Cadillac Little Traverse Mackinac Straits L ike the village square of yore, community parks in Northwest Michigan serve to draw townspeople together in celebration and to welcome visitors into the fold. Wherever you travel in the region, from quiet villages to booming cities, you'll find a green space inviting you to make yourself at home, to relax and restore yourself.
Beach parks are the pride of many of our hospitable communities.
Along the Lake Michigan shoreline, from Ludington to Mackinaw City, you'll find dozens of gorgeous public beaches. Inland communities also offer outstanding swimming and boating parks and some maintain public skating rinks and sledding hills for winter recreation. You'll discover the region offers an unequaled array of natural parks, preserves and set-asides for low impact recreation such as hiking, birding and nature study. State parks, described in our Campgrounds and RV Parks chapter, provide additional outdoor recreational opportunities. Though Michigan has long been a leader in land preservation and conservation movements only 2 percent of Michigan remains the way Native Americans once knew it.