Muskegon State Park is a public recreation area located west of

North Muskegon North Muskegon is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,786 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Dem ...

Muskegon County, Michigan Muskegon County is a Counties of the United States, county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the population was 175,824. The county seat is Muskegon, Michigan, Muskegon. Muskegon County comprises the Muskegon, MI Metropolitan Statistic ...

. The park's encompass two miles of sand beach on

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 one mile of beach on

Muskegon Lake Muskegon Lake is a fresh-water lake in Muskegon County, Michigan, USA. Located in the lower peninsula at the mouth of the Muskegon River, Muskegon Lake forms a broad harbor along the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan, approximately wide by ...

History

The park was established in 1923 when the state purchased some 840 acres at the former site of the Ryerson Hill & Company lumber mill in Snug Harbor. 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 ...

was active in the park in 1933 and 1934, building roads, planting trees and clearing campsites. Most notably, the corps built a square

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

with scenic views from the highest point in Muskegon County. A replica stands at the site of the CCC's original blockhouse which burned down in the 1960s. The

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

made further improvements from 1937 to 1941, developing the beach area and extending the scenic drive along Lake Michigan.

Activities and amenities

The park offers swimming, picnicking, two fishing piers, twelve miles of hiking trails, boat launch, and two campgrounds. Winter offerings in the park include five miles of cross-country skiing trails, ice skating, and ice fishing. The park features a

luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...

track, where U.S.

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

team member

Mark Grimmette Mark Grimmette (born January 23, 1971) is an American luger who competed from 1990 to 2010. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he won two medals in the men's doubles event with a silver in 2002 and a bronze in 1998. He was born in Ann Arbor, Mic ...

started training.

References

External links

Muskegon State Park
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Muskegon State Park Map
Michigan Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Michigan Protected areas of Muskegon County, Michigan Protected areas established in 1923 1923 establishments in Michigan IUCN Category III Beaches of Michigan Landforms of Muskegon County, Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan Works Progress Administration in Michigan