Sterling State Park: Michigan's only state park on Lake Erie
Frenchtown Township is home to Sterling State Park — a mile of Lake Erie beach, lagoons full of birds, and a trail link to the national battlefield park.
Michigan has more than a hundred state parks. Exactly one sits on Lake Erie, and it’s in Frenchtown Township. William C. Sterling State Park puts about 1,300 acres on the shore just northeast of Monroe. There’s a long sandy swimming beach and a modern lakefront campground that books up fast in summer. There are fishing lagoons, too, and a paved loop trail through restored marshes. During migration, the birding along that loop is some of the best in southeast Michigan.
The park also connects to a piece of American history. A trail links it to the River Raisin National Battlefield Park, one of the country’s newest national park sites. The battlefield’s new visitor center is on North Dixie Highway. Add the warmest swimming water of any Great Lake, plus one of the busiest walleye fisheries in the country offshore. Frenchtown’s stretch of coast quietly offers a lot more than most people expect from this corner of the state.
Where to see it
Off Dixie Highway just northeast of Monroe, in Frenchtown Township; beach, campground, fishing lagoons, and paved trails.