Orchard Beach State Park is a public recreation area that spans 201 acres (81 hectares) along the shore of Lake Michigan in Manistee Township, Manistee County, Michigan. Located on a bluff three miles north of Manistee, the park provides camping, hiking trails, and scenic views of Lake Michigan.

History

The park was created by the Manistee, Filer City, and Eastlake Railway Company and opened in 1892. When the company stopped providing trolley service to the park, the site was bought by the Manistee Board of Commerce and given to the state to become part of the Michigan state park system in 1921.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked in the park during the 1930s. Members of the CCC built several limestone structures, such as a pavilion, toilet, line house, and pump house. In 2009, the park was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places because it is described as "one of the most well-preserved examples of a Michigan state park developed in the 1930s and 1940s under National Park Service guidelines…. still have[ing] the majority of its CCC-era buildings and physical layout."

In 2019, high water levels from Lake Michigan began to erode the sandy bluff where the CCC-built pavilion was located, putting the structure at risk of being destroyed. The pavilion was moved away from the shore in December 2020.

Activities and amenities

The park provides three miles of hiking trails, areas for picnics, and a campground with 166 sites. The beach is closed because of high lake levels.