Wait, We Can Still Go To Ludington State Park?
There has been plenty of news out there that Ludington State Park is closed for park enhancements. While that news is true in a way, the park is not entirely closed. Around 2,000 acres of the 5,300 acre state park are currently open for adventure! The upgrades at the park will be great when they are completed but for now lets discuss where we CAN go.
The most basic way to look at this is that everything south of the Big Sable River is open. This includes a 3 mile stretch of beach starting at the "First Curve" and the hiking tails south of the river. The best spot for parking for hiking is at the amphitheater/SkyLine Trail lot or at the small parking areas along the beach
For a true hike, open trails include the Evergreen Trail, The Juniper Trail and the Dune Trail, which all can be combined into one larger trail or done in smaller amounts. These trails go through sand dunes and more traditional trail surfaces but a bit portion does involve hiking on sand. We spent a few hours hiking these trails, which was a lot of fun because we hadn't spent much time on those trails in the past. The Piney Ridge Trail is also in this same area and is something we hiked during a previous visit.
The Skyline Trail and Sable River Trail offer additional options that are great as well. The Skyline Trail does involve quite a few stairs while the Sable River Trail goes along the river. Both of these are shorter in distance than the dune trails.
Access to the Big Sable River from the south side is also an option. We decided to paddle the Big Sable River out to Lake Michigan. The weather was perfect so we even decided to enjoy a paddle on Lake Michigan before making our way back to the parking area.
To end our day at Ludington State Park, we made a stop along the beach to extend a perfect fall day.
While we wait for the entire park to come back better than ever, we have still found ways to enjoy Ludington State Park!
Check out this map here to see what is open and what is closed
Check out our full video featuring our day at Ludington State Park!