It’s well-known that Michigan has a lot of natural beauty as well as quite a history when it comes to logging, transportation, and mining. When it comes to natural beauty, you have your choice of sand dunes, beaches, rivers, valleys, fields… and splendid forests where the trees have seen more winters than any of us can dream. When you are among giants, among tree stands that have been around for decades or hundreds of years, it’s both spectacular and humbling to be in their presence.
Hartwick Pines, Gaylord
This is a great place at which to spend a day. The state park spans nearly 10,000 acres and is one of the largest parks in Lower Michigan. The park gets its name from the 49-acre stand of virgin white pine along the Old Growth Forest Foot Trail, which is primarily paved. These majestic white pines survived the state’s 19th-century logging boom, with some towering to 160 feet. There are old red pines and hemlocks as well. It’s the largest stand of old growth pines in the Lower Peninsula. Stop in at the logging museum to get a feel for a logging camp and a history lesson.
Valley of the Giants, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, South Manitou Island
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore gets a lot of accolades for its pristine beauty. You can visit most of the sites in the national lakeshore via vehicle, such as the dune climb, Pyramid Point, and the beach. But if you want to really go on an adventure, catch a ride on the Manitou Island Co. ferry that departs from Leland twice a day to South Manitou Island. Bring all your gear, food, and water for the day trip as there are no stores or restaurants on the island. It’s about an hour to the island and have about four hours to explore. The trail you want takes you three miles and pass the Francisco Morazan shipwreck that looms offshore and finally into the Valley of the Giants – a grove of white cedars, some more than 500 years old.
Warren Woods State Park, Sawyer
Warren Woods is a welcome respite for visitors, encompassing 311 acres and containing some of the last old growth trees in the southwest region of the state. The route follows the Galien River, and the old growth trees provide plenty of shade along the way. The trees are a combination of American beech, sugar maple, and tulip poplars. As to be expected with old trees, they are quite tall – many exceed 100 feet and are five feet in diameter. Nearby Warren Dunes, on the shores of Lake Michigan, is also worth a visit.
Au Sable State Forest, Roscommon
One of the best stands of virgin red pine in the United States can be found just eight miles east of Roscommon. There’s a 34-acre grove within the Au Sable State Forest, and you can take the 1.4-mile pathway that weaves through the woods to admire them all. It’s recognized as a National Natural Landmark. Bring your binoculars for bird watching and the camera for taking nature photography, including a former champion red pine. How is a red pine designated a champion? Specifically, it’s the largest specimen of its species. (The current champion is in Minnesota.) According to the Michigan DNR, visiting these red pines is “truly a rare and beautiful experience.”
Estivant Pines, Copper Harbor
Take a walk through this nature sanctuary, which was saved in the 1960s from being logged by an oil company. Thank goodness the campaign by the Michigan Nature Association was a success. Now, Estivant Pines is one of the most popular sanctuaries visited in the state. Choose from one of two loops to explore the tall pines: the one-mile Cathedral Grove loop or the 1.2-mile Bertha Daubendiek (named after MNA’s founder) trail. Cathedral Grove passes some of the largest and oldest white pines, which were already more than a hundred years old when Michigan joined the Union in 1837. The loops do intersect, so you can walk the full 2.5 miles if you wish. There’s something humbling about being in the midst of a part of nature that has seen generations of people come and go.
Sanford Woods Natural Area, Baker Woodlot, East Lansing
If you’re visiting our state capitol or perusing the campus of Michigan State University, make sure to stop at the Sanford Woods Natural Area. The Baker Woodlot is a small refuge from the steel and cement, an undisturbed deciduous forest with some of the area’s best spots to bird watch. There are two entrances, one on Farm Lane and one on Bogue Street. Sanford Woods Natural Area also includes a floodplain forest covering 34 acres alongside the Red Cedar River.
White Oak Trail, Price Nature Center, Saginaw
When you drive on I-75 across the state, the portion between Bay City and Detroit is full of exits to urban destinations. You seem to come across a city every few miles. Just five miles south of Saginaw, the Bridgeport Exit and travel west and then south to reach Price Nature Center. You’ll completely forget that you were just traveling over the Zilwaukee Bridge that spans the Saginaw River. Price Nature Center is a secluded 186 acres with three miles of hiking trails. The 1.1-mile White Oak Trail in particular that is ideal for viewing woodland flowers in the spring and cross-country skiing in the winter – activities that are enjoyed while being among a Michigan forest stand original to our state’s legacy. The deciduous forest, comprised of beech, sugar maple, oak, and hickory, has some very old specimens including a 200-year-old Beech and a 300-year-old white oak.
Besser Natural Area, Alpena
Alpena is a well-known hotspot for divers and shipwreck explorers as it is home to the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary because of the area’s many shipwrecks. In town there’s the Thunder Bay River. On the coast is Lake Huron. Plus, there are several inland lakes close by. Not far from Alpena, on an inlet of Lake Huron called Bell Bay that boasts 4,000 feet of beach, is the Besser Natural Area. This natural area is combination of virgin red and white pine sprinkled with spruce, balsam, cedar, and birch. Located within the natural area is the ghost town of Bell, a historic site that still has some remnants of buildings. Think about the people who used to call this beautiful place, home. The trail is a mile-long loop, and it’s easy to walk quickly. But allow yourself to linger, both in the woods and on the shoreline. Here, you really are away from it all.