Until 2024, a sand mining operation was still working the acreage that now sits north of Rosy Mound Natural Area's main trailhead. The pit had been in continuous operation since 1924, a full century, before Ottawa County finished buying the land and folded it into the park. That 127-acre purchase nearly doubled Rosy Mound, taking it from 164 acres to 291 acres and adding new frontage along Lake Michigan. Last fall, the county held a dedication ceremony on site and named the planned dune loop trail through the new acreage after Alice Hoban, a volunteer who has put in two decades with Ottawa County Parks.
If you walk Rosy Mound, Kirk Park, or Hemlock Crossing on a regular basis, you already know these three places by feel: the stairs at Rosy Mound, the off-leash beach at Kirk, the river bend at Hemlock Crossing where the kayak launch sits. What's less visible is that all three are funded through the same county mechanism, and that mechanism came up for a public vote twice this year. One question has already been decided. The other is still on the ballot.
The Land That Used to Be a Sand Pit
A few miles north of West Olive on Lake Shore Drive, just over the line in Grand Haven Township, sits Rosy Mound Natural Area, the kind of county park that ends up on the same trail loop as Kirk Park even though it belongs to a different township. Rosy Mound's original footprint came from a 1994 purchase, when Ottawa County bought 164 acres from a sand mining company along Lake Michigan. The company kept working an adjacent 127-acre parcel for another thirty years. The county finally completed that second acquisition in 2024, bringing the park's total to 291 acres and 3,450 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline.
The expansion isn't finished scenery yet. County planners spent part of 2024 gathering public input on three different design concepts for the new acreage, drawing more than 1,500 survey responses before settling on a master plan. That plan calls for a new entrance area with parking and a modern restroom, plus an ADA-accessible loop trail and connections into the existing dune network. The county is now moving into what it calls Phase One construction, meaning the trail Alice Hoban's name is attached to exists on paper and in a construction schedule, not yet as a finished path you can walk end to end.
The Playground Down the Road at Kirk Park
Kirk Park, at 9791 Lake Shore Dr N in West Olive, is best known locally for its off-leash dog beach and its network of hiking and cross-country ski trails. Somewhere in the same stretch of county capital spending that's funding the Rosy Mound build-out, it got a smaller, faster upgrade: a new playground and a renovated restroom with changing facilities.
The two projects sit at opposite ends of the same funding stream. Rosy Mound is a multi-year land acquisition and trail expansion. Kirk Park's update is a targeted facility improvement at a park that was already fully built out. Both draw from the same source, which is worth knowing before the next section, because that source almost didn't renew itself this year.
| Park | Location | Known for | Recent change | Funded through |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Park | West Olive | Off-leash dog beach, hiking and ski trails | New playground, renovated restroom with changing facilities | Ottawa County Parks & Open Space Millage |
| Rosy Mound Natural Area | Grand Haven Township | Dune climb, 1,000 feet of stairs, Lake Michigan shoreline | 127-acre expansion complete (2024); Phase One construction underway on a new entrance, parking, and ADA loop trail | Same millage, listed capital project |
| Hemlock Crossing | West Olive | Six miles of trail along the Pigeon River, kayak launch reaching Lake Michigan | No expansion; day-to-day operations, nature center staffing, and seasonal rentals kept running | Same millage, operating budget |
The Vote That Kept the Trail Crews Working
The Parks & Open Space Millage has funded Ottawa County's park system since voters first approved it in 1996. By 2026, the existing 0.33-mill rate had been rolled back to 0.31 mills under the state's Headlee Amendment, and the whole millage was set to expire this year unless voters renewed it.
On August 4, they did. The renewal and restoration passed with 56,119 yes votes to 28,077 no votes, a 66.65 to 33.35 margin with all precincts reporting. The renewed rate restores the full 0.33 mills for ten years, running from 2027 through 2036, and is projected to generate about $6.2 million in its first year. Roughly $1 million of that is earmarked annually for major renovations and upgrades, a category that explicitly includes the Rosy Mound Phase One work: the new parking area, the ADA-accessible loop trail, and the trail connections tying the expansion into the existing park.
"The overwhelming support shows how much Ottawa County residents appreciate these treasured places," said Kelly Rice, president of the Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission, after the results came in. "It's a win for the people and wildlife that call Ottawa County home."
Had the vote gone the other way, the millage would have lapsed, and Rosy Mound's construction schedule would have lost the funding line that's currently paying for it.
One More Question Still on the Ballot
The August renewal wasn't the only park funding question Ottawa County put in front of voters this year. Because that renewal passed, a second measure now appears on the November 3 ballot: an additional 0.20-mill increase, on top of the restored 0.33 mills.
If voters approve it, the combined rate would run at 0.53 mills from 2027 through 2036, generating close to $10 million a year across the county's park system, which spans more than 7,700 acres of parks, trails, and open space. County materials describe the additional money as funding for expanded trail connections, more accessible amenities, and additional land protection beyond what the renewal alone covers. Whatever happens on November 3 will shape how far the Rosy Mound investment goes past Phase One, and whether trail expansion becomes a routine part of the county's work over the next decade or a one-time project tied to a single land purchase.
What This Looks Like on the Ground This Fall
None of this shows up as a headline while you're actually at the park. What shows up is the kayak launch at Hemlock Crossing, where the Pigeon River runs slow enough to paddle in either direction, and where a longer trip can take you all the way out to Lake Michigan. Hemlock Crossing's six miles of trail wind through bottomland and upland forest on the west side of West Olive, and the nature center there runs a rotating schedule of guided programs through the fall before switching over to winter mode, when the park rents snowshoes for both kids and adults on its groomed cross-country trails.
None of that changed this year. It didn't need to. The millage renewal isn't only paying for new dune trails at Rosy Mound. It's the same revenue line covering the staffing, rentals, and maintenance that keep Hemlock Crossing's nature center open on its current schedule and Kirk Park's new restroom stocked and functioning. The August vote wasn't really a referendum on one expansion project. It was a renewal of the operating budget for every park in the county, Rosy Mound's new acreage included.
The dune loop trail named for Alice Hoban doesn't have a ribbon-cutting date yet. But it has a name, a funding source, and a construction timeline that started before the November ballot even closes.
The Ron Webb Real Estate Team spends plenty of time on these same trails, and we're keeping an eye on how the Rosy Mound build-out and the November millage question turn out. If you want to know when Kirk Park's new playground opens for the season or when the Rosy Mound loop trail gets its ribbon cutting, reach out and we'll point you to it.
