Huron-Manistee National Forest - Michigan

Join 4 million visitors come to have fun here, every year! With nationally-recognized rivers, trails and wilderness areas, Huron-Manistee National Forest in Northern Michigan is the place for outdoor adventure.

Huron-Manisee National Forest contains over 330 miles of trails for hiking, horseback riding, or cross-country skiing in the winter months. From the140-foot high wilderness dunes at Nordhouse, to the acres of wetlands, rolling hills, thick hardwood and pine forests of the Huron, the forest is a sampling of the best of the Great Lakes region. Visitors to the Huron-Manistee National Forest can go canoeing and fishing in one of 9 rivers within the forest's boundaries, where steelhead, brown trout and salmon are abundant in the fall. If you prefer more unusual activities, try rock collecting and mushroom gathering. Wildlife lovers will enjoy watching the swamps and marshes of the Manistee, and birders, keep your eyes peeled for warblers, sandpipers, vireos, gulls and meadowlarks. In the Huron, you're more likely to spot loons, osprey, and northern waterthrush.

A significant section of the North Country National Scenic Trail blazes its way through the forest, which is also home to a rare jack pine ecosystem found in the Au Sable River Valley. If you care to spend the night at the Huron-Manistee National Forest there are plenty of great camping options.

To access the forest from Detroit: I-75 N (by Pontiac, MI) to US-10 NW to MI-115 to US-131 N. From Chicago: I-90 E (passing by Gary, IN) to I-94 E (Exit 21) to I-196 NE (Exit 34 in MI) to US-131 N (Exit 77A).