Parks commission studying new stair designs

The 32-year-old wooden stairs at Laketown Beach Park are now history, and the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission is considering what the next chapter will be for access to Lake Michigan.

The commission at a special meeting Tuesday, May 6, 2025, reviewed two options for stairs through a portion of Laketown Township Beach. No decision was made and the commission asked Matt Levandoski, senior landscape architect for the engineering firm Prein&Newhof, to come back with modifications for the May 21 meeting.

Two options

Levandoski presented two options for stairs from the area called “the plateau” just west of the parking lot through an area called “the bowl” to the beach.

Each option has 220 feet of 5-foot-wide wooden stairs with railings. Each option is north of where the previous steps were located.

The first option, which Levandoski called the “get ‘er done approach,” is basically a straight line down the dune with nine landings. The cost is estimated to be $137,500. With removal of old snow fence and the addition of fencing, the total estimated cost is $163,575.

The second option zigzags through the dune with resting and viewing balconies and benches. The cost is estimated at $181,250. With removal of old snow fence and the addition of fencing, the total estimated cost is $207,325.

Levandoski included site restoration costs for dune grass plantings, shrubs and trees and the addition of snow fence. With these site restoration items, Option 1 is estimated to cost $247,835. Option 2 is estimated to cost $291,585 with the restoration items.

The steps with proper maintenance would last about 20-30 years, Levandoski said.

The township has remaining budgeted funds of about $115,000 in a capital improvements fund and cost savings that might be available, if approved by the board of trustees, to support the construction of new stairs to the beach according to Interim Manager Steven Ringelberg.

Commissioners asked Levandoski to come back to the commission’s May 21 meeting with modifications to Option 1, adding more balconies and benches.

In the meantime, the commission requested Ringelberg have staff post signs that warn visitors of the difficulty of getting up the dune without stairs. Signs will also be added at property lines telling visitors that the stairs on adjoining property are private and off limits.

The township is also investigating ways to get wi-fi service to the beach so visitors can call for help if needed.

Old stairs gone

The township closed the stairs on March 26 due to safety concerns. Curtis Bergman began disassembling the 32-year-old steps on April 17 and is expected to have the debris completely removed by Friday, May 9.

The beach is still accessible.

The stairs from the parking lot up the dune remain open though they are covered in sand. Please stay on the marked paths to protect the dune. Take the path through “the bowl,” a steep drop with a flat bottom. Stay off the edges and do not disturb the dune grass. Once at the bottom of “the bowl,” you’ll see another small hill. Go up and head to the lake.

Heed the no trespassing signs and follow other rules of the beach, including no fires.

To get back up the dune, stairs are no longer an option. Visitors must walk back up through “the bowl.” It is a difficult walk because of the soft sand. There are no handrails or any assistance to get back up.