Wow what a hidden Gem. Hidden away between Muskegon and Whitehall. You pull into a nice ordinary…read morepark. Then there is a nice boardwalk path that leads to a beach area along side a Duck Lake. A very nice view in itself. Then the boardwalk travels on, then goes under a bridge and next to a sand dune, then Bam! The lake and path funnel into Lake Michigan and the path onto an amazing beach. I had no idea this beautiful public beach was here. The views are outstanding and the sand is pristine. We took the dog, yes on a leash, for a walk of the beach and had a great time. Overall an easy 5 star review. Would I return? Absolutely! A must stop.

This looks to be an awesome and somewhat hidden state park nestled between Lake Michigan and the…read morenorthern shore of Duck Lake. Nice trails with a long paved pathway from the lake front to deep in the woods for wheelchair users. By the bridge and outlet of Duck Lake, this place reminded me of Big Sur California but on a smaller scale. The sunset here was stunning but that's Lake Michigan for you!

My feet were itching to go for a walk while I was headed up to the BEAUTIFUL Traverse City. I…read moreluckily saw this saving grace of a park on my left and I instantly turned. We got there and absolutely no one was there, but the facilities were luckily unlocked LOL! I relieved myself and then my mom and I went for a walk down trail #1. We eventually found a crossing in the path, and I got overwhelmed, so we turned back around. Satisfied all of my needs!

Used to love this campsite until the DNR threatened to evict us. Quiet hours are expected but if…read morewe're walking around the campsite quietly at night they told us they were worried for our safety and we'd break our leg so we were told we couldn't leave our campsite for any reason. They walked us back to our campsite and threaten to evict us from our campsite if we left again, but how do I use the bathroom at night without leaving my campsite?

Nice small rolling hills park for 3-5 mile hikes, snowshoeing, or ungroomed cross country skiing…read more No dogs allowed. Unfortunately the gate that forces people to go clockwise is broken so you see people as it is a busy place.

Quiet little place with great trails! Our family loves this park. It is well taken care of and…read moreclean except all the fisherman stuff left from fishermen. Which they do clean up and it's not the parks fault.

Nice Park - easy to get to, good amount of parking, nice pavilion, the sand was nice, fountains to…read morewash your feet, good amount of space on the sand. First time here - The bugs today were outrageous. These little flies were unbearable and therefore didn't stay long.

This beach is operated by Ottawa County. During the summer months, you are required to pay to…read morepark. They probably have room for 100 cars. You can get an annual tag from the county. A Michigan state park tag will not work. Weekends the lot can fill up. In that case you can park for free less than a mile down the road at Coast Guard Park, or even Fire Barn Park for that matter. If you're going to do that, drop off your family and friends along with your beach supplies at the entrance. That way only one of you have to walk back and forth. They have a nice wide asphalt path. Good excersise plus you saved about $8. Park no longer allows dogs, no alcohol either. They have a nice pavillion that sometimes get reserved in the summer. There are grills and picnic tables too, but not many. There are outdoor showers and feet washing stations and a convenient bathroom. But last time I was here, the beach has been extended way out. So if you are on the water with you blanket and umbrella, it is quite a hike to the johns. This is a good family beach too with the playground. Downside to some may be there are no touristy shops that you can walk to like Grand Haven SP. But to me, that is blessing. Not a whole lot of teenagers come here and never been any fights break out like they have at GH. I hope this beach stays how it is and the county doesn't try to commercialize it.

This was my first time in Ludington. I have heard so much about it, and I was excited to finally…read moremake it here. My friend said this is his favorite westside town. I was impressed my the marina and the great beach. The beach was super busy and we found our way to the lighthouse. It's a bit of a walk so be prepared to bring comfortable shoes. We enjoyed watching the ships come into port. If you happen to be out this way, I highly suggest making a trip out to the lighthouse. Not only is it a beautiful backdrop, it's also a great place to take pictures.

A very tough…read morelighthouse The very first lighthouse in the area was established in 1871 but didn't last very long and was washed away in a huge storm a few years later. Since Ludington was becoming an extremely important harbor a new and stronger light was obviously needed. Debates about whether to put the new lighthouse on the south or north pier raged for years, and the exact kind of lighthouse was also a very contentious subject. So of course nothing got done. Finally around 1924 the present lighthouse was constructed at the end of the half mile north concrete pier. Since the area is know for very intense and powerful storms, the engineers wanted to make sure the lighthouse was strong enough to withstand anything that the howling gales of Lake Michigan could throw at it. So they went all out when they designed and built this light. The lighthouse is constructed with a steel frame in addition to steel plating added to the outside. And to increase the structural integrity of the lighthouse a strange looking prow, similar to that on a large ship, was added at the bottom to deflect the larger waves. Pretty cool looking and when viewed from a distance, almost makes the lighthouse seem like it's sailing across the horizon. The fourth order Fresnel Lens was removed and is passed around to various local maritime museums. The lighthouse can be reached by walking out to the end of the half mile pier but going out they in storms and blizzards is probably not a good idea. During the summer the lighthouse is open and for five bucks the public can climb the 53 stairs to the top. Certainly not the tallest, biggest, oldest or most important lighthouse in Michigan but with the steel plates added over the steel frame and the addition of the cool prow, this is definitely one of the very toughest and strongest lighthouses anywhere.

Absolutely stunning. This park is another reminder of why we need to invest time, energy, and funds…read moreinto our natural resources. I could spend all day here wandering the trails and walking the beach. I plan to reserve a campsite in their beautiful campground sometime this summer.

Definitely worth the drive to see lake Michigan and the Sand dunes. There is a beautiful boardwalks…read morenext to the visitor center that you can take directly to the dunes. It's a wooden walkway, with a ton of shade from the trees, that takes you through the forest directly to the dunes. The visitor center was closed for remodel when we were there so we could not go inside to enjoy the displays on this trip so I am looking forward to the upgrades.

The showers feel like pressure washers and the bathrooms and the shower floors are gross I like…read morethe fact that there is bathrooms around there and it's maintained decently. We had asked for our fire pit to be cleaned out and it was not fully cleaned out.

This park misrepresents their camping fee. They say their…read morecamping fee is $30 per day. After you get there, they inform you that there will be an additional fee of $20 per day to park your cars ... including the day you leave. So, your bill becomes doubled. 2 days camping = $60.00 Truck to pull camper and wife's car = $60.00 ($20 just to leave in the morning) Total = $120.00 In addition, the roads in the park are in terrible repair. Pot Holes 3 feet wide shake everything in the trailer.... requiring you to crawl all the way to your spot and back out. We will not be going back to this park to camp again.

Great place to relax and take the family, you can sled in the winter, go hiking, fishing, play disc…read moregolf, or bring the camera and get some amazing pictures.

Who made the maps of this place? The park is beautiful, Chippewa River runs through it.read more

Nice park! The playground is pretty big and the walkways give a great view of the lake and boats…read more There is also a nice pavilion for concerts and space for picnics. The only downside is that the look is pretty outdated-everything is painted a weird blue/green and could use an update. The playground equipment also looks pretty old. I've noticed some trash along the walkways, so I'm not sure who cleans the park, but overall, it is a nice downtown addition and gives some nice walking paths with a view.

Good size playground for kids 10 and under. Separate area for toddlers. Seating for us lazy adults…read moreall around. Tranquil setting with walking paths. Entrance is just south of the big ship and huge Amazon building.

I spent a lot of quality time at Windsnest this summer, mainly for the overall convenience. Beach…read moreaccess is the easiest in the area, and note that you'll have to use stairs. There is a fee of $8/day, and there are options for a county park pass for $25/year, totally worth it if you're local or planning to stay for several days. This was my Monday-Thursday beach because the weekends were bananas with crowds/parking woes, even in the evenings. If the lot is full, there are signs that designate where folx can park along the road. However, once that is filled up, I don't recommend parking beyond the bounds. I witnessed the local county sheriff issuing parking tickets more than once. Outside of the glorious beach and Lake Michigan swimming, Windsnest has well-kept bathrooms, rinsing station, and a playground. This is definitely a popular spot for families.

Super clean bathrooms, easy parking, secluded, cute playset. Loved the whole experience.read more