Dodge No. 4 State Park

I was up in Pontiac a while back.  On the way back I noticed the sign for Dodge No. 4 State Park.  Since this was a park I'd hoped to visit, I made the detour.  This was a pretty small park and I was able to able to explore it pretty well, though I'd still like to get back there when the weather was nicer.

One of the first things I saw when I got there were deer. This rather surprised me given how urban the area was. 

Dodge No. 4 State Park covers about 159 acres along the shore of Cass Lake.

The land was donated by the Dodge Brothers Corporation (Dodge) with the condition that it remain a public park.

The Dodge brothers donated 11 tracts of land to the state in the form of state parks and recreation areas.  I believe that this is the only one to maintain the Dodge name.  Highland Recreation Area was once called Dodge Brothers Site No. 10.

A pair of swans.

Despite the proximity to Pontiac, this was pretty peaceful.  I expect that it'd be much busier during the height of summer and if the weather had been nicer.

I enjoyed watching these swans and for awhile I saw no one else.  Talking to one of the rangers who was doing maintenance she told me that aside from the deer and birds, there is a fox den in one part of the park and in the spring and summer you can see them sunning themselves.

One final shot. 

Looking out at Cass Lake.

The swimming beach.

A foot bridge under repair.

The picnic area.

There was a hill covered in pines in the center of the park.

I enjoyed this area of the park the most.

The sidewalk to nowhere.  After walking up the sidewalk towards pavilion it just ended.  I'm not sure if there was something here previously.  It looked like there used to be a road over this ridge, but if there was, it had been removed some time before and had been pretty well sculpted into the landscape.