MANISTEE TOWNSHIP, MI – This state park with beach in its name has been lacking one for many years now. There’s no change in sight.

Orchard Beach State Park was named for its beach and an orchard that once stood in its place just north of Manistee atop a 100-foot bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. That bluff now poses a danger to would-be beachgoers.

“The debate is, really, should we provide access to the shoreline where we know dangers exist when there are lovely beaches just a few miles away?” said Park Supervisor Dan Young.

There hasn’t been a beach since 2017. That’s when high water levels came up to the bluff and began washing it away. Water and wave action ate away at the bottom of the sheer drop, making it unstable and causing large pieces sluff off.

Since then, the Michigan Depar

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