Pavilion relocated from eroding bluff in Michigan state park

$3.6 million project included an engineering study, design and construction

Sunset over Lake Michigan on July 7, 2018. (Meredith Bruckner)

MANISTEE, Mich. – A pavilion at a state park in northern Michigan has been relocated from an eroding shoreline.

The shelter at Orchard Beach State Park now is 230 feet from Lake Michigan in Manistee, the Department of Natural Resources said.

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The shelter stood for more than 70 years on a bluff, which has become unstable due to waves and rising water levels. It was about 50 feet back from the bluff’s edge before the move.

It now will serve as the centerpiece for the 200-acre park’s revitalized day-use area, offering improved accessibility for shelter visitors and, eventually, a new playground, the state said.

The $3.6 million project included an engineering study, design and construction.

Orchard Beach State Park is 60 miles southwest of Traverse City. The shelter was completed in 1947. Along with the park, the pavilion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

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