Kirk Park

Thanksgiving Sunset, photo by wizardkitten.

It’s been 2 weeks since the last Michigan shoreline tour stop at Holland (feels like 2 weeks since I last got on the Michigan shoreline myself!).

While I didn’t find much about the history of Kirk Park at the page Google thinks is best, I did stumble onto this review of the Dune Ridge Trail at Kirk Park from Jim DuFresne’s Best Hikes with Children in Michigan Guide Book (there’s 80 hikes on that page – check it out):

There is a tendency at Kirk Park for children to head straight to the beach. They jump out of the car and hightail it down a paved path to Lake Michigan where they jump into the surf, roll in the sand, or get scorched by the sun. Then their parents take them home, usually waterlogged, sunburnt, and with half a dune in their bathing suits. Should have taken them hiking. At 66 acres and with 2000 feet of lakefront, this Ottawa County park is not large. In fact, it’s basically one dune. But it’s a large dune, and major renovations in the mid-1990s resulted in an intriguing 2-mile trail system over and around this towering hill of sand. The heart of the system is Dune Ridge Trail, a mile-long loop that climbs the hill and then circles the top to reward hikers with excellent views of Lake Michigan.

Cathleen says she likes this park and goes there quite a lot. After seeing her pictures and those from Thomas, Craig (who apparently heeded that “take the trails” advice), Katie, Holly and others, I can see why.

Here’s a Flickr map and also the entry for Kirk Park on our Absolute Michigan map of Michigan.