Your Guide to Buying a Home in Roosevelt Park, MI

Buying a Home in Roosevelt Park, Michigan

Roosevelt Park is located in Muskegon County

Roosevelt Park is located just southwest of Muskegon. It is considered one of the major suburbs of the greater Muskegon area. Named after F.D.R., this community was formed in 1946. It was one of the many residential suburbs in Michigan and the nation that developed quickly after World War II.

It is primarily a residential area with a major business strip along Henry Street, which bisects the community. The "center" of town is considered to be Broadway Ave. between Henry and Roosevelt, with the city hall located just a block south of Broadway, at Oakbridge and Ashland.

Muskegon County is located on the west side of Michigan, with the County's western border on the shores of Lake Michigan. Two lakes with channels to Lake Michigan are Muskegon Lake and in the northern portion of the County, White Lake.

Muskegon County is easily reachable from the East by I-96 and from the South and North by US-31. Grand Rapids, MI is approximately 40 miles to the south east, Grand Haven, MI is approximately 10 miles to the south, and Ludington, MI is approximately 50 miles to the north. Chicago, IL is 180 miles and Detroit, MI is 190 miles.

Over the years, Muskegon has attracted a unique mix of residents which has helped to shape the cultural and intellectual make-up of the community. The original settlers of the nineteenth century were typically native-born Americans from New England, New York, and Pennsylvania. They were quickly joined by immigrants from Canada, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. The industrial surge at the the turn of the nineteenth century attracted large numbers of Southern Europeans to the area, while World War II witnessed the arrival of large numbers of Mexican-Americans, Southern blacks, and Appalachian whites. The melting pot diversity of Muskegon's ethnic heritage is in keeping with the varied nature of other elements of its recent past.

From cross-country skiing to ice skating, squeaky clean beaches to screaming roller coasters, the Muskegon Coastline offers four seasons of recreational fun!

For generations, the area's inland lakes, rivers and spectacular Lake Michigan waterfront have attracted tourists and resorters from throughout the Midwest and beyond. Muskegon County has grown into a major year 'round tourist destination, annually attracting a million-plus visitors.

Swimmers have long loved the area's Lake Michigan waterfront, and the reason is -literally -very clear: Muskegon's Pere Marquette Beach was the only Michigan beach in 2002 given the national designation for the Blue Wave Campaign, certified for safety, cleanliness and environmental health by the Clean Beaches Council, a national, non-profit organization devoted to sustaining America's beaches.

The area is an especially popular destination for boaters. Muskegon Lake, Mona Lake, White Lake and Bear Lake offer access to and refuge from Lake Michigan. You can tour beautiful Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake on the only ship tour the Port City Princess! Nestled inland are over 30 more lakes. The area's numerous public and private marinas offer a range of services, and provide a total of 3,000 boat slips. Several rivers and creeks, especially the White and Muskegon rivers, are popular with kayakers, canoeists, rafters and anglers.

Summer fun for the whole family can be found at Michigan's Adventure, the state's largest water park and only amusement park, located between Muskegon and Whitehall. Acquired in 200 1 by Cedar Fair (the company that owns Cedar Point, in Ohio, four other amusement parks and five water parks), the park has undergone $5 million in renovations and new rides. Another fun spot is Craig's Cruisers, featuring indoor and outdoor games and activities for the whole family. Just north of Muskegon is the Double JJ Ranch, a nationally known year 'round family resort featuring an Old West theme. The resort includes the horoughbred, one of the state's top-rated golf courses.

The Muskegon Coastline is also home to some of the state's finest parks and natural areas. Hoffmaster, Muskegon and Duck Lake State Parks, Manistee National Forest, Muskegon State Game Area, and numerous county, township and city parks feature playgrounds, skateboarding, campgrounds, picnicking, biking, hiking, nature watching, horse-back riding, and fields and courts for just about every sport. The 22.5-mile Hart-Montague Bicycle Trail, Michigan's first linear state park, and the 26.5-mile Muskatawa Trail feature paved trails for biking, walking, running and inline skating. Inline skaters and skateboarders also head to Muskegon's new skateboard park. Muskegon county's numerous golf courses have contributed to Michigan's national reputation as a golf destination. New to downtown is the Monet Garden of Muskegon in which local residents transformed a vacant city lot into a beautiful replica of Monet's famous garden's in Giverny, France.

The county's annual accumulation of more than 100 inches of snow presents invigorating opportunities for outdoor winter recreation. The Hart-Montague and Muskatawa trails convert to snowmobile use, and sledders also zoom along the 120-mile West Shore Trail. Once the lakes freeze, they're soon bustling with bundled skaters, determined anglers and thrill-seeking ice boaters. The Winter Sports Complex at Muskegon State Park includes a cross-country ski course and ice rink, both lighted at night, snowshoe trails and one of only five luge runs in the United States. Built in 1984, the luge run helped speed Muskegon resident and three-time Olympian Mark Grimmette to a bronze medal in the 1998 games, and a silver in 2002.

Muskegon's "shoulder seasons" offer unique opportunities. Spring is celebrated with the popular Trillium Festival at Hoffmaster State Park, and only a rainbow could compete with the colors that grace the county's woodlands every autumn. The "off seasons" are an especially good time to visit the Owasippe Scout Reservation. Operated by the Chicago Area Boy Scout Council since 1911, the reservation is the nation's oldest continuing Boy Scout camp. Encompassing miles of hiking/biking trails, a dozen lakes, several trout streams and a section of the White River, the area is open to the public September through May.

Courtesy of Muskegon County