At the turn of the new century, our family moved to the house at "Four Oaks on Harbor Point." It was not the kind of home that had a name, like Tara in Gone with the Wind, and even a nick-name for our back yard would be a pretentious description were it not for the majesty of the four oaks that shaded that plot long before the house was built.
A local arborist once told me these giant oaks are among the finest specimens he's seen in this area. The largest of the four oaks is more than 250 years old. Imagine that.
That means that the sapling of that tree was already rooted during the Revolutionary War. It would have been nearly 100 years old after the Civil War; 150 years old during WWI; and 200 years old when our house was being built in 1968. Several years ago, I met the children of the original owners of our house. Nearly my age now, they told me when they lived here that they had a tractor-tire sand box where our fire pit is. They, too, knew the shade of the four towering oaks.
In the summer of 2015, we built the large screened-in porch on the south end of the house. It was then I reused old patio pavers around the fire pit, and added the wooden deck as a porch for our RV. The spot has served as a guest house for many years, and in 2022, we opened the experience to a broader group of friends through Outdoorsy.
You may be looking for a quick, quiet get-away in the shade of these four oaks; You may wish for a place to rest after enjoying the beaches of West Michigan (five minutes away); or you may be eager to hit the road and explore the beauty of Michigan with your spouse or family. Four Oaks on Harbor Point is a great place for your experience to begin.
Four Oaks is just five minutes from the Grand Haven boardwalk / state park / shopping or North Beach Park or Ottawa Sands (hiking) or Hoffmaster State Park. We are located on the 12-mile bike path around Spring lake and one mile from the kayak entry at Smith's Bridge. (Bikes, Kayaks, and / or paddle-boards are available at reasonable hourly rates.) Before retiring, enjoy Grand Haven's Musical Fountain or a quiet campfire back at Four Oaks, and/or time in the hot tub.
