State officials said the past century has been good for Michigan parks. They rate in the top five most visited state park systems in the country, second to only California when it comes to camping and lodging.
Ron Olson is the chief of parks and recreation for the Department of Natural Resources.
“Well we’re up to over 27 million visitors a year.”
Olson said the amenities have evolved in the parks from simple camping to activities like paddle boarding and fat tire biking.
The Michigan state park system will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year.
Olson said state parks have changed a great deal in the past century.
“There’s an evolution for camps. We have paddle boarding and kayaking that has evolved from canoeing,” he said. “We have a lot of trail running activities, we have a lot of proliferation of mountain bike trails that have evolved within the last 20-30 years that virtually non-existent before.”
Olson said the state has plans to continue adding more activities and advancing mobile technology in its parks.
The state will be celebrating throughout the year, in person and online.
Olson said funding for Michigan parks comes from sources other than the state’s general fund.
“Virtually all our money comes from earned revenue either through our park endowment fund which is basically fueled by mineral royalties from gas and mineral extraction from leased land,” he said. “And then, the camping fees are still our largest source of revenue for our state parks and then the recreational passport.”
Olson said the DNR encourages Michigan motorists to purchase a state park passport. It’s a current source of funding for Michigan’s 100 year old park system
The DNR is a financial supporter of WCMU.