‘We don’t have anything like this’: Visitors enjoy Bay City State Park
By Hannah Jewell
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BAY CITY, Michigan (WNEM) — When residents travel for the holidays, many people head “up north” for the views and campgrounds northern Michigan offers, but many out-of-towners come to mid-Michigan to enjoy what it has to offer.
Some locals have stayed home to enjoy the Haithco Recreation Area in Saginaw County. Swimmers, bikers, and hikers call the park a “hidden-gem.”
Related: Some travel, others enjoy Saginaw’s ‘hidden-gem’ for Labor Day
Locals are not the only people enjoying mid-Michigan’s beautiful waterways and campgrounds this Labor Day weekend. Some out-of-towners stopped in at Bay City State Park to relax and enjoy the weekend.
One visitor from Coldwater, Julie Olsen, said she stopped into the park because she’s doing a road trip.
“We’ve only been camping over across the street once, so this weekend I decided I am going to do a road trip. I’ve never done the Thumb, so I am going to start here this morning and kind of go all along the coast,” she said.
New and improved amenities, such as the nature-themed “Play by the Bay” playground, are now offered to campers.
The state park said it is going to be improving many aspects of the park such as remodeling the visitor center and upgrading accessibility to students. This comes after the park received a $1 million grant to make renovations in August.
Related: Bay City State Park receiving more than $1M for upgrades
For Olsen the water is the biggest draw.
“We don’t have anything like this,” she said. “We have to go to lake Michigan or over to this side to get this view.”
Olsen went on to say that she loves the sand and the view is beautiful.
“It’s so vast, I feel like I’m at the ocean. I love the sand in my feet, and the wind in my hair, and just… the view is beautiful,” she said.
Starting on Sept. 5, the Bay City State Park said it was going to start renovations which will impact some of its seasonal events.
This year marks 100 years since the now more than two thousand acre area became a Michigan state park.
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