Bay City State Park on Saginaw Bay near Bay City spans 2,389 acres, combining a sandy beach with extensive wetlands, woods, meadows, oak savannah prairies, and cattail marshes. Its centerpiece, Tobico Marsh, is one of the largest remaining freshwater coastal wetlands on the Great Lakes, making the area important for migratory birds and other wildlife. Established as a state park in 1922, it was renamed Bay City State Recreation Area after the 1994 addition of Tobico Marsh, then regained its original name in 2017. The park serves both recreation and conservation, offering many visitor facilities while preserving one of Saginaw Bay’s key natural habitats despite recurring shoreline water-quality problems.