Wilderness State Park

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Wilderness State Park - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 45°44′03″N 84°54′10″W / 45.73417°N 84.90278°W

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wilderness State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)^[1]
Beachfront looking towards Straits of Mackinac
Location in Michigan Show map of Michigan Wilderness State Park (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Bliss Township, Emmet County, Michigan, United States
Nearest town	Mackinaw City, Michigan
Coordinates	45°44′03″N 84°54′10″W / 45.73417°N 84.90278°W / 45.73417; -84.90278^[2]
Area	10,512 acres (4,254 ha)
Elevation	607 feet (185 m)^[2]
Designation	Michigan state park
Established	1922 (game reserve); 1927 (state park)^[3]
Administrator	Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Website	Wilderness State Park

Wilderness State Park is a public recreation area bordering Lake Michigan, five miles southwest of Mackinaw City in Emmet County in Northern Michigan. The state park's 10,512 acres (4,254 ha) include 26 miles (42 km) of shoreline, diverse forested dune and swale complexes, wetlands, camping areas, and many miles of hiking trails.^[4] The state park is operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which has, as of 2006, approved a proposal that 4,492 acres (1,818 ha) be officially dedicated as a wilderness area.^[5] Wilderness State Park was designated a Michigan "dark sky preserve" in 2012.^[6]

Description

The location of Waugoshance Point and Wilderness State Park

One of the most prominent physical features of the park is Waugoshance Point, which juts westward into northern Lake Michigan. Beyond the tip of the point, Temperance Island and Waugoshance Island are also parts of the state park. Four Lake Michigan lighthouses sit near the park's western boundary. Stations at Grays Reef, Skillagalee Island, Waugoshance, and White Shoal warn shipping away from the dangerous reefs and shoals of Waugoshance Point.

History

The state began acquiring the park's lands in 1896 through purchase and tax reversion proceedings. After the reversion of additional acreage for tax nonpayment in the early years of the twentieth century, the site became the Emmet State Game Refuge in 1922, with the land set aside for the breeding of game birds and other animals. When the game reserve was placed under the administration of the Parks Division in 1927, it officially became Wilderness State Park.^[7]

The Civilian Conservation Corps was active in the park for six years during the 1930s. The corps' workers built various structures, eight miles of trails, a public campground, and four-acre Goose Pond.^[7]

Wildlife

The park supports populations of many animals that are part of the traditional image of the northern Great Lakes ecosystem, including American black bear, snowshoe hare, beaver, porcupines, bobcats, mink, muskrats, and otter.^[4] The park's cobble beach areas provide an excellent habitat for the federally endangered piping plover. As of 2002, approximately one-third of Michigan's nesting pairs of piping plovers were found in Wilderness State Park.^[5] One of the first sightings of wolves in the Lower Peninsula was reported along the park's shoreline by a Coast Guard pilot in 1997.^[8] In 2015, MDNR officials confirmed the presence of wolves in the Lower Peninsula.^[9]

Activities and amenities

The state park offers swimming, picnicking, boat launch, fishing, a 250-site campground and cabins. The state park contains 16 miles (26 km) of trails for hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling, that include a 10-mile-long (16 km) section of the North Country Trail.

References

^ "Wilderness State Park". IUCN. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Wilderness State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ "When were Michigan state parks and recreation areas established?" (PDF). Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Wilderness State Park". Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Wilderness State Park". Natural Areas. Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
^ "Michigan's dark sky sites take the spotlight". Detroit News. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Wilderness State Park General Management Plan" (PDF). Michigan Department of Natural Resources. p. 7 (Appendix A). Retrieved 5 April 2016.
^ DuFresne, Jim (2005). The Complete Guide to Michigan Sand Dunes. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. p. 150. ISBN 047203118X.
^ Ellison, Garret (17 September 2015). "DNA test confirms gray wolf presence in Michigan's Lower Peninsula". MLive. Retrieved 17 July 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wilderness State Park.

Wilderness State Park Map Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Wilderness State Park Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Protected areas of Michigan

National

Parks	Isle Royale Keweenaw (Historical) River Raisin (Battlefield)
Lakeshores	Pictured Rocks Sleeping Bear Dunes
Landmarks	Au Sable State Forest Dukes Research Natural Area Grand Mere State Park Haven Hill State Natural Area Newton Woods Porcupine Mountains Roscommon Virgin Pine Stand Strangmoor Bog Tobico Marsh Toumey Woods Warren Woods State Park Waterloo State Recreation Area
Forests	Hiawatha Huron–Manistee Ottawa
Wildlife Refuges	Detroit River Harbor Island Huron Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area Michigan Islands Michigan Wetland Management District Seney Shiawassee
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Au Sable Bear Creek Black Carp Indian Manistee Ontonagon Paint Pere Marquette Pine Presque Isle Sturgeon (Delta County) Sturgeon (Houghton County) Tahquamenon Whitefish Yellow Dog
Other Protected Areas	Father Marquette National Memorial Grand Island National Recreation Area Saint Helena Island National Scenic Area Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

State

Parks	Albert E. Sleeper Algonac Aloha Baraga Bay City Belle Isle Bewabic Brimley Burt Lake Cambridge Junction Cheboygan Clear Lake Coldwater Lake Craig Lake Dodge No.4 Duck Lake Fayette Fisherman's Island Fort Michilimackinac Fort Wilkins Fred Meijer White Pine Trail Gete Mino Mshkiigan Grand Haven Grand Mere Harrisville Hart–Montague Trail Hartwick Pines W.J. Hayes P.H. Hoeft P.J. Hoffmaster Holland Indian Lake Interlochen Kal-Haven Trail Lake Gogebic Lakelands Trail Lakeport Laughing Whitefish Falls Leelanau Ludington Mackinac Island Maybury F.J. McLain Charles Mears Meridian-Baseline Mill Creek Wm. Mitchell Muskallonge Lake Muskegon Negwegon Newaygo North Higgins Lake Onaway Orchard Beach Old Mission Otsego Lake Palms Book Petoskey Porcupine Mountains Port Crescent Sanilac Petroglyphs Saugatuck Dunes Seven Lakes Silver Lake Sleepy Hollow South Higgins Lake Wm. C. Sterling Straits Sturgeon Point Tahquamenon Falls Tawas Point Thompson's Harbor Traverse City Twin Lakes Van Buren Van Buren Trail Van Riper Warren Dunes Warren Woods Watkins Lake and County Preserve J.W. Wells Wilderness William G. Milliken Wilson Young
Recreation Areas	Bald Mountain Bass River Brighton Fort Custer Highland Holly Ionia Island Lake Lake Hudson Lime Island Menominee River Metamora-Hadley Ortonville Pinckney Pontiac Lake Proud Lake Rifle River Rockport Tippy Dam Waterloo W.C. Wetzel Yankee Springs
Forests	Au Sable Copper Country Escanaba River Lake Superior Mackinaw Pere Marquette
Underwater Preserves	Alger De Tour Passage Grand Traverse Bay Keweenaw Manitou Passage Marquette Sanilac Shores Southwest Michigan Straits of Mackinac Thumb Area Whitefish Point
Other	Agate Falls Scenic Site Bond Falls Scenic Site Douglass Houghton Falls Scenic Site Michigan Islands Wilderness Area Ocqueoc Falls Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center Wagner Falls Scenic Site

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