hartwick pines state park

This state park is a favorite of our family for years as I was growing up. The old growth forest was a gift of the family of the lumber company who owned the property. The lumberman museum gives you a taste of what it was like to harvest the forest resources in the early 1900's.

These old growth white pines will bring a Pacific Northwest rainforest feeling in the middle of a hot bright Midwest summer day! Quite a unique and unexpected feeling in Michigan, and it is so close from the interstate that there is no reason to not make a detour while on a long road trip and take a relaxing walk under the big trees! The logging museum is definitely worth a visit, and so is the beautiful chapel.

My wife and I saw the sign along the expressway the day before and decided to visit later in the week. On the day we visited the Hartwick Pines State Park we arrived late in the afternoon, after all we were on "vacation" time. However, if you're going to add this historic park to your itinerary, do yourself a favor and give it plenty of time because there is so much to see. We did the best we could to see as much of the service center and all of the historic logging industry buildings and displays that we could. I think it's important to know as much as you can about the logging industry as you can before you venture into the woods along the walking paths. There is so much to see and learn about so we plan to return again next spring and enjoy springtime in the Hartwick Pines State Park.

My husband visited as a child & wanted to share it with me. Neither of us was disappointed: The magnificence of the pines, the perfect displays that truly capture life at the lumbering camps. The incredible equipment is displayed outdoors.The pathways wind through the beauty, pointing out in modest signage the trees you see. There is a perfect log church hidden in the pines. The indoor displays are informative & well done. A rare family outing without commercialism.

My wife and I camped in the upper peninsula of Michigan this past summer. On our way back to Chicago we detoured inland to see the last stand of old growth white pines in Michigan. We are both tree hugging arborists and look for great trees wherever we go. The camping was good, clean and family friendly. Our campsite was nice and well maintained. The park itself is quite nice and well worth the visit. The main building is amazing with all kinds of exhibits and things to do. The actual trees are really something. It was pouring rain so we had the trails to ourselves. The old logging camp was fascinating...........and a bit sad to think people thought it was a good thing to just wantonly chop down the whole state's worth of forest. It's amazing this little patch survived. If you like camping and trees, this is worth the visit.

Great place to visit in Grayling. Lots of hiking/biking trails that are used for cross country skiing in the winter. Good visitor center that tells the history of logging in the area. Very nice campground with hookups and large sites. Paved bike trail into town.

Very nice park with miles and miles of varied hiking trails. The electric sites from about 30 - 48 are nicely spaced and wooded. The others are for RVs and are kind of wide open and stacked together. We were in a tent in a site in the 40's and it was perfect. The electrical hookup was very close and water wasn't too far. The park has miles of hiking trails both right at the campsite and across the road along the East Branch of the Ausable River. The river trail is beautiful with pamphlets describing things to see. The river is beautiful but a little to small for fishing. There are also two crystal clear lakes in the park, very small but perfect for a canoe and one has a dock for fishing. I saw a nice big bass under the dock in the "trout" lake. The camp had lots of large showers and a clean main restrooom. One hint, don't buy firewood at the gas stations in Grayling. Very wet. We found firewood on the M72 near Burton's Landing road for $3.50 a bunch and it was perfect. They also apparently sell wood in the park but II didn't see any.

Stopped to do some hiking and was able to catch a Guided hike by Craig of the old growth forest. He was very informative and interacted well with all age groups on the walk. Once at the logging camp, one of the guides -Ken B. Showed us around and answered all of our many questions. The guides have much information. The visitor center was very nice but for some reason had no working bathrooms and only porta potties. We will try to be back for snowshoeing or cross country skiing by latern light this winter.

This is well worth a stop off highway, especially if you like old growth forests with huge trees. Very pleasant to drive and walk around the park. The visitors center is also well worth a few minutes to check out. I would highly recommend this place.

My husband and I recently visited Hartwick Pines. We took our dog and it is certainly a dog friendly location. There are several walking trails we walked the 'Old Pine' trail and a portion of the trail to the Ausable River. The Old Pine trail is pretty short there is one area that is hilly, but the entire thing is paved with lots of benches along the path. The Ausable trail is more rustic without benches. We made it to the River and there was not much to see and too many mosquitos so we headed back to the car. This would be a great place to stop off for lunch on a long drive up north. They have plenty of picnic tables and even grills for BBQ. There is a play area for kids too. There is a covered area that can be rented and the bathrooms are clean. We did get a map from the ranger, but don't bother it is useless.

Easy, fun, for all ages from 5-50 was our group. You can pick many hiking, kayaking events and the Welcome center was very nice! We would go back to see what we missed.

My friend was married in the chapel on the hill, it was a beautiful day. Came back the next day to explore more of the trails and loved it. I would definitely recommend visiting here...

If you don't have a state park pass, it will cost $11 for a Michigan played vehicle. The museum's aimed to educate on history of logging (thorough), native trees, threats to them, birds, and animals (kids thought the display on the dozen plus types of scat was both funny and cool). The have various pelts kids can touch, Bird sounds, and a couple other "hands"items kids will play with. Now there is 2 separate parts to the museum. The main one is the first right past the gate and then up the stairs in the parking lot you come to (1/4 mile from the right turn?). It has some logging info but covers a myriad of info. The 2nd one has some hands on displays, full size mock up of The equipment used to move logs and build winter paths and a small display mill.The 2nd one you can drive to but it is quicker and a nice walk down a paved path through the woods. Just go out the back door of the museum, immediately turn left, go about 20', and turn right. The path is the same as a typical golf cart path. Turn left a at sign for log museum. 3/8 of a mile. They have a guided tour (not scheduled. .. look for the guy in RED).

Offers many trails and the great Northern Michigan beauty! There is a play area for children, and many picnic tables with grills to use.

We've spent many summers in Hartwick Pines campground. We've often walked the trails through the woods and visited the visitor center. Its always interesting and fun for the kids. Beautiful scenery :)