Hiawatha National Forest is a 894,836-acre (362,127 ha) National Forest in the Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan in the United States. Commercial logging is conducted in some areas. The United States Forest Service administers this National Forest; it is physically divided into two subunits, commonly called the Eastside 46°14′N84°50′W and Westside 46°08′N86°40′W.
Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation's 61st national park on February 15, 2019. The park runs for about 20 miles (32 km) along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers 15,349 acres (6,212 ha). Along the lakefront, the eastern area is roughly the lake shore south to U.S. 12 or U.S. 20 between Michigan City, Indiana, on the east and the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant on the west. To the west of the steel plant lies West Beach and a small extension south of the steel mill continues west along Salt Creek to Indiana 249. The western area is roughly the shoreline south to U.S. 12 between the Burns Ditch west to Broadway in downtown Gary, Indiana. The area conservation scheme is enhanced by the older Indiana Dunes State Park. In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog, in LaPorte County to the east; the Heron Rookery in Porter County, the center of the park; and the Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County, the western end of the park.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a United States National Lakeshore located along the northwest coast of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan in Leelanau and Benzie counties near Empire, Michigan. The park covers a 35-mile-long (56 km) stretch of Lake Michigan's eastern coastline, as well as North and South Manitou islands. This Northern Michigan park was established primarily because of its outstanding natural features, including forests, beaches, dune formations, and ancient glacial phenomena. The lakeshore also contains many cultural features including the 1871 South Manitou Island Lighthouse, three former stations of the Coast Guard and an extensive rural historic farm district. In 2011, the area won the title of "The Most Beautiful Place in America" from Good Morning America. In 2014, a section of the park was named the Sleeping Bear Dunes Wilderness by the United States Congress.
Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan, is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popular tourist destination, it is home to several small- to medium-sized cities, extensive state and national forests, lakes and rivers, and a large portion of Great Lakes shoreline. The region has a significant seasonal population much like other regions that depend on tourism as their main industry. Northern Lower Michigan is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale, which are also located in "northern" Michigan. In the northernmost 21 counties in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, the total population of the region is 506,658 people.
The protected areas of Michigan come in an array of different types and levels of protection. Michigan has five units of the National Park Service system. There are 14 federal wilderness areas; the majority of these are also tribal-designated wildernesses. It has one of the largest state forest systems as well having four national forests. The state maintains a large state park system and there are also regional parks, and county, township and city parks. Still other parks on land and in the Great Lakes are maintained by other governmental bodies. Private protected areas also exist in the state, mainly lands owned by land conservancies.
Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located in Porter County, Indiana, United States, 47 miles (75.6 km) east of Chicago. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest and is surrounded by as well as within the authorized boundaries of Indiana Dunes National Park, a unit of the National Park Service; the NPS owns the water from the ordinary high water mark to 300 feet (91 m) offshore. The 1,530-acre (619.2 ha) Dunes Nature Preserve makes up the bulk of eastern part of the park, and includes most of the park's hiking trails and dune landscape. This was one of the first places Richard Lieber considered when establishing the Indiana State Park system. Like all Indiana state parks, there is a fee for entrance. Indiana Dunes State Park was established in 1925 and designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974.
Holland State Park is a public recreation area covering 142 acres (57 ha) in Park Township, Ottawa County, four miles (6 km) west of the city of Holland, Michigan. The state park consists of separate Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan units on the northern side of the channel connecting Lake Macatawa with Lake Michigan. It is often the most visited state park in Michigan, receiving between 1.5 and 2 million visitors annually.
Wilderness State Park is a public recreation area bordering Lake Michigan, five miles southwest of Mackinaw City in Emmet County in Northern Michigan. The state park's 10,512 acres (4,254 ha) include 26 miles (42 km) of shoreline, diverse forested dune and swale complexes, wetlands, camping areas, and many miles of hiking trails. The state park is operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which has, as of 2006, approved a proposal that 4,492 acres (1,818 ha) be officially dedicated as a wilderness area. Wilderness State Park was designated a Michigan "dark sky preserve" in 2012.
Aloha State Park is a public recreation area located six miles (9.7 km) south of Cheboygan in Cheboygan County, Michigan. The state park covers 107 acres (43 ha) on the northeast side of Mullett Lake at the center of the Inland Lakes Waterways.
Cheboygan State Park is a public recreation area covering 1,250 acres (510 ha) on the shores of Lake Huron in Cheboygan County, Michigan, United States. The state park offers views of the Fourteen Foot Shoal Light and the remains of the 1859 Cheboygan Point Light plus a distant view of the Poe Reef Light, some six miles to the northeast.
Fisherman's Island State Park is a public recreation area of 2,678 acres (1,084 ha) sitting on six miles (9.7 km) of Lake Michigan shoreline southwest of Charlevoix, Michigan. It is named for a small piece of land, Fisherman Island, located some 900 feet (270 m) from the mainland. For most of the period from 1998 to 2016, historically low lake levels resulted in the island becoming attached to the mainland via a tombolo. The park's interior terrain consists largely of rolling dunes covered with maple, birch and aspen broken up by bogs of cedar and black spruce. The park is operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Ludington State Park is a public recreation area located two miles north of Ludington, Michigan, occupying 5,300 acres (2,100 ha) between the shores of Lake Michigan and Hamlin Lake. The state park is crossed by a one-mile stretch of the Big Sable River and is home to the 112-foot-high (34 m) Big Sable Point Lighthouse, which dates from 1876.
South Higgins Lake State Park is a public recreation area covering 1,000 acres (400 ha) on the southern shore of Higgins Lake five miles southwest of Roscommon in Roscommon County, Michigan. The state park occupies one mile of shoreline on Higgins Lake and entirely surrounds Marl Lake and portions of the Cut River.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor and accepted by the Natural Resources Commission. Currently the Director is Daniel Eichinger. The DNR has about 1,400 permanent employees, and over 1,600 seasonal employees.
Pinckney State Recreation Area is a Michigan state recreation area in Dexter, Sylvan and Lyndon Townships, Washtenaw County and Putnam and Unadilla Townships, Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The park is 11,000 acres (4,500 ha) and sits at an elevation of 922 feet (281 m). The park is connected to the nearby Waterloo State Recreation Area by the 35-mile (56 km) Waterloo–Pinckney Trail. Pinckney State Recreation Area is open for year-round recreation including hiking, fishing, swimming, hunting and a variety of winter sports.
Garnet is an unincorporated community in Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is located within Hudson Township. As an unincorporated community, Garnet has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own.
French Farm Lake is a lake in Wawatam Township in Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. 802 acres (325 ha) in size, it is located approximately 2.7 miles (4.3 km) southwest of Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is the northernmost lake of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. It is served by the North Country Trail from Mackinaw City and by local dirt roads.
The Hobart Nature District is located in the City of Hobart, Indiana and includes over 1,000 acres (400 ha) of scenic parks, wetlands and floodplains, winding rivers, peaceful lakes, open prairies, oak savannas, old-growth forests, and undulating ravines.
