Port Crescent State Park is a public recreation area on

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

southwest of Port Austin in Huron County at the tip of

The Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of t ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

covers along state route M-25 in Hume Township. The park occupies the site of Port Crescent, a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

which once stood at the mouth of the

Pinnebog River The Pinnebog River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in the Thumb region of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river flows into Lake Huron on the w ...

. The park was designated a Michigan "

dark sky preserve A dark-sky preserve (DSP) is an area, usually surrounding a park or observatory, that restricts or reduces light pollution or maintains and protects naturally dark night skies. Different terms have been used to describe these areas as national or ...

" in 2012.

History

The park's first 124 acres were purchased by the state in 1956. One of the last visible remnants of the vanished town of Port Crescent, the 120-foot-tall Pack & Woods Sawmill chimney, was razed in 1961, despite the objections of residents who felt the loss of the local landmark. The park was expanded with the purchase of an additional 455 acres in 1977.

Activities and amenities

The state park offers swimming, picnicking, canoeing, fishing, of hiking trails, cross-country skiing, and a 142-site campground and cabin.

References

External links

Port Crescent State Park
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Port Crescent State Park Map
Michigan Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Michigan Lake Huron Protected areas of Huron County, Michigan Protected areas established in 1955 1955 establishments in Michigan