Petoskey State Park, located on the north end of Little Traverse Bay, is
situated on 303 scenic acres and offers a beautiful sandy beach on the bay. The
park has two separate modern campgrounds. Tannery Creek offers 98 campsites, and
Dunes offers 70 campsites.
The park land was originally deeded to Pay-Me-Gwau under an Ottawa Indian
treaty in July of 1855. Later, much of the land was the site of the W.W. Rice
Company. In 1934, the City of Petoskey purchased the land and named it the
Petoskey Bathing Beach. In April of 1968, the beach was sold to the State of
Michigan. On May 21, 1969, the state was given the title to the land. The
campground opened its sites to the first campers in July of 1970.
