Hartwick Pines State Park

Grand Rapids to Marquette, MI | Hiking in Hartwick Pines State Park | April 2024

After our long time crossing from Ontario into Michigan on the Bluewater Bridge, we stopped for lunch with my Grandmother and then pressed on to my parent’s house on the other side of the state. We had intended to visit at several points during the spring between assignments, but as you’ve read from our previous posts, our schedule changed so many times and we didn’t end up having any time off. But now we had plenty of time to spend with my family — though not much of that time would be spent at their home in the lower peninsula. Instead, we just had one full Saturday here to visit, rest, deep clean the van, and prepare for our next adventure together!

On Sunday, we convoyed North towards Marquette, our destination for the next week, in order to celebrate my youngest sister’s college graduation and spend time with most of my immediate family. Along the way we stopped at Hartwick Pines State Park between Grayling and Gaylord – a favorite spot of my parents. It was still the shoulder season and the weather definitely showed it. It was rainy, cold, and wet. But that sort of lent itself well to the deep dark of the old growth forest.

We ended up following the primary loop trail through the old growth portion of the park, staying as dry as we could with our umbrellas (which after almost 11 years of use are falling apart). Besides the large white pines, the highlight was the log chapel in the middle of the grove.

And, as things usually go, as we were making our way down the final stretch of trail, the skies opened up and it began raining harder – a clear sign to finish up and get back on the road. After a brief lunch stop of Culvers we continued on North, across the Mackinac Bridge, and into the U.P. We wanted to stop at a couple of the highway roadside rest-stops but soon found that Michigan believes STRONGLY in a May 1st opening season. Every single MDOT stop was gated or otherwise blocked off, but only a few days later they were all open for the season. To each state their own I guess.

We finished our drive by making it to Marquette and a rental home that my parents had booked for the week where we settled in.