Haithco Park — Attraction in Saginaw Charter Township

This park offers a good experience, yet some improvements could make it better. My wife and I came here yesterday and the beach was crowded, but we found one nice shady spot near the edge of the sand. Perhaps the area with sand could be expanded just a little. It was a pleasure to just sit around outside and hear the birds and hear the children laughing. It's good to have rules and regulations, but one of our biggest complaints is that administration was overly aggressive. Yesterday was over 90 degrees and sunny for most of the day, yet staff repeatedly pulled everyone from the water and even the sand due to "hearing thunder" or other reasons. The minimum time they pulled everyone from the beach was 30 minutes at a time. I feel that they really could make it 15 minutes if they really need to clear the beach. Also, the park is on the edge of a major roadway (I-675), so we suspected that maybe what was heard was related to a large truck. My wife and I waited until 5PM to get into the water so there would be more room and we literally swam for the allowed 15 or 20 minutes although we had hoped to be allowed to swim for maybe an hour as swimming time goes until 7:30PM. Yes, out of a 2.5 hour stretch of time, the beach was open for 15 or 20 minutes! So, most of the afternoon and evening was spent waiting near the sand and hearing a cranky voice on a loudspeaker telling people to get off the sand whenever a poor kid wanted to just build a sandcastle. Although I have some complaints, I am still giving this a fair rating as it's really a nice resource for people in the Saginaw area who can't travel farther and it's got some nice bells and whistles (e.g. concession area, small boat rental, pavilions, built-in grills, volleyball nets, etc.) Concessions and boat rental rates are fairly reasonable - $4 for 30 minutes on a paddle vote and $2 for a Powerade drink. Admission is $5 per car if you aren't local (we came from Bay County). So, a decent experience overall with a few problems. But yeah, one day later, we are sitting here sunburned despite all this "thunder" or whatever reasons they came up with and we are trying to get the lifeguard whistle sounds and the loud speaker voice out of our heads... "THE BEACH AREA IS CLOSED. THIS...

So, it's a fantastic park until 7:30pm. After that, even though it's not listed, the beach and splash pad closes. This is literally the only beach I've ever been at that requires lifeguards in order to use the lake, (and I've been to a lot of lakes in Michigan). It's frustrating that the park is open until 9pm, but you can't do anything there besides use the playground. If they really want to make it safe, they should just close the park at 7:30 if that's what they want to do. Having the playground so close to the lake, it just makes more sense to close the entire park at 8 or something. They can't let people swim because there's no lifeguard, but then those same lifeguards stick around to rake the sand! How ridiculous!!! Maybe pay them to do their actual jobs, lifeguard until the park closes, not to be grounds keepers for sand! If it wasn't so frustrating it would be funny at how...

Haithco is one of Saginaw County's five parks. This park is very beautiful and has many opportunities for everyone's enjoyment.

During the summer season the park offers kayak, canoe, paddle-boat, and rowboat rentals. If you have your own non-motorized boat, you simply pay for a very reasonably priced launch ticket and you are able to enjoy being out on the lake. Other opportunities at this park include fishing from two fishing docks, swimming at the beach, availability of pavilions on the north and south ends of the lake, grills and picnic tables throughout the park. If you are just looking for an opportunity to go on a walk, there is a trail going almost completely around the lake.

The seasonal staff provides supervisors, lifeguards, booth attendants, and park rangers for your safety and assistance, as well as to keep the park...