The Village of Spring Lake aims to open the smallest park in Michigan... but did Grand Rapids already beat 'em to it?

Spring Lake to Open Michigan's Smallest Park

Spring Lake's Downtown Development authority announced plans for the tiny park on Friday, March 31, 2023.

The DDA has been looking for ways to create more common spaces within its social district.

Village of Spring Lake, Facebook
Village of Spring Lake, Facebook
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Spring Lake DDA Director Stefanie Herder states in a release,

During the pandemic, the Village was awarded a grant to purchase a concrete cornhole set for our social district. We placed the cornhole game in this location along South Jackson Street for folks to enjoy. I kept looking at this area and thinking about how else we can enhance that space to encourage more people to use it.

That's how the idea was born to create the smallest park in Michigan on the east side of South Jackson Street between Well Adjusted Chiropractic and the former Seven Steps Up.

Herder began researching and found that the smallest park in the country is in Portland, Oregon, with a total area of 452 square inches, but couldn’t find any information about the smallest park in Michigan...

She says,

There wasn’t much out there about an official, smallest park in Michigan. I took this information and tied it in with our goals for more gathering spaces in our Social District. Why not create a new common space AND make it Michigan’s Smallest Park?

The new park will add amenities including seating, plants and planters, shade, and more. There are two parallel parking spots along this space, so a food truck could potentially set up there.

Work should start on the small park this summer and the DDA is looking for input on a name from residents.

But will it actually be the smallest park in the state?

The City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Department had some thoughts about that...

Where is the Smallest Park in Michigan?

The Village of Spring Lake didn't share the dimensions of the new park, but there is very small park already in existence - in Grand Rapids.

According to GR Parks and rec, Sundial Park, which is located at 501 Cherry St SE, is the smallest in the city, at only .005 acres. (Or to be more accurate, .00498 acres...)

City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation, Twitter
City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation, Twitter
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The statue, which can be seen in the below photo was donated to the city in 1925, and is is now at John Ball Zoo. The picture on the right is a current photo of Sundial Park.

City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation/ Facebook
City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation/ Facebook
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You know what though, there's room for more than one small park in Michigan! (Literally. I mean, they are super tiny...) So congrats to Spring Lake on their new teeny park!

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