West Side County Park — Attraction in Ganges Township

We were here over Memorial Day weekend for a class reunion and the park itself is pretty nice. The beach is NOT a barefoot kind of beach as the zebra mussel shells that are broken up are sharp. Had an unfortunate run in with Allegan police approaching a friend with an unleashed puppy while holding both his gun and taser as if a father with three kids and a puppy was menacing, being passed by multiple other people with their dogs not on leashes. A "photographer" who was hired for the Memorial day event was also taking photos of the kids in the playground area and said to another friend of ours, "I swear I'm not a child pornographer, but my wife and kids might say different." Super disturbing. The man was between 40-60 about 5'6" with graying hair. Super disturbing. For those reasons I probably wont be back and especially not on my own...

beautiful place in the sun, or plenty of shade if you choose to stay in the picnic / playground area. newly built, wide stairs to the water, make this one of the easiest climbs in the area, we carried large tubes and floating chairs and there was room for people to get past us! there are benches along the way to sit and enjoy the view from part way down, or to rest on the way up. this is the only waterfront park that I know of with a ramp down to the water. it's not a steep, frightening ramp, it's a wide ramp with multiple switchbacks that keep the incline / decline manageable. there are lots of stones to dig thru while looking for your favorites; or there is clean white sand to throw down a towel and settle in for the day. I hope you enjoy your time at this park as much...

This is a great place for a picnic and a day at the beach. There are plenty of picnic tables in the shade of old trees and also a pavilion with more tables. There are stationary charcoal grills all along the picnic area as well. There is a playground and a large open space perfect for lawn games or flying kites. There is a public bathroom near the playground and another near the stairs to the beach. There is a wooded area across from the pavilion with a second parking lot, another bathroom and a few more picnic tables. There is a long wooden staircase leading down to lake Michigan, a white sandy beach with a rocky shore. The rocks and pebbles are mostly smooth but it can be rough if you have tender feet. Once you get past the shore the lake bottom is sandy and...