| Warren Dunes State Park | |
| Iucn Category: | IV |
| Photo Width: | 288 |
| Map: | USA Michigan#USA |
| Map Width: | 250 |
| Nearest City: | Bridgman, Michigan |
| Coordinates: | 41.9153°N -86.5933°W |
| Area Acre: | 1,952 |
| Governing Body: | Michigan Department of Natural Resources |
| Url: | http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/details.aspx?id=504&type=SPRK |
Warren Dunes State Park is a 1952acres Michigan state park, located along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan in Berrien County. The park's large sand dunes and lakeshore beaches make it one of the most popular of Michigan's state parks with an average of about one million visitors annually.
Large sand dunes are found throughout the park. Among the park's dunes are Mt. Fuller, Pikes Peak, and Mt. Edwards, with the most significant being Tower Hill, the highest point in the park, which stands 240 feet (73 meters) above the Lake Michigan. This dune is the one that is most visible to visitors, many of whom delight in scrambling up its slopes and rushing back down again. Easy access to the dunes make it a popular location to practice the sport of sandboarding.
The dunes and beach area was preserved by a local businessman, Edward K. Warren,[1] who originally purchased the site as a favor to a friend who had encountered significant financial difficulties.[2] By 1930, the Warren Dunes area had been taken over as a state park.[3]
The park has six miles of winding trails.
Metal detecting is permitted in designated areas of the park; however, any found items are subject to review by park staff and may be retained pending further investigation.
Most of the park north of the beach area is open to hunting for part of the year.
Warren Dunes was in the top five most popular camping destinations in the state of Michigan based on Google search traffic.[4] The park contains two main campgrounds: Warren Dunes Modern and Warren Dunes Semi-Modern. Warren Dunes Modern has almost 200 campsites and is on the inland side of the dunes within walking distance to the beach.[5] Warren Dunes Semi-Modern is rustic and much smaller with only about 30 campsites. It has a variety of campsites, some with high levels of privacy and others that are fairly close together. Both campgrounds are immensely popular and normally at full capacity in July and August.[6]
Clear skies allow viewing of more stars than in most populated areas.