As of 2024, visitors can enjoy the following new amenities:

The project adopted a "regenerative approach" laid out in the Ottawa Sands Master Plan, preserving the serene aesthetic experience of Ottawa Sands while promoting ecological health. Prior to becoming a county park, 188 acres of the park had been significantly disturbed by the previous sand mining operations and were not functioning as intact natural communities, including the manmade mined lake. In collaboration with Audubon Great Lakes and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), with funding from the Sustain our Great Lakes program and the Fisheries Habitat Grant program, Ottawa County Parks & Recreation embarked on a number of active ecological enhancements including: 

• Converting a six-acre area of filled-in mining lagoon to interdunal wetland
• Planting native marram grass and native seed mix dispersal on constructed dune for stabilization
• Shoreline grading and placing woody habitat structures around the lake for habitat
• Planting native plugs and seeds around the lake
• Dune construction
• Invasive species removal

Project Funding

The projects at Ottawa Sands were made possible thanks to the support of many partners, private donors, and grants. We are grateful for the additional support: 

• The previous owner sold the property to Ottawa County Parks with a generous donation of 25% of the $11.22 million appraised land value.
• The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) granted over $8 million for land acquisition.
• The Land Conservancy of West Michigan (LCWM) was instrumental in supporting the acquisition by purchasing about half of the property with funding from The Conservation Fund, which allowed Ottawa County Parks time to secure the grants needed to purchase the property. LCWM donors raised nearly $400,000 to support the acquisition. 
• A $30,000 Coastal Zone Management grant and $17,460 from the Ottawa County Parks Foundation allowed for the completion of the Ottawa Sands Master Plan.
• Philanthropic gifts totaling $3.48 million, including a $2.5 million gift from the Bill & Bea Idema Foundation, supported significant access improvements projects and the Idema Explorers Camp.
• Philanthropic contributions helped leverage other grants for additional amenities such as a $300,000 grant from the MNRTF for the lake loop, $3.4 million in funding from the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners, and a $242,900 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant for the day-use restroom.

Learn more about the early project days and funding