Young State Park

About this park

Young State Park, established in 1921, spans 563 acres on the eastern shore of Lake Charlevoix just outside Boyne City, named for Adolph and Mary Young, local Charlevoix residents who donated the land that formed the park. The terrain here is genuinely varied for a single relatively compact property, mixing gently rolling hills, lowlands, and a cedar swamp along the shore of Michigan's third-largest inland lake. The park's day-use building, still standing today, was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s, a tangible link to the same federal relief program that shaped so much of Michigan's early state park infrastructure. A trailhead directly across the road from park headquarters connects to the Boyne City to Charlevoix Trail, a nonmotorized path that, once fully completed, will link Charlevoix all the way to Petoskey and Harbor Springs. A 158-site modern campground, with sites terraced among cedar, birch, and oak trees on what is informally called "Young Terrace," gives the park a genuinely scenic camping setting, and swimming, fishing, hiking, and cross-country skiing round out a full four-season slate of activities. The small-town charm of nearby Boyne City, Charlevoix, and East Jordan, each within easy driving distance, makes Young State Park a convenient base for exploring Michigan's northwest Lower Peninsula lakes region.