This is a list of Michigan state parks and related protected areas under the jurisdiction or owned by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Parks and Recreation Division. A total of 103 state parks, state recreation areas and trail state parks currently exist along with eight other sites as well as 16 state harbors on the Great Lakes. While the Parks and Recreation Division directly manages the large majority of the parks in the system, a few are either jointly-managed with other agencies or are leased to other governmental entities, either temporarily or on an ongoing basis. Michigan's 103 state parks and recreation areas cover 306,000 acres (124,000 ha) with 14,100 campsites in 142 campgrounds and over 900 miles (1,400 km) of trails. [1] The state parks and recreation areas statewide collectively saw more than 26 million visits in 2016. [2]
Michigan's state parks system was started in 1919. Three Michigan state parks pre-date the creation of the park system in 1919: Mackinac Island State Park (1895), Michilimackinac State Park (1909) and Interlochen State Park (1917).
Mackinac Island State Park was created in 1895. It had served as the nation's second national park for two decades beginning in 1875. In 1909, Michilimackinac State Park was created in nearby Mackinaw City. Both of these parks, along with Historic Mill Creek State Park are under the jurisdiction of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission.
Interlochen State Park was purchased by the Michigan Legislature in 1917 and was the first public park to be transferred to the Michigan State Park Commission in 1920. Because Mackinac Island State Park was a federal gift with its own commission and jurisdiction, for those reasons some choose to not consider it the first state park even though it predates Interlochen State Park by nearly 25 years. [3]
Since 1919, 33 additional state park units have been decommissioned for varied reasons. The majority of these former state park units, 16, were transferred to counties or cities and are still local parks today. Four of the former units were incorporated into Michigan's two National Lakeshores when were created in the 1960s and 70s, while five others were removed and reverted into surrounding state lands (state game areas, state forests, state fish hatcheries, etc.). Four of the units were incorporated into larger state recreation areas in the 1940s in the Greater Detroit area, although one of those recreation areas is now a local park. Two of the former state park units are now state forest campgrounds and another two units existed on state lands which were sold to private interests and closed. (The Former state park units section lists each of these former units.)
DNR operates 746 boat launches on 57,000 acres (230 km2) of designated public water access sites. It also operates 16 "harbors of refuge" as well as providing support for the other 61 harbors in the system. The harbors of refuge are approximately 30 miles (50 km) apart along the Great Lakes shoreline to provide shelter from storms and often provide boat launches and supplies. There are 13 state underwater preserves covering 2,450 square miles (6,300 km2) of Great Lakes bottomland and ten of them have a maritime museum or interpretive center in a nearby coastal community. [4]
The DNR Parks and Recreation Division also manages 138 state forest campgrounds (including a dozen equestrian campgrounds). The Michigan state game and wildlife areas encompass more than 340,000 acres (1,400 km2). DNR also oversees the trail systems in the state. This includes 880 miles (1,400 km) of non-motorized trails, 1,145 miles (1,800 km) of rail-trails, 3,193 miles (5,100 km) of off-road vehicle (ORV) routes and 6,216 miles (10,000 km) of snowmobile trails. [5]
For a discussion of all protected areas in Michigan under all jurisdictions, see Protected areas of Michigan.
Name [6] | County | Size | Estab- lished [7] |
Lake / river | Image | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
acres | ha | ||||||
Bald Mountain State Recreation Area | Oakland | 4,637 acres | 1,877 ha | 1944 | Lower Trout Lake, others | Water Warrior Island waterpark | |
Bass River State Recreation Area | Ottawa | 1,665 acres | 674 ha | 1994 | Grand River | ||
Brighton State Recreation Area | Livingston | 4,947 acres | 2,002 ha | 1944 | Bishop Lake, others | ||
Fort Custer State Recreation Area | Kalamazoo | 3,033 acres | 1,227 ha | 1971 | Eagle, Jackson Hole and Whitford-Lawler Lakes | ||
Highland State Recreation Area | Oakland | 5,900 acres | 2,400 ha | 1944 | Haven Hill, Temple, Moore Lakes and others | ||
Holly State Recreation Area | Oakland | 7,817 acres | 3,163 ha | 1944 | Heron, Valley, and McGinnis Lakes | ||
Ionia State Recreation Area | Ionia | 4,500 acres | 1,800 ha | 1965 | Grand River | ||
Island Lake State Recreation Area | Livingston | 4,000 acres | 1,600 ha | 1944 | Huron River, Island Lake | Hot-air balloon launch area | |
Lake Hudson State Recreation Area | Lenawee | 2,796 acres | 1,132 ha | 1979 | Lake Hudson | First-ever Dark-Sky Preserve designated, 1993 | |
Lime Island State Recreation Area | Chippewa | 980 acres | 400 ha | 2011 | St. Marys River | Visitors provide own transportation to remote island; six rental cabins; Victorian House/Museum | |
Menominee River State Recreation Area | Dickinson, Menominee | 2,879 acres | 1,165 ha | 2012 | Menominee River | Co-managed with Wisconsin's Menominee River State Park and Recreation Area | |
Metamora-Hadley State Recreation Area | Lapeer | 723 acres | 293 ha | 1944 | Minnewanna Lake | ||
Ortonville State Recreation Area | Lapeer, Oakland | 5,400 acres | 2,200 ha | 1944 | Big Fish and Davison Lakes | ||
Pinckney State Recreation Area | Livingston, Washtenaw | 11,000 acres | 4,500 ha | 1944 | Numerous inland lakes | ||
Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area | Oakland | 3,745 acres | 1,516 ha | 1944 | Huron River, Pontiac Lake | ||
Proud Lake State Recreation Area | Oakland | 3,030 acres | 1,230 ha | 1944 | Huron River, Proud Lake | ||
Rifle River State Recreation Area | Ogemaw | 4,449 acres | 1,800 ha | 1963 | Rifle River | ||
Rockport State Recreation Area | Alpena, Presque Isle | 4,237 acres | 1,715 ha | 2012 | Lake Huron | Contains old limestone quarry and Besser Natural Area | |
Tippy Dam State Recreation Area | Manistee | 117 acres | 47 ha | 2007 | Manistee River | Managed under a lease agreement with Consumers Energy. | |
Waterloo State Recreation Area | Jackson, Washtenaw | 20,125 acres | 8,144 ha | 1943 | Numerous inland lakes | ||
W.C. Wetzel State Recreation Area | Macomb | 913 acres | 369 ha | 1969 | Coon Creek | ||
Yankee Springs State Recreation Area | Barry | 5,200 acres | 2,100 ha | 1943 | Gun Lake |
The following state trails are units of the State Park System. Several other state trails fall under Department of Natural Resources jurisdiction and/or maintenance, but are not state park units and are not included here.
Name | Official name | Counties | Length | Estab- lished | Image | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mi | km | ||||||
Hart-Montague Trail State Park | William Field Memorial Hart-Montague Trail State Park | Muskegon, Oceana | 22 | 35 | 1988 | Converted rail-trail | |
Kal-Haven Trail | Kal-Haven Bicycle Trail Sesquicentennial State Park | Kalamazoo, Van Buren | 34.5 | 55.5 | 1988 | Converted rail-trail | |
Lakelands Trail State Park | Mike Levine Lakelands Trail State Park | Ingham, Livingston, Washtenaw | 26 | 42 | 1991 | Converted rail-trail | |
Van Buren Trail State Park | Van Buren | 14 | 23 | 1994 | Converted rail-trail | ||
White Pine Trail State Park | Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park | Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, Osceola, Wexford | 92 | 148 | 1996 | Converted rail-trail |
Name [6] | County | Size | Estab- lished [7] |
Hydrologic Feature(s) | Image | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
acres | ha | ||||||
Agate Falls Scenic Site | Ontonagon | 213 acres | 86 ha | 1992 | Agate Falls | Adjacent to Agate Falls MDOT State Roadside Park. | |
Bond Falls Scenic Site | Ontonagon | 90 acres | 36 ha | 1992 | Bond Falls | DNR-managed facility on Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO)-owned land. | |
DNR Pocket Park | Delta | 1 acre | 0.40 ha | 1998 | none | Within the Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds in Escanaba featuring a fishing pond, archery and pellet gun ranges, a fire tower, a waterfall and a dozen specialty gardens. Open seasonally May through September. | |
Douglass Houghton Falls Scenic Site | Houghton | 115 acres | 47 ha | 2018 | Douglass Houghton Falls | Future State Scenic Site under development. [9] | |
Father Marquette National Memorial | Mackinac | 58 acres | 23 ha | 1973 | Straits of Mackinac (views) | Within the western portion of Straits State Park. | |
Gete Mino Mshkiigan | Cheboygan | 147 acres | 59 ha | 2013 | Mullett Lake | Undeveloped/future state park site managed by DNR Parks & Recreation Division (PRD). [10] | |
Holly Oaks ORV Park | Oakland | 235 acres | 95 ha | 2021 | none | Jointly-managed with Oakland County Parks. | |
Outdoor Adventure Center | Wayne | 0.94 acres | 0.38 ha | 2015 | Detroit River | In historic Globe Building, adjacent to William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor. | |
Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center | Crawford | 32 acres | 13 ha | 1941 | Higgins Lake | Within North Higgins Lake State Park | |
Saginaw River Headwaters Recreation Area | Saginaw | 334 acres | 135 ha | 2023 | Saginaw River | DNR-owned park, managed by Saginaw County Parks. [11] | |
Wagner Falls Scenic Site | Alger | 23 acres | 9.3 ha | 1956 | Wagner Falls |
Michigan's state forest system is administered by the Forest Resources Division (FRD) within the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, not the Parks and Recreation Division (PRD) which manages the state park system, however the Parks and Recreation Division took over the recreation responsibilities of the Forest Resources Division (e.g. the state forest campgrounds and the trails and pathways within the state forests) in January 2012.
This is a list of Michigan state parks and related protected areas under the jurisdiction or owned by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Parks and Recreation Division. A total of 103 state parks, state recreation areas and trail state parks currently exist along with eight other sites as well as 16 state harbors on the Great Lakes. While the Parks and Recreation Division directly manages the large majority of the parks in the system, a few are either jointly-managed with other agencies or are leased to other governmental entities, either temporarily or on an ongoing basis. Michigan's 103 state parks and recreation areas cover 306,000 acres (124,000 ha) with 14,100 campsites in 142 campgrounds and over 900 miles (1,400 km) of trails. [1] The state parks and recreation areas statewide collectively saw more than 26 million visits in 2016. [2]
Michigan's state parks system was started in 1919. Three Michigan state parks pre-date the creation of the park system in 1919: Mackinac Island State Park (1895), Michilimackinac State Park (1909) and Interlochen State Park (1917).
Mackinac Island State Park was created in 1895. It had served as the nation's second national park for two decades beginning in 1875. In 1909, Michilimackinac State Park was created in nearby Mackinaw City. Both of these parks, along with Historic Mill Creek State Park are under the jurisdiction of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission.
Interlochen State Park was purchased by the Michigan Legislature in 1917 and was the first public park to be transferred to the Michigan State Park Commission in 1920. Because Mackinac Island State Park was a federal gift with its own commission and jurisdiction, for those reasons some choose to not consider it the first state park even though it predates Interlochen State Park by nearly 25 years. [3]
Since 1919, 33 additional state park units have been decommissioned for varied reasons. The majority of these former state park units, 16, were transferred to counties or cities and are still local parks today. Four of the former units were incorporated into Michigan's two National Lakeshores when were created in the 1960s and 70s, while five others were removed and reverted into surrounding state lands (state game areas, state forests, state fish hatcheries, etc.). Four of the units were incorporated into larger state recreation areas in the 1940s in the Greater Detroit area, although one of those recreation areas is now a local park. Two of the former state park units are now state forest campgrounds and another two units existed on state lands which were sold to private interests and closed. (The Former state park units section lists each of these former units.)
DNR operates 746 boat launches on 57,000 acres (230 km2) of designated public water access sites. It also operates 16 "harbors of refuge" as well as providing support for the other 61 harbors in the system. The harbors of refuge are approximately 30 miles (50 km) apart along the Great Lakes shoreline to provide shelter from storms and often provide boat launches and supplies. There are 13 state underwater preserves covering 2,450 square miles (6,300 km2) of Great Lakes bottomland and ten of them have a maritime museum or interpretive center in a nearby coastal community. [4]
The DNR Parks and Recreation Division also manages 138 state forest campgrounds (including a dozen equestrian campgrounds). The Michigan state game and wildlife areas encompass more than 340,000 acres (1,400 km2). DNR also oversees the trail systems in the state. This includes 880 miles (1,400 km) of non-motorized trails, 1,145 miles (1,800 km) of rail-trails, 3,193 miles (5,100 km) of off-road vehicle (ORV) routes and 6,216 miles (10,000 km) of snowmobile trails. [5]
For a discussion of all protected areas in Michigan under all jurisdictions, see Protected areas of Michigan.
Name [6] | County | Size | Estab- lished [7] |
Lake / river | Image | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
acres | ha | ||||||
Bald Mountain State Recreation Area | Oakland | 4,637 acres | 1,877 ha | 1944 | Lower Trout Lake, others | Water Warrior Island waterpark | |
Bass River State Recreation Area | Ottawa | 1,665 acres | 674 ha | 1994 | Grand River | ||
Brighton State Recreation Area | Livingston | 4,947 acres | 2,002 ha | 1944 | Bishop Lake, others | ||
Fort Custer State Recreation Area | Kalamazoo | 3,033 acres | 1,227 ha | 1971 | Eagle, Jackson Hole and Whitford-Lawler Lakes | ||
Highland State Recreation Area | Oakland | 5,900 acres | 2,400 ha | 1944 | Haven Hill, Temple, Moore Lakes and others | ||
Holly State Recreation Area | Oakland | 7,817 acres | 3,163 ha | 1944 | Heron, Valley, and McGinnis Lakes | ||
Ionia State Recreation Area | Ionia | 4,500 acres | 1,800 ha | 1965 | Grand River | ||
Island Lake State Recreation Area | Livingston | 4,000 acres | 1,600 ha | 1944 | Huron River, Island Lake | Hot-air balloon launch area | |
Lake Hudson State Recreation Area | Lenawee | 2,796 acres | 1,132 ha | 1979 | Lake Hudson | First-ever Dark-Sky Preserve designated, 1993 | |
Lime Island State Recreation Area | Chippewa | 980 acres | 400 ha | 2011 | St. Marys River | Visitors provide own transportation to remote island; six rental cabins; Victorian House/Museum | |
Menominee River State Recreation Area | Dickinson, Menominee | 2,879 acres | 1,165 ha | 2012 | Menominee River | Co-managed with Wisconsin's Menominee River State Park and Recreation Area | |
Metamora-Hadley State Recreation Area | Lapeer | 723 acres | 293 ha | 1944 | Minnewanna Lake | ||
Ortonville State Recreation Area | Lapeer, Oakland | 5,400 acres | 2,200 ha | 1944 | Big Fish and Davison Lakes | ||
Pinckney State Recreation Area | Livingston, Washtenaw | 11,000 acres | 4,500 ha | 1944 | Numerous inland lakes | ||
Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area | Oakland | 3,745 acres | 1,516 ha | 1944 | Huron River, Pontiac Lake | ||
Proud Lake State Recreation Area | Oakland | 3,030 acres | 1,230 ha | 1944 | Huron River, Proud Lake | ||
Rifle River State Recreation Area | Ogemaw | 4,449 acres | 1,800 ha | 1963 | Rifle River | ||
Rockport State Recreation Area | Alpena, Presque Isle | 4,237 acres | 1,715 ha | 2012 | Lake Huron | Contains old limestone quarry and Besser Natural Area | |
Tippy Dam State Recreation Area | Manistee | 117 acres | 47 ha | 2007 | Manistee River | Managed under a lease agreement with Consumers Energy. | |
Waterloo State Recreation Area | Jackson, Washtenaw | 20,125 acres | 8,144 ha | 1943 | Numerous inland lakes | ||
W.C. Wetzel State Recreation Area | Macomb | 913 acres | 369 ha | 1969 | Coon Creek | ||
Yankee Springs State Recreation Area | Barry | 5,200 acres | 2,100 ha | 1943 | Gun Lake |
The following state trails are units of the State Park System. Several other state trails fall under Department of Natural Resources jurisdiction and/or maintenance, but are not state park units and are not included here.
Name | Official name | Counties | Length | Estab- lished | Image | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mi | km | ||||||
Hart-Montague Trail State Park | William Field Memorial Hart-Montague Trail State Park | Muskegon, Oceana | 22 | 35 | 1988 | Converted rail-trail | |
Kal-Haven Trail | Kal-Haven Bicycle Trail Sesquicentennial State Park | Kalamazoo, Van Buren | 34.5 | 55.5 | 1988 | Converted rail-trail | |
Lakelands Trail State Park | Mike Levine Lakelands Trail State Park | Ingham, Livingston, Washtenaw | 26 | 42 | 1991 | Converted rail-trail | |
Van Buren Trail State Park | Van Buren | 14 | 23 | 1994 | Converted rail-trail | ||
White Pine Trail State Park | Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park | Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, Osceola, Wexford | 92 | 148 | 1996 | Converted rail-trail |
Name [6] | County | Size | Estab- lished [7] |
Hydrologic Feature(s) | Image | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
acres | ha | ||||||
Agate Falls Scenic Site | Ontonagon | 213 acres | 86 ha | 1992 | Agate Falls | Adjacent to Agate Falls MDOT State Roadside Park. | |
Bond Falls Scenic Site | Ontonagon | 90 acres | 36 ha | 1992 | Bond Falls | DNR-managed facility on Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO)-owned land. | |
DNR Pocket Park | Delta | 1 acre | 0.40 ha | 1998 | none | Within the Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds in Escanaba featuring a fishing pond, archery and pellet gun ranges, a fire tower, a waterfall and a dozen specialty gardens. Open seasonally May through September. | |
Douglass Houghton Falls Scenic Site | Houghton | 115 acres | 47 ha | 2018 | Douglass Houghton Falls | Future State Scenic Site under development. [9] | |
Father Marquette National Memorial | Mackinac | 58 acres | 23 ha | 1973 | Straits of Mackinac (views) | Within the western portion of Straits State Park. | |
Gete Mino Mshkiigan | Cheboygan | 147 acres | 59 ha | 2013 | Mullett Lake | Undeveloped/future state park site managed by DNR Parks & Recreation Division (PRD). [10] | |
Holly Oaks ORV Park | Oakland | 235 acres | 95 ha | 2021 | none | Jointly-managed with Oakland County Parks. | |
Outdoor Adventure Center | Wayne | 0.94 acres | 0.38 ha | 2015 | Detroit River | In historic Globe Building, adjacent to William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor. | |
Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center | Crawford | 32 acres | 13 ha | 1941 | Higgins Lake | Within North Higgins Lake State Park | |
Saginaw River Headwaters Recreation Area | Saginaw | 334 acres | 135 ha | 2023 | Saginaw River | DNR-owned park, managed by Saginaw County Parks. [11] | |
Wagner Falls Scenic Site | Alger | 23 acres | 9.3 ha | 1956 | Wagner Falls |
Michigan's state forest system is administered by the Forest Resources Division (FRD) within the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, not the Parks and Recreation Division (PRD) which manages the state park system, however the Parks and Recreation Division took over the recreation responsibilities of the Forest Resources Division (e.g. the state forest campgrounds and the trails and pathways within the state forests) in January 2012.