The Difference Between Michigan’s Largest and Smallest State Parks is Astounding
Spend any time recreating across Michigan and it's likely you'd find yourself at one of the many state parks spanning the two peninsulas.
From a beachfront along Lake Michigan to the deep woods of the Upper Peninsula, everything natural in Michigan is on display and accessible somewhere within the system of 104 state parks.
👇🏼BELOW: The Only Destination For These Highways are Michigan State Parks👇🏼
What may stand out when one looks at the breadth of parkland across Michigan is the wide difference in size of the state's parks.
The smallest park are just over 30 acres - equivalent to perhaps a good sized city park - or roughly 25 football fields.
The largest park in the system is 59,000 acres or 92 square miles. That's the size of a large metro area like Chicago or larger than many counties like the Marshall Islands or Lichtenstein.
These largest and smallest parks in the system?
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The behemoth of Michigan State Parks is the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness in the Western Upper Peninsula. The Porkies account for more land than just the designated state park which was created in the 1940s to protect old growth forests in the region.
The vast, deep forests of the Porcupine Mountains are considered some of the most remote wilderness in the United States.
READ MORE: These Are the Next Three State Parks the State of Michigan Will Develop
The other end of the spectrum are the comparatively postage-sized smaller state parks. Clocking in at just over 30 acres each are Milliken State Park in Detroit and Wilson State Park in Harrison near the middle of the Mitten.
Milliken Park and Harbor is one of the newest parks in the system having been designated in 2004. It sits along the Detroit River at the foot of the Dequindre Cut.
Just an acre or so larger than the Milliken Park in Detroit is Wilson State Park in Harrison near the middle of the Mitten in Clare County. Unlike the relatively newer small park in Detroit, Wilson dates back to the dawn of the creation of Michigan state parks in 1920. This park is neighborhood sized on the north end of the small city of Harrison.
The park fronts Budd Lake along First Street/Business US 127 and greets passers-by with a kind 'Have a Nice Day' sign at each park entrance.
The Only Destination For These Highways are Michigan State Parks
Gallery Credit: Google Maps Street View
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