By Stewart A. McFerran
Many shoreline communities in West Michigan feature their views of Lake Michigan, welcoming visitors from far and wide. They come to see the fresh water and to swim in it and recreate on it. However, much of the shoreline of our Great Lake is privately owned. Public access to the lake has been limited in many places.
Lake Michigan looms large if you are anywhere near it, but just how do you access it if you do not own waterfront? One way is by boat. Launch ramps for boaters have been provided by local communities. Public access points – such as Sunset Station in Arcadia, Bar Lake Outlet in Manistee Township and Ludington Waterfront Park – provide fine views of the big lake.
Government grants have helped to provide access to the lake, and land conservation organizations have been able to buy land on the water to provide access. Local governments that accept grants are required to maintain them.
U.S. Department of Agriculture grants were obtained to improve the turnaround at the end of Lake Street in Arcadia and the Bar Lake Outlet in Manistee Township. These “Explore the Shore” grants were intended to provide access to the lake, as well as a viewing platform that would accommodate persons with mobility issues.
Former Arcadia Township Planning Commission Chair Brad Hopwood wrote in 2015: “The approval of this grant was crucial to sustaining our momentum to make Arcadia a must-visit site by those who appreciate the beauty and special resources of our coastal community.”
Arcadia resident Greg Mathieu and his dog Vinnie walk to the Sunset Station in Arcadia every day. The view to the west, across Lake Michigan, is ever changing and waves roll in with a fierce energy. Some days there are no waves at all.
About $400,000 was spent on the platform, playground and bathrooms in Arcadia. High water cracked the cement and mangled the steel railing at the viewing platform. It is no longer a safe place to watch the big lake.
Mathieu – who was involved in the Sunset Station project, and until recently was chair of the township’s Parks and Recreation Committee – said the township council had decided that damage to the viewing platform should be fixed to save public access to Lake Michigan. Contractors had been lined up to build steps down to the lake in May. However, the restoration effort stalled. Meanwhile, waves continued to crash into Sunset Station. The playground area was further undermined by wave action.
The Sunset Station is heavily used by local residents and people from far and wide. Greg and Vinnie see license plates from all over the country at the turn-around. A fence has been put up to keep everyone away from the dangerous drop- off into Lake Michigan.
Many shoreline locations have been dealing with the effects of high water and erosion. Manistee Township’s Bar Lake Outlet and the Ludington Waterfront Park have also sustained damage. But efforts have been made in both places to stabilize public footholds on the Big Lake.
Dennis Bjorkquist, Manistee Township Supervisor, said it has been a struggle, but the township signed a contract in July to install additional sheet piling to stabilize the platform at Bar Lake Outlet. Before this issue of Freshwater Reporter went to press, contractors were on site to keep the public access safe. He added that the grant the township received requires maintenance of the viewing station, but that the original work was not done according to design.
Ludington resident Alayne Speltz takes regular walks to the waterfront park in Ludington. She said the city has repaired the erosion damage at the waterfront park twice.
“They added a seawall the first time; it looked like an extensive repair, but the fall wind and water tore up the land and sidewalk,” she explained, adding, “The latest sidewalk is more narrow, like a single-person sidewalk as opposed to a three-person width.”
Back in Arcadia, Mathieu and Vinnie still walk to Sunset Station, but their easy Lake Michigan access is quickly vanishing. Without it, the village can no longer welcome visitors with its sunset lake views.
Stewart A. McFerran seeks to illuminate environmental issues in an historic context. As with his investigations into earthen dams, sand dunes and fisheries, he hopes readers will gain an understanding of and insight into ways people interact with their environment.
