Hiawatha National Forest is a National Forest in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

of the state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

in the United States. Commercial logging is conducted in some areas. The

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

administers this National Forest; it is physically divided into two subunits, commonly called the Eastside and Westside .

Etymology

According to the forest service, it was "named after the

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

chief,

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwathaaa or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and co-founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some account ...

, who brought about the confederation known as the

Five Nations of the Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...

. He was also the hero of Longfellow's poem, '

'."

Geography

In descending order of land area it lies in parts of Chippewa,

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

, Mackinac, Alger, Schoolcraft, and Marquette counties. Chippewa and Mackinac counties are in the East Unit, whereas the rest are in the West Unit. The smaller East Unit contains about 44% of the forest's area, whereas the larger West Unit has about 56%. Forest headquarters are located in

Gladstone, Michigan Gladstone is a city in Delta County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. First settled in 1877, Gladstone's original name was Minnewasca. The population was 4,973 at the 2010 census. U.S. Highways 2 and 41 run concurrently t ...

. East Unit ranger district offices are located in Sault Ste. Marie and

St. Ignace St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,452 at the 2010 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but the two are administered auto ...

, while West Unit offices are in Manistique,

Munising Munising ( ') is a city in Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,355 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Alger County. The city is partially surrounded by Munising Township, but the two are administered auton ...

, and Rapid River. The East Unit was a large infertile sandy area that was never homesteaded or developed. It was designated

Marquette National Forest Marquette National Forest was established by the U.S. Forest Service in Chippewa County, Michigan on February 10, 1909, with . On July 1, 1915, the entire forest was transferred to Michigan National Forest and the name was discontinued. On Februa ...

by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

in 1909. This land was administered with

Huron National Forest The Huron National Forest is a National Forest in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It was established in 1909 after the logging era began to decline. In 1945, it was administratively combined with the Manistee National Forest, to create the Hur ...

as the Michigan National Forest from 1918 until 1962, when it was transferred to Hiawatha. The forest was authorized to buy an additional in 1925 and in 1935. The government began purchasing land for the West Unit in 1928, this land and was designated Hiawatha National Forest in 1931. This unit was extensively replanted by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

. The Hiawatha National Forest contains six designated

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

s: *

Big Island Lake Wilderness Big Island Lake Wilderness is a remote protected area in the Munising Ranger District of the Hiawatha National Forest in the Upper Peninsula in the state of Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lake ...

Delirium Wilderness Delirium Wilderness is a wilderness area in Chippewa County, within the Hiawatha National Forest in the U.S. state of Michigan.

Horseshoe Bay Wilderness The Horseshoe Bay Wilderness is a wilderness area in the U.S. state of Michigan. It borders ''Horseshoe Bay'', a shallow bay that is part of the extreme northwest corner of Lake Huron adjacent to the Straits of Mackinac. The wilderness area is o ...

Mackinac Wilderness The Mackinac Wilderness is a unit within the Hiawatha National Forest. It is located in Mackinac County, Michigan. The wilderness is accessible from M-123 (Michigan highway), M-123, which borders the unit. The nearest town is Moran, Michigan. ...

* Rock River Canyon Wilderness * Round Island Wilderness There are five

National Wild and Scenic Rivers The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by United States Congress, the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreat ...

in the Forest: Carp River, Indian River, Sturgeon River,

Tahquamenon River The Tahquamenon River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed January 3, 2012 blackwater river in the U.S. state of Michigan that flows in a generally eastward direction th ...

(East Branch), Whitefish River.

Ecology

Many wildlife species roam in this forest including timber wolves,

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

, coyotes, bobcats, bald eagles, beavers, red foxes, river otters,

Canadian lynx The Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis''), or Canadian lynx, is a medium-sized North American lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears w ...

es, hawks, muskrats,

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender b ...

sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on ...

s, minks, Cougars, and

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally d ...

s. The forest has over of shoreline. Both units have shoreline on both

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

and Lake Michigan; the east unit also has shoreline on Lake Huron and includes Round Island and its lighthouse. The West Unit borders

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. It extends for 42 miles (67 km) along the shore of Lake Superior and covers . The park has extensive views of the hilly sho ...

, which is administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

, and the

Grand Island National Recreation Area The Grand Island National Recreation Area is a national recreation area in Hiawatha National Forest under jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service. Located on Grand Island, Michigan offshore from Munising, Michigan, the Grand Island National Recr ...

, which is separately administered by the U.S. Forest Service.

Activities

Several lighthouses are located along the shores. The

Point Iroquois Light Point Iroquois Light is a lighthouse on a Chippewa County bluff in the U.S. state of Michigan. Point Iroquois and its light mark the division line between Whitefish Bay and the western end of the St. Marys River, the connection between Lake S ...

is operated as a museum.

Hiking

A section of the

North Country Trail The North Country National Scenic Trail, generally known as the North Country Trail or simply the NCT, is a footpath stretching over from Middlebury in central Vermont to Lake Sakakawea State Park in central North Dakota in the United States; ...

passes through the forest.

Camping

Hiawatha National Forest has many popular areas for camping tourism. Some of the campgrounds include the following: * AuTrain * Bay Furnace * Bay View, a 24-campsite campground located near Brimley on Lake Superior. It offers a secluded beach that many visitors enjoy. * Brevoort Lake * Camp 7 Lake * Carp River, 44 campsites located near the

Mackinac Bridge The Mackinac Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac, connecting the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the bridge (familiarly known as "Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac") is the worl ...

; fishing is possible here. * Collwell Lake * Corner Lake * Flowing Well * Indian River * Island Lake * Lake Michigan: 35 campsites on Lake Michigan located near the Mackinaw Bridge * Little Bass Lake * Little Bay De Noc * Monocle Lake Campground, a 39-site campground located near Brimley near Lake Superior; it is a popular destination for RV camping. * Petes Lake Campground * Soldiers Lake Recreation Area * Three Lakes Campground * Widewaters Campground

References

External links

Hiawatha National ForestHiawatha National Forest Facebook
{{authority control Landmarks in Michigan National Forests of Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan Protected areas established in 1931 Protected areas of Chippewa County, Michigan Protected areas of Delta County, Michigan Protected areas of Mackinac County, Michigan Protected areas of Alger County, Michigan Protected areas of Schoolcraft County, Michigan Protected areas of Marquette County, Michigan 1931 establishments in Michigan