Lake Township Park After November 1: What the Gate Closes and What the Gast Trail Keeps Open

On November 1, Lake Township Park at 10801 Gast Road closes its main gate for the season. The pavilions and restrooms close, and the township shuts off water service in the park by November. The park itself stays open. In its Fall 2026 Community Buzz newsletter, Lake Charter Township says the grounds remain open year-round from dawn to dusk, with parking in the off-season lot.

The change this year is a second way in. The park dates to 1981, and this November a paved 1.2-mile trail runs from it north to Bridgman High School and the city limits. It is the first off-season since that trail's official ribbon cutting. So the park will be easy to reach this winter, but it will have no restrooms or water, and nobody has said in writing whether the trail will be cleared of snow.

What the November 1 switch actually changes

Lake Township's park page sets out two seasons. Most of it is the same in both. Very little of it involves the grass you're walking or throwing on.

The hours, off-season lot, building closures and winter activities come from the township's Lake Township Park page. The water shutoff and the year-round dawn-to-dusk wording come from the Fall 2026 Community Buzz. The pet rule is on the park's posted list of rules, which also bars alcohol and asks visitors not to park or drive on the grass.

The township's own closing note leaves the door open on purpose. The off-season lot stays open, the newsletter says, "so residents can still enjoy a round of disc golf or a leisurely walk through the park throughout the colder months."

A trail planned for two decades, now feeding the park daily

The John W. Gast Memorial Trail is a 10-foot-wide asphalt multi-use path. A Fall 2025 township update said it had been in development for three years and that construction started in 2025. When the trail was first proposed, Harbor Country News reported a route along Gast Road, past Bridgman High School, to Lake Township Park. The park sits at the south end, and the north end reaches the high school and the City of Bridgman.

According to The Herald-Palladium, the trail officially opened with a ribbon cutting at Lake Township Park in May 2026. At the ceremony, former Lake Township Treasurer Bob Clark said, "This trail actually was in the master plan at the township 20 years ago – lots of planning, lots of planning." The trail is named for John Gast, who served 26 years with the township police and another 20 years as Lake Township supervisor.

The same Herald-Palladium report names the funders: The Dalmac Fund, the Frederick S. Upton Foundation, the Berrien County Good Start Program, True Blue Financial, United Federal Credit Union and Sturgis Bank. Change Maker Studio worked on fundraising and grants. Lake Township Supervisor Zach Carson said the township was "very excited to see this finished and give our community a safe place to walk, bike and run."

Five months later, the Fall 2026 newsletter says the trail "continues to draw daily walkers, runners, and cyclists, connecting residents directly to soccer games and disc golf." That connection is why November 1 matters more this year than before. Soccer and softball move indoors or wrap up for the season. The disc golf course and the walking paths stay open, and so does the trail that leads to them.

The winter question the township hasn't answered yet

In the winter 2025/2026 newsletter, the township said the trail "will not be maintained during the winter months; however, this could change in the future as community needs evolve and as we collect feedback from residents."

The Fall 2026 issue covers the park's off-season schedule, the field renovations and the trail's daily use. It does not say whether the 2026–27 winter will be any different. Until the township says otherwise, the most recent published policy is the one from last winter: no winter maintenance "at this time."

That leaves two ways into the park in snow season, the off-season lot and an uncleared asphalt path. The township's own invitation is to walk and play disc golf through the colder months, and it lists cross-country skiing as an off-season activity when the weather allows. The township has said it is collecting feedback, and Township Hall is at 3220 Shawnee, phone 269-465-6601.

Sand Ridge in the off-season

The 18-hole Sand Ridge Disc Golf Course is the main reason the park stays busy after the ball fields go quiet. The township describes it as a park-style layout on a 50-acre facility, mixing wooded fairways with long open-field shots. It has synthetic turf tee pads and Innova DISCatcher Pro baskets, and it has been free to play since it opened in 2005. The course's restrooms are listed as seasonal, open during the warm months. After November 1 that matches the rest of the park.

The organized calendar is thin right now. The Sand Ridge Disc Golf Club's Sunday evening league runs "from early May through fall," according to the township, but no end date for 2026 has been published. On Disc Golf Scene, the club's 2026 league listing shows a spring season from May through June, Sundays at 4 p.m., and no fall entry. The course's tournament page showed the MVP Space Race scheduled for Saturday, October 10, 2026 as canceled, with no other upcoming events listed. For now, a November round at Sand Ridge is a casual one.

Before heading over after November 1:

1. Park in the off-season lot just north of the main entrance, not on the grass.
2. Plan for no restrooms and no water anywhere in the park.
3. Leave dogs at home, since the township describes Lake Township Park as a pet-free facility.
4. Finish by dusk.
5. Expect the trail to be in whatever shape the weather left it, under last winter's no-maintenance policy.

Two October dates before the gate closes

The last weeks of the regular season overlap with two City of Bridgman events. Bridgman's official calendar lists a free family Toth Park Movie Night at Toth Street Park, 9841 Toth, on Friday, October 16, 2026, from 7 to 10 p.m. The film is "Hocus Pocus." The city's October calendar also sets Bridgman trick-or-treating for Saturday, October 31, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., the evening before the park's off-season starts.

For anyone ending a fall afternoon in town, Transient Artisan Ales posts its taproom hours as of September 14, 2026: Wednesday and Thursday 4 to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 9 p.m., and Sunday noon to 7 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday. Since alcohol is banned in the park, that stop belongs at the town end of the walk.

What's still coming to the park

The township's Fall 2026 update lists recent work. Both the baseball and softball fields were renovated, and the dugouts got new roofs and fascia. The newsletter also says a new park entrance sign is coming "in the coming months."

Longer term, there are plans but no schedule. Lake Charter Township's 2024 Master Plan lists goals to complete the Gast Memorial Trail and to work with Bridgman and other communities on linking non-motorized routes to the county trail system. Bridgman's 2018 Master Plan suggested working with Warren Dunes State Park officials on a trail connection to Weko Beach and Lake Street. Both are planning goals. Neither one is funded or scheduled for construction. The trail that exists today runs 1.2 miles from the high school to the park, and starting November 1 it ends at a park with its grounds open and its buildings closed.

If you own a home in Lake Township or Bridgman and want to talk about how projects like the Gast Trail and the park's year-round access connect to the street you live on, Brian Waite follows these local changes closely and is glad to help. Let's Connect.