Isabella County Parks to Celebrate Completion of Herrick Recreation Area Development Project with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony May 27, 2026

Isabella County Parks will host a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at the Herrick Recreation Area campground bathhouse (6320 E Herrick Rd, Clare, MI 48617) to celebrate the completion of the Herrick Recreation Area Development Project.

Construction for the Herrick Recreation Area Development Project began in Fall 2025, to renovate the campground bathhouse at Herrick Recreation Area and make it more accessible. The bathhouse was built in 1986, and had not been updated in almost 40 years. Old metal doors were beginning to rust, fixtures were showing their age, and both the interior and exterior of the building were in need of an upgrade. Completed this Spring 2026, the bathhouse now has all new fixtures in both the men’s and women’s restrooms, new paint, countertops, partitions, lighting, mirrors, updated shower stalls, shower benches, hooks and doors that indicate when a shower is in use. The wheelchair-accessible stalls in each restroom have also been brought up to modern ADA standards. On the exterior, there is brand new siding, paint, soffits, gutters, and a new roof with new bathroom vents.

In addition to the improvements to the bathhouse itself, new concrete was poured around the bathhouse to widen the sidewalks and make them more even. New concrete parking pads were also poured in the gravel parking lot nearest to the bathhouse, one reserved for those with disabilities, with a wide, concrete pathway leading up to the bathhouse, to further improve accessibility for all. New landscaping, to be installed later this spring, will further enhance the beauty of the newly updated exterior.

“This building has served our guests well for decades, but was in dire need of substantial updates,” said Alexis Hansen, Director of Isabella County Parks and Recreation. “We are grateful to have received support from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources through the awarding of Spark Grant funds,which have helped us immensely in making these much-needed improvements."

This project was funded in part by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) through their Michigan Spark Grant program. These grants, awarded in October 2023, supported projects that provided safe, accessible, public recreation facilities to improve people’s health and that built on existing park infrastructure. The goal was to help local communities create, renovate and redevelop public recreation opportunities for residents and visitors—especially those communities whose economies and health were hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was all made possible through the Building Michigan Together Plan, signed in March 2022, which included a historic infusion of federal funding in state and local parks.

The Isabella County Board of Commissioners, Isabella County Parks and Recreation Commission Board, and the Isabella County Parks Staff would like to extend their sincere gratitude for the generous support of the MDNR in making this project possible. Thank you also to our prime professionals, The Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio and JFR Architects, and our contractors, The Isabella Corporation and Denali Construction, for their work on this renovation project.

Any questions regarding the ribbon cutting can be directed to the Isabella County Parks Main Office at (989) 317-4083.