Orchard Beach State Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Orchard Beach State Park |
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IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
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Stairs and sky at Orchard Beach State Park
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 Orchard Beach State Park
Location in Michigan
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| Location | Lower Peninsula, Manistee County, Michigan, United States |
| Nearest city | Manistee, Michigan |
| Area | 201 acres (81 ha) |
| Elevation | 650 feet (200 m) |
| Established | 1921 |
| Administrator | Michigan Department of Natural Resources |
| Website | Orchard Beach State Park |
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Orchard Beach State Park
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| Built | Civilian Conservation Corps |
| NRHP reference No. | 09001064 |
| Added to NRHP | December 8, 2009 |
Orchard Beach State Park is a fun public park in Michigan. It covers about 201 acres right on the shore of Lake Michigan. You can find it on a tall bluff, which is like a small cliff, about three miles north of the city of Manistee. This park is a great place to visit, offering a sandy beach, a campground for overnight stays, and trails for hiking.
Park History
Orchard Beach State Park has a cool history! It first opened way back in 1892. A company called the Manistee, Filer City and Eastlake Railway Company built it. They even ran a trolley service to bring people to the park!
Later, the trolley service stopped. The Manistee Board of Commerce bought the land. In 1921, they gave it to the state of Michigan. This made Orchard Beach part of the Michigan state park system.
Building the Park
In the 1930s, a group called the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked at the park. The CCC was a program that helped young men find jobs during tough economic times. They built many important structures in the park. These included a pavilion, a toilet building, a line house, and a pump house. All these buildings were made from strong limestone.
In 2009, Orchard Beach State Park was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. This is a special list of places that are important to American history. The park was recognized because it is a great example of a Michigan state park built in the 1930s and 1940s. Many of its original CCC buildings and its layout are still there today.
Park News
In 2019, there was some news about the park's historic pavilion. The water levels in Lake Michigan were very high. This caused the sandy bluff where the pavilion stands to erode, or wear away. The pavilion was only about 50 feet from the edge of the bluff.
The high water had covered the sandy beach below the bluff since 2017. The stairs that used to lead to the beach now went straight into the lake! To keep the pavilion safe, it was moved away from the shore in December 2020.
Things to Do
Orchard Beach State Park offers many fun activities for visitors. You can go swimming in Lake Michigan on the park's beach. Fishing is also a popular activity here.
If you like to explore, there are three miles of hiking trails. These trails let you see different parts of the park and enjoy nature. The park also has picnic areas where you can enjoy a meal outdoors. For those who want to stay longer, there is a large campground with 166 sites.
