Pigeon Creek (Winter Hotline: 616-738-9531)

Pigeon Creek Park offers groomed, lit cross-country ski trails, ski and snowshoe rentals, ski lessons, sledding and more! This year visitors will be especially pleased with the new, upgraded LED trail lighting on one of our trail loops. Old incandescent lighting will continually be replaced with LED throughout the season. The Pigeon Creek Lodge opens for the season once a good base of snow has fallen. Visitors can rent skis and snowshoes as well as warm up with hot chocolate or chili by the fire -- learn more below. Lodge hours rely on the weather, so keep the hotline number handy: 616-738-9531

Pigeon Creek Park Hours: 

7 AM-8 PM; open until 10 PM with trails and sledding hill lit during satisfactory snow conditions. 

Pigeon Creek Lodge Hours: 

Monday-Thursday: 4-8 PM 

Friday: 1-10 PM • Saturday: 9 AM-10 PM • Sunday: 9 AM-8 PM

From December 21-January 3: 9 AM-10 PM daily 

Closed December 24 & 25, even if snow conditions are good

Rentals: Available during lodge hours, up to two hours before close. Standard equipment rentals are two hours, but can be extended. Sizes available for adults & children. Skis are available for children ages 10+; snowshoes are available for children 4+. 

Skis: $8 Adults • $5 Youth • $2 for each additional hour

Snowshoes: $6 Adults & Youth• $3 for each additional hour; snowshoe rental also available at Hemlock Crossing.

Lessons: Cross-country and skate ski lessons are available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays during January and February. For exact dates and pricing information, check our calendar. Preregistration is required and space is limited. We offer three levels of classes:

• Beginner: Learn about equipment and basic techniques. For adults & children 10+; every two children must be accompanied by an adult.
•  Intermediate: For experienced adult skiers wishing to refine their technique and ski more efficiently. 
• Skate Ski: For experienced adult skiers who want to learn the basics of several skate techniques. Skate skis are required and a limited number are available to rent in the lodge.

Hemlock Crossing

Snowshoe rentals available (pricing above) for adults and children (4+) at the Nature Education Center. Guided walks are offered throughout the winter; take a look at our program calendar for dates. Visitors are invited to warm up in front of a fire in the Great Room after their snowy outing!

Hemlock Crossing Hours: 7 AM-8 PM (trails are ungroomed)

Nature Education Center Hours: 

Tuesday-Saturday: 9 AM-5 PM • Sunday: 12-5 PM

Natural Features Inventory Project

Last October Ottawa County Parks partnered with a local botanist, herpetologist, the local Audubon Club, and other volunteers to survey six of our coastal parks throughout the course of a year. The results are in, and we’ve found that Ottawa County is home to a large variety of plants, animals, and insects. 

If you’d like to learn more about the many natural wonders right here in Ottawa County, please join us on Sunday, March 6 from 3:30-4:30 PM at the Nature Education Center for a presentation by Melanie Manion, the Parks’ Natural Resources Management Supervisor. 

Parks Surveyed:

• Hemlock Crossing/Pine Bend     
• Paw Paw Park (East)
• Port Sheldon Natural Area   
• Hiawatha Forest
• Rosy Mound Natural Area
• North Ottawa Dunes

Treating Phragmites along the Grand River

This year marked the third and final year of a Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Restoration Act grant to treat public and private land along the Grand River for phragmites, a common and invasive tall reed. Parks staff and volunteers worked alongside the Ottawa County Invasive Phragmites Group and GEI Consulting to treat land in a variety of ways. 

The first two years they focused on treating large sections of land quickly, applying herbicides by helicopter. This year, the team wanted to focus on more targeted areas so they treated by boat and by hand, as well as with specialized equipment. They put in 455 man hours over 15 days, treating roughly 55 acres of wetland. 

While the treatments have been very effective, another essential component of the project was working cooperatively with private landowners. “Many of the land owners have had three years of outreach and education and truly understand not only the ecological impact of phragmites, but also its effects on property value,” said Melanie Manion. “We made even more progress this year than previous years because we were able to make personal contact with each land owner. Many new participants realized that without their involvement the success of the program would greatly diminish.” 

Of the 80 land owners in the treatment area, 85% participated, making the program very successful. Ottawa County has received state-wide recognition for its collective efforts to fight phragmites. 

Ottawa County Parks updates its comprehensive long-range parks plan every five years and is currently working on a plan to be completed in early 2016. The plan looks out ten years into the future and is important in establishing direction for the park system and the expenditure of park millage funds.  

The last parks plan identified the need for a new beach on Lake Michigan which became Olive Shores, new park development at Connor Bayou and Eastmanville Bayou, land purchases and park improvements at Grand Ravines, extensive trail development at the Upper Macatawa Natural Area, and park improvements and habitat restoration at Paw Paw Park. Clearly the plan can affect changes in the park system, although the scope of new developments called for in the upcoming plan will be reduced somewhat as operating costs have grown.  

A concerted effort is made to obtain public input in a variety of ways and to use that input to shape the plan. This year, the Parks Commission completed three surveys:

• A Park User Survey was completed through the Frost Research Center at Hope College.
• A scientific survey of county residents was completed by EPIC - MRA of Lansing.
• The general public was invited to take a similar survey online.

A draft plan will be released at the Parks Commission January 6 meeting. Further comment will be accepted until the February 10 Parks Commission meeting, when approval of the plan is anticipated.