Ottawa Sands

This summer I worked for the local county parks system doing various things along the west Michigan lakeshore. The county stumbled into an opportunity to purchase a section of land that will make a single protected corridor of public land from the Kitchel Lindquist Dunes Preserve in Grand Haven, MI , through North Ottawa Dunes and North Beach county parks six miles up the lakeshore to PJ Hoffmaster State Park near Muskegon.

Ottawa Sands County Park opened about a month ago and I’ve been having a good time exploring it instead of just working there putting out signage and other bare-bones facilities. It looks like a kettle lake, but it’s an old sand mine. The trail is easily accessed, but park across the road at Coast Guard Park and follow the bike path down because the little lot at the trailhead fills quickly. Also, please keep your dogs on a leash. There are delicate areas here as well as heavy use.

The dogs think it’s pretty neat, too.

Halo on the trail around the lake at Ottawa Sands.

 

Trek on the trail around the lake at Ottawa Sands.