Distance: 1.25-mile loop
Type: Paved interpretive trail
Terrain: Old growth pines
Difficulty: Easy
The Old Growth Forest Trail is, without a doubt, the most popular foot trail in Hartwick Pines. The 1.25-mile loop draws more than a quarter million people a year who use it to access the heart of the park’s 49-acre tract of virgin timber, the largest continuous stand of old growth white pines in the Lower Peninsula.
Old Growth Forest Trail is a paved, handicapped-accessible path that can be picked up from a number of entry points including the park’s picnic area. The vast majority of people, however, reach it after a visiting the Michigan Forest Visitor Center, an impressive interpretive area that was built in 1994. From the back of the center they can follow a short spur the leads to the main loop.
The trail features 12 numbered posts that correspond to an interpretive brochure available at the visitors center or can be downloaded from this web site and are laid out in a counter clockwise direction.
Post No. 6 marks the Monarch, the most famous tree in the park. Before the tree died in 1996, the Monarch stood at 155 feet tall with a circumference of 12 feet and was thought to be 325 years old. Surrounding it is still some very impressive timber as the tallest trees in the park will be viewed from post No. 5 to post No. 9.
The trail also provides access to the park’s Logging Museum, a quarter mile walk from the visitor center and even less from a trailhead just north of it. The museum is a replica 19th century logging camp with a bunk house and mess hall set up to show how thousands of men lived, worked and dined (rather well by the way) in the forests during Michigan’s logging era. Outside there are Big wheels, jammers and other logging equipment and a working sawmill that is operated by volunteers on several weekends during the summer.
Near post No. 11 is the Hartwick Pines Chapel. Perched on a small rise the log chapel, surrounded by towering pines, is a secluded spot where many visitors pause for a few minutes of peace and serenity. Occasionally even a wedding will be staged here, a ceremony in the heart of the forest.
In the winter the trail is a popular one for snowshoers and families looking for a short but unusual Nordic ski outing. The interpretive staff at the Michigan Forest Visitor Center hold a number of guided snowshoe treks along the trail on weekends throughout the winter.
Click Here to Print a Trail Map:
Click Here to Print an Interpretive Brochure:
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