Where to Find Old-Growth Trees in Michigan

“You’re in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.
And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.
Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.
Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.
Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.
Then the Lorax
and all of his friends
may come back.”

— “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss

Nearly all of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula was logged in the 1880s and 1890s. When the “Panic of 1893” pausing the clear cutting for a brief window, a stand of trees, now protected by the Hartwick Pines State Park, to escaped unscathed. Hartwick Pines is one of about a dozen remaining locations that the state recognizes as “Remnants of Michigan’s Early Forests.”

History of Hartwick Pines

The 9,642 acre park is comprised of land that was purchased in 1927 by Karen Hartwick, and at the time included 85 acres of virgin white pines. She donated the land to the state in honor of her late husband, Maj. Edward E. Hartwick, who was a lumberman and military man with the request that they build a logging museum there. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC, and what has grown into NCCC and AmeriCorps today) participated in the building of the museum as well as planting trees, improving trails and streams and expanding the camping and picnic areas.

The land officially became a state park in 1935, and in 1940 a large wind storm swept across the region, sank several freighters on the lakes and fell more than a 40 percent of the old-growth trees, reducing the area to 49 acres. Many of the surviving trees are around 350-375 years old and stand as tall as 160 feet.

Recreating at the Hartwick Pines State Park

There is a large campground in the park, a variety of trails, including the Old Growth Trail which is paved and handicap accessible, a variety of lakes, a picnic area, a chapel (known as the Chapel in the Pines), a visitor center (only open on the weekends until April) and the logging museum (open May 1 through Oct. 31). There is also a cabin available to rent, which looks really neat.

The Fight for Cultivating Trees in Michigan

While it is great that at least these few acres of old-growth trees remain intact, the trees that were planted to replace what was logged are now reaching a maturity level that is causing logging companies to once again turn their eyes and saws to the area.

Currently, approximately 3,600 acres of the Huron-Manistee forest are covered in trees that are at least 100 years old, which is less than three-tenths of one percent of the forest. But it is estimated that by 2015, that area will grow to be 95,000 acres of pine, millions of which were planted by the CCC in straight lines, easily recognizable on a drive through these forests. A battle for an increase in the limit of and the sale of logging rights is a contentious issue for the area.

For now, I’m just grateful that I had the opportunity to stop off on a road trip to stretch my legs underneath these glorious organisms and listen to the echo of my solitary footsteps in the forest.