Silver Lake State Park

About this park

Silver Lake State Park covers nearly 2,936 acres in Oceana County, bordering both Lake Michigan and the inland Silver Lake, with its current boundaries dating to a 1951 merger of two earlier park designations after the federal government transferred 900 acres of dune land to the state in 1926. Nearly 2,000 acres of sand dunes and three miles of Lake Michigan shoreline give the park a scale of dune landscape matched by few other parks in the state. The park's signature feature is the Silver Lake ORV Area, roughly 450 to 500 acres of open sand dunes with elevation changes of 80 to 100 feet, offering the only motorized sand-dune riding experience anywhere east of the Mississippi River. Riders bring their own ATVs and UTVs or rent locally, navigating steep climbs and deep wet crossings through a voucher-based entry system, while the nearby Little Sable Point Lighthouse offers a quieter, more traditional landmark for visitors preferring to explore on foot. A pedestrian area of the dunes, separate from the ORV scramble zone, lets hikers reach the Lake Michigan beach without encountering vehicle traffic, and a modern campground on Silver Lake itself gives visitors a comfortable base within walking distance of the small village of Mears. The park's unusual combination of serious off-road recreation alongside more conventional beach and camping amenities makes it one of the more distinctive entries in the entire Michigan state park system.