Onekama Village Park
Location
South Side of 4700-4800 Blocks of Main Street, Onekama
About
- Community park
- 3.914 acres+-
- Some of the facilities/park areas meet accessibility guidelines
- Accessible from paved thoroughfare
- Swimming beach, boating, picnicking, multi-purpose sports area, concerts, children’s play area, enjoying open space with trees and flowers, and recalling the area’s historical past
Description
The Onekama Village Park, which was first developed in 1939 by WPA crews, is located on Portage Lake, and has facilities for parking forty cars and boat trailers. Parking also is available for thirty-two additional cars. There are a boat-launching ramp, a bathhouse with indoor toilets and sinks that are handicap accessible, a swimming beach, a multi-purpose sports area, a children’s play area, a picnic shelter, picnic tables, and grills. The Park is landscaped with many trees for shade. The Park also contains the historical marker, “The Portage Lake Region”; the Memorial Fountain, which is on the National Register of Historic Places; and the “Music” propeller. The Park is owned, operated, and maintained by the Village of Onekama.
In 2008, a jetty was completed adjacent to the existing Village Park boat launch. Although the Onekama Village Park is not large (approximately 3.914 acres), it is a community park, which serves Village and Township residents and seasonal residents as well as visitors to the area.
The Village of Onekama through the Manistee County Alliance for Economic Success in the spring of 2012 led a grant application for $105,300 from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund to provide resources for Phase I of the development of the Park. The match is $52,600, making the total project cost $157,900. The grant was awarded in December of 2012. The Park improvements are universally accessible and include installation of Peron steps, a barrier- free ramp to the beach, Mobi mats to the beach, beach nourishment, and interpretative signage to foster watershed stewardship.