St. Clair County

St. Clair County Parks and Recreation

The St. Clair County Parks and Recreation Commission is funded by a special 0.49 mill property tax for the purpose of improving parks and recreation services in St. Clair County.

This year marks the 30th year that the St. Clair County Parks and Recreation Commission (PARC) will distribute 25% of the County Parks and Recreation millage funds collected back to the local units of government. The 25% of the property tax it collects, is distributed back to local units of government based on their populations, for the development of local parks and recreation facilities and programs.

The 2024 Local Millage Distribution table (link to chart below) includes the 2020 census figures used to calculate each community’s share; the amount of millage funds distributed to each community from 1995-2024; and the amount of millage funds distributed to each community for 2024.

In order for the 33 local units of government to receive their annual share of the County Parks and Recreation millage funds, each community’s governing board must approve the submission of an annual Local Millage Distribution request form that outlines how the community has spent their share of the millage funds during the past year.

The St. Clair County Parks and Recreation Commission currently operates 8 county parks and 2 trails; the 366-acre Goodells County Park, 411-acre Columbus County Park, 30-acre Fort Gratiot County Park, 44.5-acre Woodsong County Park, 5-acre Fort Gratiot Light Station, 6.5-acre Blue Water River Walk County Park, .34-acre Marine City Dredge Cut, the 12.5-mile long Wadhams to Avoca Trail, and the new 12-acre North Channel County Park currently being developed in the southern most part of St. Clair County. The Commission also assists local units of government with the development and promotion of the Bridge to Bay Trail.

The Parks and Recreation Commission also provides specialized mobile recreation units for use at community events including two portable stages, two portable bleacher units, and crowd control barriers.

St. Clair County Parks offers a wide range of recreational opportunities including, but not limited to:

biking
rollerblading/inline skating
horseback riding (marked trails only)
sledding
swimming
bird watching
geocaching
Disc golf
historic tours/ interpretation
special events
fishing
hunting
sightseeing
playground activities
picnics
facility rentals

St. Clair County Parks works in partnership with several local groups that provide programming within the St. Clair County Parks system. Those partners include the Port Huron Museum, St. Clair County Farm Museum, Wales Historical Society, Can-Am BMX, Prop Busters RC planes, Redline Racing RC cars and the Friends of the St. Clair River.

A full list with details for each park and trail can be found in the tabs to the left.

Parks & Recreation links: