Grayling Visitors Bureau

Are you interested in learning about the forests of Hartwick Pines and Michigan in the winter? You now have a chance to experience the forests in the deep snow! Hartwick Pines State Park will again be offering several guided snowshoe hikes through the Old Growth Forest. Snowshoeing is a growing popular winter activity and these hikes will give visitors of Hartwick Pines a chance to try-out snow shoes and hike through the Lower Peninsula’s largest stand of old-growth White Pines, guided by a park interpreter or historian to learn about the forest in the winter and to hear how winter was important to Michigan’s logging industry in the 1800s.
The hikes begin at the Michigan Forest Visitor Center with an orientation and introduction to Hartwick Pines, a short talk on winter survival and equipment, and then depart from the auditorium of the visitor center for the woods. The hike is approximately one mile and will head through the old growth forest of white pine and hemlock and stop at deer beds, look for signs of porcupines and other animals that use the forest in the winter, and stop at the logging museum, where participants will have a chance to warm up with a cup of hot cider around the “camboose”, the elevated fire pit at the logging museum, and hear stories about the “shantyboys” enduring a winter in the woods. Participants may return to the visitor center on their own or explore other trails in the park.
Three guided hikes will be offered Saturdays; January 23, February 6 and 20, beginning at 1pm and lasting until about 3pm. The hikes will be limited to twenty participants for each hike, so advance registration is required. The hikes are free, but please call the Visitor Center at Hartwick Pines at (989) 348-2537 or stop in at the Visitor Center (normally open daily 9am to 4pm, but with limited hours during the holidays) to sign up. Some snowshoes are available to use for free, however check for availability when registering.

December 4, 2010 – March 12, 2011 – Headlight Night Skiing for $5 @ Cross Country Ski Headquarters
Every night (snow permitting) From December 4, 2010 – March 12, 2011 we will have available for rent LED headlamps for your Night Skiing Enjoyment! Be sure to pick up Headlamps before 5:30 PM because the Store and Day Lodge will usually not be open in the evening. That means you will be on your own!

Then bring the headlamps back between 10:00 a.m. and noon the following day. The cost to rent is $5 per Headlamp per night.