Bay City State Park’s new nature

BAY CITY, MI — Between the splash park and a brand-new playground, kids have no shortage of fun things to do at Bay City State Park this summer.

Bay City State Park recently opened its new nature-inspired playground to the public for families to enjoy a safe and interactive place to play by the bay. The park is designed with nature in mind, with playful features such as decorative cattails, mushroom stepping stones, acorn-shaped seats and realistic-looking rock walls and logs for kids to climb on and play with.

"It's nice to have it finally completed," said Park Manager Rich Fenner. "That's what we wanted, to do something that was based on nature play and represented the area."

Work started on the new playground in the fall of 2022. The funding process began in 2018, and the old existing playground was shut down and demolished in late 2020. All this had to be done while contending with the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects.

The old playground, built, like many others from the 1990s, with pressure-treated wood, had to be removed due to age and contamination concerns. It was similar to the Imagination Station at Veterans Memorial Park, which was removed and ultimately replaced with the "Play City" destination playground.

"It outlived its lifetime. We maintained it as long as we could, and it came to the point where we had to replace it," said Lead Ranger Michael Barker.

One of the new playground's highlights is a giant fish-shaped play structure, complete with a springy balance board tail and climbing bars and ropes.

"The fish is one the main features that drew us to this design, so it kind of represents the fishing out here on the Bay," Fenner said.

The ground around the equipment is covered with a special rubberized material that is spongy to walk on and is meant to reduce the risk of injury from falls.

Some of the play structures are situated on top of little hills that are also coated with the rubber surface. Different types of climbing equipment are dotted along the hills for kids to use as they explore the playground.

"Not only does it create climbing, it creates a hiding place," Barker said. "So kids chasing each other, you know, you can hide behind it. But it's also open enough that you can see through the entire thing."

The playground has two main sections: one for younger children with smaller equipment and the other with larger, more challenging obstacles for older kids.

"So there's a lot of thought that goes into each of the little features. The playground has different criteria for each feature that it meets for the playground, whether it's a learning atmosphere, or like swings and activity, physical demands on a person," Barker said. "Playgrounds are well thought out as to what they do and each part of it."

The response to the playground has been robust, with kids and their families flocking to the park to try out the new equipment since it opened the weekend of June 3.

The project was funded with a $400,000 commitment from the Department of Natural Resource's capital outlay funds, a $400,000 land and water grant, $50,000 from the Bay Area Community Foundation, and $25,000 from the Friends of Bay City State Park group.

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Bay City State Park’s new nature