Lake and Sand Lake as well as chains of smaller lakes lie nearby. The park is traversed by Michigan Route 124 north of its intersection with US Highway 12.

History

Dedicated in 1920, the park was among the first 25 established by the Michigan State Parks Commission, which referred to it as both Cedar Hills State Park and Adrian State Park. It originally comprised a 99-acre purchase by the state plus two donations of land which brought the park's size to some 200 acres. It was renamed in 1930 after the family of Michigan State Senator Walter J. Hayes made a donation of land with the stipulation that the name change take place. The

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

made improvements to the park during the 1930s. Michigan CCC camp SP1 was active in Hayes State Park from 1933 to 1935.

Facilities and activities

The park offers fishing for bass, bluegill and pike, swimming, hiking, picnicking, boat launch, boat rentals, campgrounds, and mini-cabins.

References

External links

Hayes State Park
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Hayes State Park Map
Michigan Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Michigan Protected areas of Jackson County, Michigan Protected areas of Lenawee County, Michigan Protected areas of Washtenaw County, Michigan Protected areas established in 1920 1920 establishments in Michigan IUCN Category III Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan