Michigan is home to 103 state parks each with unique features from towering cliffs to tumbling sand dunes to urban recreation.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is currently chipping away at a massive 202 project list, all with the federally mandated deadline of December 2026.
The Building Michigan Together Plan, signed into law in March 2022 by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, included $250 million in federal relief program funding to help tackle critical infrastructure needs in our state parks system.
An additional $23 million was added for renovations for Belle Isle Park in Detroit, including the upgrades to the conservancy.
This boost to the budget came from American Rescue Plan Act dollars allotted during the pandemic.
The total pot now sits at $273 million in ARPA funds for the state’s parks and recreation system.
“It’s unprecedented. There’s no doubt. This is the most investment in the park system, ever in the history of the 103 years of the park system being in place, [for investment] all at once,” said Ron Olson, chief of the Parks and Recreation Division for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
The state was looking down the barrel on a 20 to 30-year long backlog, Olson said.
This ranges from buildings built in the 1950s that no longer meet accessibility standards to old electrical systems that can‘t keep up with today’s demand in RV camping.
The list includes 202 projects across both peninsulas and touching every lakeshore. Yes, even Lake Erie.
All of the projects have to be out to bid by end of 2024 and the expenditures must be completed by December 2026.
Here’s what has already been completed or is on track to be completed by December 2024.
- Baraga State Park - Trail improvement
- Bay City State Park - Building improvements including Saginaw Bay Visitors Center.
- Bay City State Park – Utility improvements
- Bay City State Park – Parking lot and road improvements
- Belle Isle Park – The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory dome
- Cheboygan State Park – Utility
- Fayette Historic State Park – Utility improvements
- Fayette Historic State Park - Historical structure improvements
- Hartwick Pines State Park – Historical structure
- Hoffmaster State Park – Utility
- Hoffmaster State Park – Parking/Roads
- Hoffmaster State Park – Utility
- Hoffmaster State Park – Operational Structure
- Interlochen State Park – Utility
- Interlochen State Park – Building
- Kal-Haven Trail State Park – Trails
- Mithcell State Park – Parking/Roads
- Muskallonge – Building
- Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park – Parking/ Roads near Visitor Center
- Porcupine Mountains – Parking/Roads near Summit Peak
- Porcupine Mountains – Historical Structure
- Port Crescent State Park – Parking/Roads
- Port Crescent State Park – Building
- Saginaw River Headwaters Rec Area – Parking/Roads
- Straits State Park – Building
- Tahquamenon Falls State Park – Building
- Tawas Point State Park – Historical Structure
- Tawa Point State Park – Utility
- Rifle River Recreation Area – Major Development
For more information on projects completed in 2023 or still undergoing construction check out the DNR project dashboard.
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