Hartwick Pines State Park

Hartwick Pines State Park is a public recreation area covering 9,762 acres (3,951 ha) in Crawford County near Grayling and Interstate 75 on the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The state park contains an old-growth forest of white pines and red pines, known as the Hartwick Pines, that resembles the appearance of all Northern Michigan prior to the logging era.[4]

Hartwick Pines State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)[1]
Hartwick Pines Logging Museum
Location in Michigan
LocationGrayling Charter Township, Crawford County, Michigan, USA
Nearest cityGrayling, Michigan
Coordinates44°44′26″N 84°40′14″W[2]
Area9,762 acres (3,951 ha)
Elevation1,250 feet (380 m) [2]
DesignationMichigan state park
Established1927[3]
AdministratorMichigan Department of Natural Resources
WebsiteHartwick Pines State Park
Bright Lake in the park.
Campground in the park.

History

The Hartwick Pines are a 49-acre (20 ha) old-growth remnant of a pine grove that was withdrawn from logging by a local timbering firm in 1927—a time when very little old-growth pine remained in northern Michigan. One of the heirs of the firm's original owners, Karen Michelson Hartwick, donated the grove, which was then 85 acres (34 ha) in size, and 8000 surrounding acres (32.4 km2) of cutover land to the state of Michigan as a memorial to the logging industry.

Sallin Hansen Lumber Company heavily logged much of the property within Hartwick Pines State Park during the 1880s and 1890s. The Civilian Conservation Corps planted many of the park's trees in the 1930s as part of a massive restoration effort. Hence, this forest is known as "second growth."

On November 11, 1940, the Armistice Day Blizzard badly damaged the Hartwick Pines old-growth pine grove. 36 acres (15 ha) of old trees were destroyed by windthrow from this and other storms, leaving behind the 49 acres (20 ha) that remain.[4]

Logging museum

The Hartwick Pines Logging Museum was erected by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1934–1935. It contains recreated exhibit rooms, photographs and artifacts of the lumber boom years of northern Michigan. The museum is located in two replica logging camp buildings and has outdoor exhibits of logging equipment and an enclosed steam-powered sawmill that is operated during summer events. The museum is administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Michigan History Museum.[5]

Activities and amenities

The Michigan Forest Visitor Center contains an exhibit hall on the history of the forests in Michigan, an auditorium, classroom space, a bookstore operated by the non-profit Friends of Hartwick Pines, and restrooms. The visitor center has an auditorium that can seat 105 people and a nine-projector multi-image slide show. The show is approximately 14 minutes long and shares the story of logging from past until today.[6] Programs and special events are offered throughout the year.

The state park includes a campground, day-use area, and network of four-season trails for summer hiking and winter cross-country skiing. The Old Growth Forest Trail to the pine grove is a loop 1 1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) long. The Old Growth Forest is an even-aged stand of pines estimated to be between 350 and 375 years old. The tallest trees are between 150–160 feet tall, and have a girth of more than four feet DBH (Diameter at breast height). These eastern white pine are some of the largest trees in the eastern United States.[7] The last remaining virgin maple and beech hardwood forest in the state is at Warren Woods State Park.

There are two foot trails on the south side of M-93. The wooded Au Sable River foot trail is approximately three miles in length and takes hikers across the East Branch at two different locations. The Mertz Grade Trail winds through forest and field for approximately two miles and was named for the early logging railroad spur it shares for a portion of its distance.

There are four small lakes located within the state park. Two of the lakes were originally named Bright and Star Lake. However, there were too many Star Lakes so they settled on Bright and Glory Lake.

In the news

Although changes in drilling technology make drilling for oil and gas possible under historically nonproductive strata in northern Michigan, including sections of state forests, the state of Michigan decided in 2014 not to auction off mineral rights under Hartwick Pines. [8]

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See also

References
  1. "Hartwick Pines State Park". IUCN. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  2. "Hartwick Pines State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  3. "When were Michigan state parks and recreation areas established?" (PDF). Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  4. "Hartwick Pines State Park". Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  5. "Hartwick Pines Logging Museum". Michigan History Center. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  6. "Hartwick Pines State Park". Grayling Visitors Bureau. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  7. "Hartwick Pines State Park". Old-Growth Forest Network. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  8. Ron French (September 12, 2014). "DNR yields to public and will not allow drilling under prized land at Hartwick Pines". MLive. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
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