Big Win for Petoskey & Pere Marquette Parks

$650,000 worth of improvements coming, thanks to Land and Water Conservation Fund

By Lynda Wheatley | Dec. 10, 2021

Did the state’s DNR knew this issue would be our annual Winter Fun Guide? Sure seems like it; they just announced where they intend to spend $7.7 million from this year’s federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, and two sizeable payouts are coming Up North.

First, the bustling HQ of the holiday season in downtown Petoskey, Pennsylvania Park, will receive $150,000, money that’ll be used to expand the sidewalk and area along Park Avenue, as well as for improvements to Petoskey’s Winter Sports Park, home to the city’s ice rink (pictured) and sledding and ski hills.

Down in Mason County, Pere Marquette Township received an even bigger chunk of the pie, albeit for improvements residents and visitors will enjoy most in the non-snowy months: $500,000 for a fishing and boat launch, a key component of the township’s larger plan to transform a still-undeveloped 254-acre parcel along Lake Michigan into the Pere Marquette Conservation Park. The township’s vision for the land, formerly used by Dow Inc., is to become a public destination for year-round outdoor recreation.