“nearly 9,000 acres in which to roam”
Hartwick Pines State Park preserves the largest stand of old growth white pine (49 acres) in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. With nearly 9,000 acres in which to roam, Hartwick Pines is a great destination for mountain biking, cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, camping, hiking, picnicking, birding, hunting, fishing and exploring Michigan's great outdoors. The Michigan Forest Visitor Center is located at the trailhead to the Old Growth Trail and staffed with folks who can provide directions and general information about Hartwick Pines State Park. The center is open all year 'round (9am-4pm during the fall and winter and from 10am-6pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day). Visit during the summer for guided tours of the Old Growth Trail, natural resource-related activities and special guest presentations. Walking along the Old Growth Trail, folks will find the Hartwick Pines Logging Museum. The log cabin buildings tell the story of the White Pine Logging Era in Michigan (1840-1910) and gives the visitors a glimpse of what living in a logging camp was like when White Pine was King. 100 campsites. Designated watchable wildlife site.
Reviews of Hartwick Pines State Park
13 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on June 24, 2023AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 4 users | Last reported on July 28, 2024T-Mobile 4G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on October 18, 2021Reviews
Notwithstanding the absence of water at the site, this park is well deserving of five stars. The sites are large and well spaced, although there is big disparity between sites in the center area, which have very little separation and greenery and few big trees, and those on the perimeter, which have large trees and are far better secluded from one another. Sites are paved and have fire rings and picnic tables. ATT cell coverage is poor.
The visitor center and forestry museum are of very high quality, and I recommend the short loop walk around the old growth pine forest that starts at the visitor center. Please also include in that walk the Metz grade loop trail as well, since unlike the old growth loop, which is paved, the Metz is covered in soft pine needles. Picture of map included with review.
The town of Grayling is nearby with a large supermarket, several restaurants - all featuring beer - and on the last weekend in July you can take part in a street fair and watch the craziest race you never heard of the Ausable River Canoe Marathon. This unique event is a 110-mile canoe race that starts with contestants running their canoes down a street and into a river - at nine o’clock at night! The race goes all night , includes 6 portages and finishes in over 14 hours. The winner gets $5,000!
We will definitely stay here longer than two days next time.
Nightly Rate: $38.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 51
RV Length: 28 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
We have stayed a week at a time at Hartwick Pines Campground for the last several years and have always enjoyed it! The campground is well maintained, bathhouses are clean, sites are reasonably sized and those in the wooded area all have good privacy due to shrubs and trees between sites. Lots of good hiking trails, and the logging museum is a must if you are staying there! Fun for kids and adults equally.
We stayed a couple of days on the way to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. Very nice park and visitor center. Wonderful path through the old growth trees, sawmill and chapel in the woods.
Plan to go again in 2018.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: -
RV Length: 26 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
We stayed at Hartwick Pines State Park because of its proximity to Grayling, MI and fly fishing on the legendary AuSable River. The Logging Museum and Old Growth forest area are both a short bike ride away and well worth the visit. As a bonus, this MI State Park has several full hook-up campsites. The bathhouse was immaculately clean and like most Michigan State Parks, has separate, individual shower stalls. We had site #111 and it was a large pull-through site with trees that provided privacy from site next door. The only downside to our site was the weird access to it with you tow vehicle (I honestly can’t explain it!)
Grayling is a 15-minute drive away and is your typical northern Michigan town, except a little bigger than most. We went to the Black Bear Brewery in town and it was ok. We had a really fantastic dinner at the Gates Au Sable Lodge, located east of town on the Holy Waters of the Au Sable. I also used a guide from Gates on two of my Au Sable River floats and I highly recommend them. In the summer there are several rafting and canoeing places in town so you can rent something and float the river if that’s your thing—it’s a very lazy river flowing through sandy hills and pine forests.
Nightly Rate: $36.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 111
Hartwick Pines, like many Michigan State Park Campgrounds, is really well maintained, with nice sites and clean facilities. This particular campground also has some local activities and an interesting museum with a wood-shaving festival in the summer.
The campground has a variety of sites, some completely wooded while others are in more open areas. Bigger rigs may have trouble getting into some sites and a few of the bends are somewhat tight, but we had no serious issues in our 42ft class A.
I was hoping for better cellular internet performance than the previous reports, but I'm sad to say that nothing has changed. Despite being in an LTE service area on both the Verizon and AT&T maps, we could not get LTE service on either, even with the use of antennas and a booster.
The local towers are also very congested in the evenings, so expect very poor network connectivity here. The best I managed to achieve was about 5Mbps in the very early morning on AT&T. Most of the time download speeds were well under 1Mbps on both Verizon and AT&T.
But other than that, we enjoyed our stay and the central location is convenient as a hub for visiting nearby areas.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: -
RV Length: 42 ft
RV Type: Class A
We had a 30 amp only site and had absolute privacy. Woods on both sides of us. No Att service at all but very enjoyable experience. Will come back again for sure.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 48
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
Nice MI State Park. We had FHU only because its all they had. Lots of private sites in between heavily treed areas. Some not so level. Big rig friendly. Nice bath house and private lockable showers. Nice walking trail through the Old Growth pine forest. Great fall camping! Our Verizon was very weak.
Nightly Rate: $38.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 75
RV Length: 40 ft
RV Type: Class A
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
awesome, private spots in the pines and nice forest trails in the direct vicinity
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 22
RV Length: 15 ft
RV Type: Pop Up Camper
If you're looking to get away from it all then this is the right place to camp! Don't plan on using your cell phone unless you have a directional external antenna. The cell sites are 3mi East & 3mi West and you're in a bowl. You'll have to drive to the entrance or visitor center to get a decent signal. Crappy over-the-air TV with external antenna also. Satellite is your only hope....but, you didn't come here to watch TV or Internet or make business calls all day right??? Lots of walking/bike trails, even a paved bike trail to Grayling (about 10mi). Historical logging museum & old growth forest. Very spacious sites, plenty of room for your slides without intruding on neighbors or trees; good solid foundation (but sloped from center for drainage so center your rig for the perfect level); nice grass, great fire rings. Unlike National Parks, this State Park can accommodate any size rig from monster Class A+ to your tent! The restroom/shower facility is top notch with individual room showers. Michigan DNR does know how to take care of guests!
Nightly Rate: $50.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 68
RV Length: 32 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
T-Mobile 4G
This is one of the largest state parks in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. There are several full hookup sites in the center of the campground but do not have shade. We chose an electric only site in a wooded area. You can see your neighbors but are not particularly close. In the evening, the campground was quiet; however, we were there only on weeknights. Firewood is available in the campground and about 3 miles away toward Grayling. If you have time, the interpretive walk in the virgen forest is worth the time as is a float trip on the Upper Manistee river.
Nightly Rate: $35.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 40
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
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Hartwick Pines State Park
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 60
- Last Nightly Rate
- 38.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 42 ft
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 25.0
- Max Length
- 80 ft
- Max Stay
- 15
- Sites Count
- 100
- Standard Tent Sites Count
- 30
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Paved Sites
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Rec Facilities
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Back In RV Sites
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
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Water Hookup
Campground, Restrooms
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