List Of Michigan State Parks
This is a list of Michigan state parks and related protected areas under Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) jurisdiction. DNR also operates 16 state harbors on the Great Lakes. Michigan's state parks system was started in 1919 and now contains over 100 parks and recreation areas covering 285,000 acres (1,150 km²). There are 13,500 campsites in 142 campgrounds and 879 miles (1,400 km) of trails. The parks received 21.2 million visitors in 2008.
Two Michigan state parks pre-date the creation of the park system in 1919. Michigan's first state park, Mackinac Island State Park, was created in 1895. It had served as the nation's second national park from 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.
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 11 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.
The state forest system consists of 4,000,000 acres (20,000 km2) of primarily working forest but also includes 138 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.
For a discussion of all protected areas in Michigan under all jurisdictions, see Protected areas of Michigan.
Read more about List Of Michigan State Parks: Map, State Parks, Recreation Areas, State Forests, Other Sites
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