Silver Lake State Park (Michigan)

Silver Lake State Park is a 2,936-acre (1,188 ha) public recreation area bordering Lake Michigan and Silver Lake, four miles (6.4 km) west of Mears in Oceana County, Michigan. The state park is composed of mature forest land and over 2,000 acres (810 ha) of sand dunes. Park grounds include the Little Sable Point Light and an off-road vehicle (ORV) area for driving on the sand dunes.^[2]

Little Sable Point Lighthouse

Silver Lake State Park
Silver Lake and sand dunes
Location in Michigan Show map of Michigan Silver Lake State Park (Michigan) (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Golden Township, Oceana County, Michigan, United States
Nearest town	Mears, Michigan
Coordinates	43°40′43″N 86°30′40″W
Area	2,936 acres (1,188 ha)
Elevation	656 feet (200 m)
Established	1920[1]
Administered by	Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Designation	Michigan state park
Website	Official website

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.^[3]

Features

The park is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide and three miles (4.8 km) long and is divided into three segments: The northern area is an all-terrain vehicle dunes area where private motorized vehicle may be driven,^[4] the middle of the park is a non-vehicle area (the Walking Dunes), and the southernmost section is leased to a private operator.^[2]

The park encompasses the entire 1.6-mile (2.6 km) western shoreline of Silver Lake, a 690-acre (280 ha) kidney-shaped natural lake approximately one mile inland from Lake Michigan.^[5] The Silver Lake shore includes the park's active dune complex and an emergent wetland area adjacent to the lake in its southwestern corner.^[5]

The discovery of Piping plovers in the northern portion of the ORV area during nesting season has led officials to create buffer zones from time to time to protect the federally endangered species.^[6]

Activities and amenities

The park's recreational opportunities include camping, hunting, swimming, hiking, boating, fishing, picnicking, and off-road vehicle driving.^[2][3]