It’s always a good day when you can hike at Maple Bay. The beach area is amazing in the summer and the shoreline and woods are always a great place for a walk. Just finished a snowshoe hike down to Petobego Pond. The wind was howling but the bay was beautiful.

This park is one of the public access points to the Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. It has a winding, sometimes steep path through the woods down to the beach. There are actually three points to the beach via trails that come out in different places along the beach. It was really beautiful when we went there. The waves were really pounding, the sun was warm, and the color of the water was several shades of green and blue.

Great little rocky beach. Nice wide hiking trail very family friendly. No trash cans so plan appropriately to keep the beach clean and fun for everyone. #stixdean

Maple Bay Natural Area is open from sunrise to sunset (see photo).  This park has beautiful beaches with small dunes and two in-out hiking trails through a pretty forest with East Bay views.  However, during hunting season gun shots can be heard coming from the adjoining State Game Area on the north end of the park which creates an uncomfortable environment for hiking.  Also, beach litter and unleashed dogs are a current problem too.  The trailhead has an outhouse but there are no facilities on the beach.

Beautiful shoreline & wooded trail. Love it in the winter. Snowshoe, hike when the snow is low or just add some Yaktraks to those boots. Now that you can hike all the way up to Petobago Pond, it's even more beautiful. It's a very important watershed, and it's great that it is being protected from development.

Loved the trails! Beautiful scenery! Trails lead to the beach and to petobego bay trails.

Cannot say enough good things about this gem of a beach. It’s a great place for a short hike and picnic with your family. We’ve used it a couple times for profesional pictures, as their are curves to the beach structure as well as full wooded and partially wooded areas. Keep in mind, it is a bit of a walk to the beach. It’s worth every step!

What a hidden gem... beautiful woods... quiet .. the beach is usually empty and we saw bear tracks and alot of dead fish... 😅

Nice, easy hike with a nice beach. The beach was pretty busy with a lot of boats but we didn't see anyone else on the trails even though the parking lot was filled. We really enjoyed it!

In 2021 the parking lot is not setup to turn trailers around. I was able to turn around by pulling in, backing into where a car would park, and then pulling back out. I have a 20 foot trailer.

Great trails and beach area.