LAINGSBURG — In a normal year, Marv Argersinger and his cohorts in the Friends of Sleepy Hollow State Park would be gearing up about now for their fall events to raise money for park improvements.

But 2025 is definitely not a normal year for the popular, 2,600-acre park nestled along Lake Ovid, about 20 minutes north of Lansing, just northwest of Laingsburg.

The 180-site modern campround is closed all season while the state Department of Natural Resources builds a new shower and toilet building, paves campground roads, updates the beach building and adds a second dump station.

That means Argersinger's group will forgo the couple of Halloween events it usually does in early October. It also means the throngs of summertime campers aren't there this year, although the day-use areas of the expansive park, including the swimming beach north of the campground and the boat launch southwest of the main park, are open as usual.

No worries. The popular destination and stop-over point in the Michigan state parks portfolio will be that much better when the campground reopens in 2026, he's figuring.

"I think that will be the biggest thing, the shower and rest facilities," said Argersinger, the group's president. "Also, the roads. The kids walk on the roads, and they're being redone."

A little bit of everything

People enjoy the beachfront on Lake Ovid in Sleepy Hollow State Park Sunday, June 22, 2025.

The modern campground at Sleepy Hollow is typically full on weekends when it is open, although sometimes there are openings during the week, park Manager Jodi Nieschulz said. It's necessary to reserve a site through the state booking system if you plan to camp there on a weekend in 2026 and beyond, she added.

The park draws visitors from the local area, as well as elsewhere in Michigan and other states, for reasons that include its proximity to Michigan State University, Nieschulz said. It's long been a popular stopover point for people headed further north, she said.

In short, it's got a little bit of everything for the outdors-minded.

People come out for the calm, no-wake lake amenable to fishing and kayaking, as well as the hiking, biking and equestrian trails, Nieschulz said.

The park has six rustic campsites, two cabins, four fishing piers, a kayak launch, a disc golf course and 12 miles of horse trails.

The facilities being replaced date to the 1980s, and the new toilet and shower building will meet current Americans with Disabiity Act standards, Nieschulz said. Many campers with RVs will be happy to know that a second sanitation, or pump-out, station is being added to accommodate them, she added.

The park typically has about 15 summer staff, but Nieschulz said she didn't have to hire anybody this year.

"I can't wait for everyone to come back camping next year," she said. "(But) everyone can still come out and enjoy the park during the day," she said.

Tackling a backlog of improvements

The beach area in Sleepy Hollow State Park offers swimming, fishing from a dock, small boat rentals, and a picnic area. Photo: Sunday, June 22, 2025.

Michigan has more than 100 state parks and 140 state forest campgrounds.

The work going on at Sleepy Hollow is among more than 180 projects in the ARPA program in various phases of completion, said Kristen Bennett, development unit manager in the DNR's planning section.

The state is using American Rescue Plan Act money to tackle "a decades-long backlog of improvements to state parks, recreation and trail system infrastructure and rehabilitation needs," the DNR announced last summer.

The initial ARPA funding included $250 million allocated in March 2022. About $30 million of that was dedicated to building a new state park in Flint, and another $23-million allocation in August 2023 was devoted to rehabbing Belle Isle State Park in Detroit, bringing the total ARPA program to about $273 million.

The work at Sleepy Hollow will cost about $4.35 million, the DNR said.

Argersinger, of St. Johns, said he's been involved with the Friends of Sleepy Hollow for more than a decade. The group has funded various improvements, including playground equipment, a pavilion, the kayak launch and other things the park wasn't able to do because of budget constraints, he said.

The Sleepy Hollow Trail Riders Association maintains the equestrian trails and works to make the park better, too, he said.

Argersinger said he's glad the state is reinvesting in the park, which he says is more secluded and has more tree cover than many other state parks, giving it more of a rural or "up-north" type of feel.

"I think it's good they are putting money into (the park)," he said. "It's a good family place to go."