Treehouses, yurts and more coming to all-seasons campground at Ottawa Sands
FERRYSBURG — Construction is underway at Ottawa Sands County Park for a new all-seasons campground, with a unique twist.
Contractors broke ground on the project a few months ago, and foundations for both rentable yurts and treehouses have been set.
While the site, located on the southeast side of the park, may be confusing to visualize now, Ottawa County Parks and Recreations’ ultimate plan for the area is to have an interconnected treehouse and yurt village, with all the amenities needed for a comfortable stay along the Grand River.
“It’ll be a really unique experience in a really unique location,” said parks planner Aaron Bodbyl-Mast. “There’s nowhere in West Michigan that has this kind of curated campground, so we really feel like this is a first-of-its-kind thing. You can come back every year and have a different experience.”
The three treehouses — essentially cabins raised into the trees on eight-foot-tall stilts — and all five yurts will include air conditioning and heating for year-round use. The grounds will also include 10 tent pads for campers to rent.
Each treehouse and yurt will include a living space, kitchenette area, outdoor grills, electrical outlets and beds. The campground will also include a communal restroom and shower building, which Bodbyl-Mast explained will use a rainwater harvesting system to be more sustainable.
A kayak launch sits only a short walk away, and the campground offers communal fire pits.
In addition to a prime location on the shores of Grand River and a short ride away from Lake Michigan, the site will also connect with the Grand River Greenway, giving both locals and tourists a place to stay when hiking or boating along the 9,000 acres of public land between Grand Rapids and Grand Haven.
“There’s 2,400 acres of public land and dozens of hiking trails and bike connections [around], so this campground puts you in an unbeatable location,” Bodbyl-Mast said.
Bodbyl-Mast said there's no set price for renting the yurts and treehouses yet, but the department is on track to complete construction by next spring.
Once complete, it'll be called the “Idema Explorers Camp” after the Bill and Bea Idema Foundation.
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Bodbyl-Mast said the department only plans to develop eight percent of the total acreage at Ottawa Sands, with the rest of its master plan outlining ecological improvements to the former sand-mining area.
“The people who know Ottawa Sands and visit it absolutely love it, and we didn’t want to impact the aesthetic experience. ... This will just give an opportunity for more people to experience it and make it a much more open and pleasant experience for everyone."
This article originally appeared on Ionia Sentinel-Standard: Treehouses, yurts and more coming to all-seasons campground at Ottawa Sands
