FERRYSBURG, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Oct. 17, 2024) – What used to be a sand mine north of Grand Haven has become the latest jewel in the Ottawa County Parks’ crown.
A ceremonial ribbon-cutting was held on Thursday afternoon for Ottawa Sands, a 345-acre site that the county’s Parks Commission says is a junction point between the Lake Michigan Coastal Greenway and the Grand River Greenway. Donations and grants helped pay for the $11.22 million price tag for the property off of North Shore Drive, along with nearly $7.4 million for reviving 188 acres “significantly disturbed” by the sand mining operations, access improvement projects, a 1.6-mile lake loop, a day-use restroom, and an Idema Explorers Camp that should open next year.
Jane Longstreet, vice president of the Ottawa County Parks Commission, said that Ottawa Sands fits in nicely with the panel’s recently-released strategic plan.
The park is the final link in a nearly 2500-acre corridor of public, natural land from Grand Haven to Hoffmaster State Park near Mona Shores.
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