The entrance to Lincoln Township Beach is about half a mile north of I-94 exit 22. Since 2020, a closed gate has decided how a beach day starts there. The township's facility page still says it plainly: the beach is open, but because of extreme erosion, visitors park before the gate and walk the rest of the way to Lake Michigan.
That walk is now being shortened. So are several others around Stevensville. All of this fall's local projects do the same job. Each one moves the place you leave the car closer to where you want to be, or gives people on foot a lane of their own. The beach is the clearest case, so it comes first.
Why the gate has been closed since 2020
WSJM reported that the beach closed in 2020 after high water ate away the pavilion and the parking area. The fix took years because the site sits in protected critical dunes. In June 2026, Moody on the Market reported that the Michigan DNR had reviewed the plans and specifications and cleared them for public bidding.
The money arrived in two pieces. The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund board recommended a $350,000 grant for the beach improvements in December 2024, according to WSJM. The township put in a $150,000 match. On Aug. 11, 2026, trustees accepted the low bid from Roggow Construction of St. Joseph, $429,873.56, according to the board minutes.
At that August meeting, township engineer Brandon Mieras explained the one timing constraint, as WSJM reported. State rules protecting bat habitat barred tree removal until Oct. 1. Crews could still do structure removal and work down by the beach, where there are no trees, before that date.
What's being built, and what isn't
Crews started the week of Sept. 18. Township Clerk and Interim Township Manager Michael Brown told WSJM that the old restroom had already been removed and grading was underway. Tree removal was set to follow once October began. He described the job as "mostly site work to make it accessible for the public for parking and picnic area," and said no buildings are going up.
| Since 2020 | When the project wraps | |
|---|---|---|
| Parking | Before the closed gate off Notre Dame Avenue, then a walk | 27 spaces right next to the beach |
| Getting to the sand | On foot from the gate | A new walkway to the beach |
| Picnic space | Being added in this project | New picnic tables and concrete flatwork |
| Shoreline | Eroded since the 2020 high water | Reinforced |
| Restroom | Old restroom removed this September | Separate future project, pending another state grant |
In that September 2026 interview, Brown said he expects the work to be finished by next summer, which means summer 2027. Restrooms are the piece left out. They depend on the township landing a second state grant, and there is no schedule for them yet. That is a change from the 2024 concept, which called for rehabilitating the existing restroom rather than removing it.
So the walk from the gate ends next summer, but the beach will open without restrooms. Visitors will park much closer, with a picnic table near the water, and the restroom question stays open until the township finds the money.
Red Arrow Highway is giving up a lane, in two stages
The same idea, less distance and more room for people on foot, is moving up Red Arrow Highway toward the village. It is happening in two stages with very different levels of certainty.
- The county stage, Bridgman to the Stevensville village limits. Berrien County's June 1 construction notice lays out drainage improvements, resurfacing, a nonmotorized trail and a change from four lanes to three, starting at the DC Cook Nuclear Plant signal and running to Stevensville. Work began the week of June 8, with one lane open to traffic during the lane closures. Resurfacing is scheduled to end in November 2026. The county's road update for the week of Oct. 12 still lists the project as active.
- The village stage, through Stevensville itself. Village trustees voted unanimously to apply for a state Transportation Alternatives Program grant. The grant would pay to reconfigure Red Arrow inside the village to one lane each way plus a center turn lane, with a 10-foot nonmotorized path, the Herald-Palladium reported. The lane reduction would happen in 2027 if the village receives the grant.
The county's work stops at the village line. If the grant comes through, the village stage would carry the same three-lane layout and a walking and biking path through downtown. If it does not, Red Arrow will narrow and gain a trail up to the village limits, then go back to four lanes inside town. For now, the only certain change is the stretch south of the village.
The side streets are part of it too
The smaller projects point the same way. The village approved Abonmarche to engineer sidewalks on both sides of Demorrow Road. Residents are invited to talk it through at village hall, 5768 St. Joseph Ave., at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, according to the Herald-Palladium. This is still a planned project, so the meeting comes before any construction.
One village project is already finished. The Hickory Creek Park Community Pavilion on John Beers Road opened during Family Fun Night on Aug. 21. Village President Bert Peters described it as a big plus for the village. The pavilion has restrooms, a small kitchen and a bigger parking lot. It was paid for with a Michigan DNR Recreation Passport grant plus community donations. Hickory Creek has what the township beach won't have when it reopens: parking and restrooms in one place.
The downtown blocks a village path would run past
A 10-foot path through the village matters only if it leads somewhere. Downtown Stevensville's storefronts changed hands this year.
- Naturally You Med Spa and Wellness moved from Royalton Township to 2795 Kimmel St. A Match on Main grant awarded in May helped repair the facade and update the retail space, according to the Herald-Palladium.
- The Happy Monstera Plant Co. moved from Eau Claire to 4150 N. Roosevelt Road. It sells houseplants and exotic plants and has space for events and meetings, the Herald-Palladium reported.
- DogSlinger at 5664 St. Joseph Ave. announced a permanent closure, with Aug. 31 as its expected last day of business, according to the Herald-Palladium.
- Hareloom Café has been serving breakfast and lunch at 5729 St. Joseph Ave., in the former Full Circle Cafe space, since its 2025 opening, Moody on the Market reported.
St. Joseph Avenue, home to village hall, the café and the DogSlinger storefront, is the stretch of downtown that a through-village path would serve.
The dates to watch through January
The projects and the calendar meet at a few fixed points this winter:
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m.: Demorrow Road sidewalk meeting at village hall, 5768 St. Joseph Ave.
- November: Scheduled end of resurfacing on the county stretch of Red Arrow between Bridgman and the village limits.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 2 to 5 p.m.: Christmas in the Village downtown, with local shopping, hot chocolate and Santa, as listed in the Lincoln Township Public Library's Fall 2026 newsletter.
- Friday, Dec. 18, 6 p.m.: Opening night of Americans, a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, at the Lincoln Township Public Library. It comes from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program and the National Museum of the American Indian, and explores how American Indian histories, cultures and identities connect to the story of the United States. The library is presenting it in partnership with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, and the exhibit runs Dec. 19, 2026, through Jan. 30, 2027.
- Summer 2027: Target for finishing the Lincoln Township Beach parking, walkway and picnic area. The village's Red Arrow lane change would also come in 2027, if the grant comes through.
You may be wondering whether a new path along Red Arrow, a sidewalk on Demorrow Road or parking next to the township beach will change daily life on your street, or how it might matter when you sell. That is a conversation Joy Schwarting is glad to have, with the project details in hand and no pressure attached. Schedule a Consultation when you want a candid local read.
