Highland Park Association

Highland Park Association. . Side 1, On May 10, 1886, the city of Grand Haven leased 60 acres of land to the newly founded and incorporated Highland Park Association for the purpose of establishing a resort community. Most of the 51 original members of the Association were prominent local businessmen; however in its first century of maintaining the park, the Association expanded to include cottage owners from across North America. Their cottages are nestled on Nipissing Age dunes and among hardwood forests characteristic of the eastern shore of Lake Michigan., Side 2, By 1923 the Highland Park Association consisted of over 100 cottages, miles of boardwalk and a hotel. The boardwalks, many of which remain, provide access to the dunes while protecting them. At the park's centennial there were 98 cottages, but, the once stately hotel was destroyed by fire in 1967. This unique environment is a climax dune habitat with a variety of wildflowers, small animals and migratory birds. The biological and geological landscape of Highland Park provides a recreational and educational resource for all visitors.