Silver Lake State Park is a 2936 acre public recreation area bordering Lake Michigan and Silver Lake, 4 mi west of Mears in Oceana County, Michigan. The state park is composed of mature forest land and over 2000 acre of sand dunes. Park grounds include the Little Sable Point Light and an off-road vehicle (ORV) area for driving on the sand dunes.

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.

Features

The park is 1.5 mi wide and 3 mi long and is divided into three segments: The northern area is an all-terrain vehicle dunes area where private motorized vehicle may be driven, the middle of the park is a non-vehicle area (the Walking Dunes), and the southernmost section is leased to a private operator. The park encompasses the entire 1.6 mi western shoreline of Silver Lake, a 690 acre kidney-shaped natural lake approximately one mile inland from Lake Michigan. The Silver Lake shore includes the park's active dune complex and an emergent wetland area adjacent to the lake in its southwestern corner. 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.

Activities and amenities

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