Grand Mere State Park

Grand Mere State Park
Grand Mere State Park
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
	Beach at Grand Mere
	Location in Michigan Grand Mere State Park (the United States)
Location	Lincoln Township, ; Berrien County, Michigan
Nearest town	Stevensville, Michigan
Coordinates	42°00′30″N 86°32′20″W / 42.00833°N 86.53889°W
Area	985 acres (399 ha)
Elevation	587 feet (179 m)
Designation	Michigan State Park
Established	1973
Administrator	Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Website	Grand Mere State Park
U.S. National Natural Landmark
Designated	1968

Grand Mere State Park is a public recreation and nature preservation area in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Michigan near Stevensville. The state park is located adjacent to Interstate 94. Protected from Lake Michigan by the dunes to the west, the park has many natural features not found throughout the rest of the state.^[4] In 1968 it was designated a National Natural Landmark.^[5]

Geography

The 985-acre (3.99 km²) park is mostly wooded and has three geologically ancient inland lakes, left behind as the glaciers receded during the last ice age.^[6] At one time there were five such lakes, but two of the lakes have disappeared as a result of aquatic succession, and the remaining three can be seen to be slowly disappearing today.^[7]

The dunes protecting the park also create a relatively cool environment that supports plants not normally seen in southern Michigan, some of which are classified as rare, threatened or endangered.^[7]

Activities and amenities

The park offers swimming, hiking, picnicking, boat launch, and cross-country skiing.^[4]

The park has almost two miles of sandy beach, which can be reached only on foot by climbing over steep sand dunes. There are many trails for hiking and cross-country skiing, but most are neither posted nor maintained.^[7] (Biking on the trails is prohibited.) The trail conditions vary from loose sand to hard packed dirt. There are many hills including a large sand dune that was once used for off-road vehicles. Access to the dune by large, four-wheeled vehicles has been blocked with guard rails.