Ludington & Manistee
Manistee
A Lake Michigan port city where the river meets the lake, with a historic downtown riverwalk, three city beaches and a pierhead light to climb in season.
About 3 miles away (straight line)
State park · Ludington & Manistee
Orchard Beach State Park
A bluff-top park north of Manistee for Lake Michigan sunsets, forest trails and camping. Despite the name, you cannot reach the beach from the park.
Photo: Joshuay04 (Joshua Young), Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Come to Orchard Beach State Park for sunsets from a 100-foot bluff, not for the beach. Despite the name, erosion has cut off the beach, and the park offers no water access.
What you get instead is the view. The park sits just north of Manistee and is known for its sunsets and wide Lake Michigan views, and a viewing platform looks up and down the shoreline. More than 3.5 miles of trails wind through old-growth forest and former farmland, and the park’s centerpiece is a historic structure that was recently restored and moved.
It suits campers and anyone who wants a quiet walk and a sunset. You need a Recreation Passport on your car to drive in (see licenses and passes), and the park lists modern restrooms, a picnic area and a pavilion.
Stay in the modern campground, at walk-in tent sites, in a camper cabin or in a mini cabin. If you are camping here to fish for coho and Chinook salmon in fall or steelhead in spring, use the nearby boating access sites.
In winter the park is listed for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Practical information
- Managed by
- Michigan Department of Natural Resources
- Best months
- May to October
- Official website
- michigan.gov
Location
Map of Orchard Beach State Park
4 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Nearby towns
Also nearby
Straight-line distances, not driving distances.
Nature preserve
Lake Bluff Bird Sanctuary
Michigan Audubon's 75-acre sanctuary on a bluff north of Manistee, with old arboretum trees, about two miles of trails and Lake Michigan frontage.
Under a mile away (straight line)
Historic site
S.S. City of Milwaukee
A 1931 Great Lakes rail car ferry and National Historic Landmark preserved in Manistee, with guided tours in summer and a haunted ship in October.
About 2 miles away (straight line)
Waterfront
Manistee Riverwalk
A boardwalk along the Manistee River behind downtown, with benches, history markers and boats going by, open year-round.
About 2 miles away (straight line)