Hastings Parks and Recreation
The Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for all matters relating to the construction, management, maintenance, and operation of the physical properties and services of the parks and recreation facilities owned, leased, or operated by the City of Hastings.
The Department is responsible for general operational oversight of the parks and related facilities, including administration of the ordinances related to park operation. The Department works with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and other State and Federal agencies to obtain services and funding for improvements to the parks and recreation system.
The Department works with and provides funds for the Barry County YMCA to provide recreation services for local residents. Recreation facilities within the parks are utilized by numerous public and private groups.
The Parks and Recreation Department is administered by the Department of Public Services. The Director of Public Services is charged with direct oversight of the Department. Personnel and equipment from the Department of Public Services are utilized for maintenance and other operations within the park facilities.
Recreational Activities
Along with owning and operating eight municipal parks, the City of Hastings also offers a variety of recreational activities.
- Located across from the Barry County Courthouse on West State Street is a four-screen movie theater.
- Only fifteen minutes away is Historic Charlton Park;
- the scene of Civil War battle re-enactments
- antique auto shows
- home to a sixteen- building historic village including a museum that houses one of the state’s outstanding collections of agricultural and rural artifacts.
- Nearby is the recreational area where picnic pavilions, a ball diamond, beaches, and boat launches on Thornapple Lake are available.
- Just under twenty minutes from Hastings is the Yankee Springs Recreation Area with three miles of frontage on Gun Lake, picnic areas, campgrounds, foot trails, an area for snowmobiling, cross-country/ski trails, and the Devil’s Soup Bowl.
- Adjacent is Yankee Springs State Game Area with 3,000 acres open for hunting.
- Approximately half an hour from Hastings is the Gilmore Car Museum that offers double-decker buses, and a dazzling collection of antique automobiles, displayed in big red barns. Also within half an hour of Hastings are a total of nine public golf courses.
