Grayling Visitors Bureau

Hartwick Pines State Park History Series: “The Ward Orchard”, 2pm. If weather is good, we will drive out to the Ward Orchard for this program (approx. 8 miles from park).

“Apple Day” at Hartwick Pines State Park, 10am-4pm. Apple Cider and Apple Butter making at the Logging Museum.

Back by popular demand, Hartwick Pines State Park will once again offer its Critters in the Moonlight Halloween Walk on Saturday, Oct. 12, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. While this program is especially designed for families with young children, all who come out will enjoy walking along the Old Growth Trail lit with more than 200 hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns.

Guests are led along the trail by a “critter guide” and will encounter several costumed volunteers dressed as larger-than-life woodland critters. Guests will meet a beaver, raccoon, bobcat, gray wolf and many more animals. These animals will tell the group a little about themselves and dispel some of the common myths associated with “their kind.”

One tour around the trail takes about an hour. There’s also a short trail that takes about 20 minutes to walk. After the walk, guests can have a picture button made or buy a hot dog or hot chocolate from the Boy Scouts at the shelter building.

The Critters in the Moonlight event is held at Hartwick Pines’ picnic area and is made possible by the Friends of Hartwick Pines State Park. There is no admission fee for this event; however, all vehicles must have the Recreation Passport to enter the park.

Hartwick Pines State Park is at 4216 Ranger Road in Grayling, Mich. For more information about this or other events, please visit http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=453&type=SFCG or call (989) 348-2537.

The Recreation Passport is an easy, affordable way for residents to enjoy and support outdoor recreation opportunities in Michigan. By checking “YES” for the $10 Recreation Passport ($5 for motorcycles) when renewing a license plate through the Secretary of State (by mail, kiosk, online at www.expresssos.com or at branch offices), Michigan motorists get access to state parks, recreation areas, state forest campgrounds, non-motorized state trailhead parking and state boat launches. In addition, Recreation Passport holders can experience real savings at businesses and retailers that participate in the Passport Perks discount program. The Recreation Passport is valid until the next license plate renewal date. Nonresidents can purchase the Recreation Passport ($29 annual; $8 daily) at any state park or recreation area or through the Michigan e-Store at www.michigan.gov/estore.

Learn more about this creative way of sustaining Michigan’s outdoor recreation and natural resources at www.michigan.gov/recreationpassport. For information on Passport Perks shopping discounts or how businesses and retailers can enroll in the program, visit www.michigan.gov/passportperks.

Hartwick Pines State Park History Series: “Grayling’s Salling, Hanson and Company, a late lumber era Lumber Company.” 2pm.

On Saturday evening, September 14^th from 7pm to 9pm, visitors to Hartwick Pines State Park will have the opportunity to journey back to the year 1896 and meet some of the members of the Salling, Hanson and Company’s “Section 9 Camp” as they prepare for the upcoming winter logging season.  Costumed interpreters will portray several members of the camp including Karen “Bessie” Michelson (the future Karen Hartwick), a local boarding house owner, the landlooker, the camp clerk, the camp cooks, a teamster, and some of the “shantyboys” –the men who did the cutting of the trees.  From these men and women you will learn all about the life in a camp, the variety of work that was done in logging in the Grayling area and the rest of Michigan and some of the dangers of the job.

The Logging Museum will be transformed into the “Section 9 Camp”, which was located in what is now Hartwick Pines for the night.  The park visitors will take on the roll of new employees of the Salling, Hanson and Company and will journey from the “Grayling Train Depot” (The Visitor Center) to the logging camp.  The lantern lit one quarter of a mile walk between the visitor center and the logging museum will become the eight-mile journey to the camp.  While at the museum, converse with the shantyboys about life in the bunkhouse, landlooker N.P. Salling about the search for the tall timber and the camp cooks about the huge appetites of the lumberjacks and how much food they need to cook for them.

After you go through the museum and meet all of the residents of the camp, enjoy the campfire on the “camboose” or head back up to the Visitor Center for a hot beverage.   Your visit will likely last approximately an hour, but spend as much time as you would like. Doors of the Visitor Center will open at 6:30, however the tours do not start until 7pm. The last tour will leave at 8:30pm.

There is no charge for this program, but a Michigan Recreation Passport is required for entry into the park.   Hartwick Pines State Park is located on M-93 (Hartwick Pines Rd.), two miles east of I-75, exit 259.  For more information, please contact Hartwick Pines State Park at (989) 348-2537.

Hartwick Pines Logging Museum

4216 Ranger Rd. Grayling, MI 49738

phone: (989) 348-2537. fax: (989) 344-6803. email: burgr@michigan.gov

Contact: Rob Burg

Hartwick Pines State Park will host the annual Black Iron Days Festival on August 24 & 25; the largest annual gathering of blacksmiths in Michigan. Over 50 craftsmen and women will be on hand demonstrating their trade at the logging museum located at the park.

The two-day event, taking place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, also will recreate the sights, sounds and scents of an historic sawmill cutting logs into boards. Watch woodworkers, weavers and wool spinners as they show how their crafts were done in the era before power tools. Full Moon Jam will be performing a mix of traditional and original music.

The Hartwick Pines Logging Museum is a field site of the Michigan Historical Museum that interprets Michigan’s white pine logging era of 1840-1910. Black Iron Days is sponsored by the Friends of Hartwick Pines. All proceeds go toward interpretive and educational programs at the park.

The park is located at 4216 Ranger Rd. in Grayling in Crawford County. The event is free, however, a Recreation Passport is required for vehicles entering Hartwick Pines. For details on the program, call the park at 989-348-7068.

The Recreation Passport has replaced motor vehicle permits for entry into Michigan state parks, recreation areas and state-administered boating access fee sites. This new way to fund Michigan’s outdoor recreation opportunities also helps to preserve state forest campgrounds, trails, and historic and cultural sites in state parks, and provides park development grants to local communities. Michigan residents can purchase the Recreation Passport ($10 for motor vehicles; $5 for motorcycles) by checking “YES” on their license plate renewal forms, or at any state park or recreation area. Nonresident motor vehicles must still display a valid nonresident Recreation Passport ($29 annual; $8 daily) to enter a Michigan state park, recreation area or state-administered boating access fee site; these can be purchased at any state park or recreation area, or through the Michigan e-Store at www.michigan.gov/estore. To learn more about the Recreation Passport, visit www.michigan.gov/recreationpassport or call 517-241-7275.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment announced that the Michigan Forest Visitor Center at Hartwick Pines State Park will host its annual Forest Fest on Saturday, Aug. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Forest Fest will provide fun, educational activities designed to help children and families learn about this important natural resource.

Children will receive a natural resource activity booklet and can earn stamps by visiting each activity station. Events include children’s games, exhibits and displays on a variety of forest and natural resource-related topics. Guests can also learn about the health of Michigan’s forests and find out where to go for specific questions and help managing forests on their own private land. Educational handouts will be available, providing information on forest management and health as well as tips on preventing and suppressing wildfires.

Hartwick Pines State Park is located at 4216 Ranger Road in Grayling. The Forest Fest is a free event. However, all motor vehicles entering a state park or recreation area must display a 2013 Michigan Recreation Passport.

For more information about this program or other natural resource-based and historical programs offered at Hartwick Pines State Park, visit www.michigan.gov/hartwickpines and click on the link to the Michigan Forest Visitor Center or call the Michigan Forest Visitor Center at 989-348-2537.

The $10 Recreation Passport replaces the state park sticker for access into all state parks, recreation areas and boat launches. To get the Recreation Passport, Michigan residents can check “YES” on their license plate renewal forms. The Recreation Passport also helps preserve forest campgrounds and trails, historic and cultural sites in state parks, and local parks. Where can $10 take you? Visit www.michigan.gov/recreationpassport for more information.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is committed to the conservation, protection, management, and accessible use and enjoyment of the state’s environment, natural resources, and related economic interests for current and future generations. Learn more at www.michigan.gov/dnre.

Hartwick Pines State Park in Grayling will host its annual Wood Shaving Days Festival on July 20 & 21 at the park’s Logging Museum.  From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, visitors can enjoy the sights, sounds and scents of the historic steam-powered sawmill cutting logs into pine boards; listen to traditional music  and enjoy the art of wood carving, wood burning and other woodcrafters.  Also included at Wood Shaving Days are demonstrations by blacksmiths, weavers, and wool spinners.

Wood Shaving Days will be held on the grounds of the Logging Museum at Hartwick Pines State Park. The Logging Museum is a field site of the Michigan Historical Museum and interprets the white pine logging era of 1840-1910. Wood Shaving Days is sponsored by the Friends of Hartwick Pines and all proceeds go toward the interpretive and educational programs at Hartwick Pines State Park.

For more information about Wood Shaving Days or other programs at Hartwick Pines, please call (989) 348-2537.  There is no charge for attending Wood Shaving Days, but a Michigan Recreation Passport is required to enter the park.

For more information about this event, Hartwick Pines State Park, accessibility or park amenities, contact the park at (989) 989-348-2537 (TTY/TDD 711 Michigan Relay Center for the hearing impaired), or visit http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=453&type=SFCG

The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.