Highland Recreation Area

Highland Recreation Area
Goose Meadow Picnic Area
Location within the state of Michigan
Location	Highland Township, Oakland County, Michigan, USA
Nearest city	Milford, Michigan
Coordinates	42°38′11″N 83°34′23″W / 42.63639°N 83.57306°W / 42.63639; -83.57306Coordinates: 42°38′11″N 83°34′23″W / 42.63639°N 83.57306°W / 42.63639; -83.57306
Area	5,900-acre (2,400 ha)
Governing body	Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment
http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/details.aspx?id=455&type=SPRK

Highland Recreation Area is a 5,900-acre (2,400 ha) state recreation area in the southeast part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in north Oakland County, 14 miles (23 km) west of Pontiac.

Haven Hill Natural Area, within the Highland Recreation Area, was designated in 1976 as a National Natural Landmark.^[1]

Recreation Area

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), which owns and operates Highland, describes the recreation area as a parcel of forest, wetland, and kettle lakes primarily operated for light camping and drive-in/drive-out recreational day use. 45 miles (72 km) of trails in the recreation area are designated for hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian sports.^[1]

West of Duck Lake Road in Highland Recreation Area, a group of small moraines are locally called "mountains" -- the highest elevation in the park, Mount Kanzer, is 1,150 feet (350 m) above sea level. The highland for which this recreation area is named is this group of moraines.

National Natural Landmark

South of Highland Road ( M-59) and east of Duck Lake Road lies the 721-acre (292 ha) Haven Hill Natural Area and National Natural Landmark, a component unit of the Highland Natural Area. MDNR describes Haven Hill as an area that contains "all of southern Michigan's principal forest types within one small area, including swamp forest of tamarack, cedar, beech-maple forest, oak-hickory forest, and mixed hardwood forest. The area has remained largely undisturbed for the past 75 years." Haven Hill was preserved as a natural area first by auto magnate Edsel Ford, whose estate it was, and then by MDNR after Ford's death in 1943.^[2]

Today

The Highland Recreation Area, and the Haven Hill Natural Area embedded within the recreation area, are both located on M-59 directly west of Pontiac, Michigan. The nearest limited-access highway is U.S. Highway 23 at M-59/Highland Road.

Gallery

Park office
Teeple Lake Beach
Lakeside Picnic Area

References

1 2 "Highland Recreation Area". Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
↑ "Haven Hill Natural Area". Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2010-06-08.

External links

Friends of Highland Recreation Area
Highland Recreation Area Pure Michigan
The Haven Hill Project
Haven Hill Project Blog
Haven Hill Project, Complete Haven Hill History
Haven Hill Project, First History Hike Video
Haven Hill Arch, White Lake, Michigan Waymarking.com
Haven Hill Natural Area Protected Planet (World Database on Protected Areas)

Protected areas of Michigan

See also: Important Bird Areas of Michigan

National

Parks	Isle Royale Keweenaw (Historical) River Raisin (Battlefield)

Lakeshores	Pictured Rocks Sleeping Bear Dunes

Landmarks	Black Spruce Bog Natural Area Dead Stream Swamp Dukes Research Natural Area Grand Mere Lakes Haven Hill State Natural Area Newton Woods Porcupine Mountains Roscommon Virgin Pine Stand Strangmoor Bog Tobico Marsh Toumey Woods Warren Woods State Park

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

Other	Grand Island National Recreation Area Father Marquette National Memorial Saint Helena Island National Scenic Area Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

State

Parks	Algonac Aloha Baraga Belle Isle Bewabic Brimley Burt Lake Cambridge Junction Cheboygan Clear Lake Coldwater Lake Craig Lake Dodge #4 Duck Lake Fayette Fisherman's Island Fort Michilimackinac Fort Wilkins Grand Haven Grand Mere Harrisville Hart-Montague Trail Hartwick Pines Hayes Mill Creek P.H. Hoeft P.J. Hoffmaster Holland Indian Lake Interlochen Kal-Haven Trail Lake Gogebic Lakelands Trail Lakeport Leelanau Ludington Mackinac Island Maybury F.J. McLain Mears Meridian-Baseline Mitchell Muskallonge Lake Muskegon Negwegon Newaygo North Higgins Lake Onaway Orchard Beach Otsego Lake Palms Book Petoskey Porcupine Mountains Port Crescent Rockport Sanilac Petroglyphs Saugatuck Dunes Seven Lakes Silver Lake Sleeper Sleepy Hollow South Higgins Lake Sterling Straits Tahquamenon Falls Tawas Point Thompson's Harbor Traverse City Twin Lakes Van Buren Van Buren Trail Van Riper Warren Dunes Warren Woods Wells White Pine Trail Wilderness William G. Milliken Wilson Young

Recreation Areas	Bald Mountain Bass River Bay City Brighton Fort Custer Highland Holly Ionia Island Lake Lake Hudson Menominee River Metamora-Hadley Ortonville Pinckney Pontiac Lake Proud Lake Rifle River Waterloo Wetzel Yankee Springs

Forests	Au Sable Copper Country Escanaba River Lake Superior Mackinaw Pere Marquette

Underwater Preserves	Alger De Tour Passage Grand Traverse Bay Keweenau Manitou Passage Marquette Sanilac Shores Southwest Michigan Straits of Mackinac Thumb Area Whitefish Point

Other (inc. game areas)	Agate Falls Scenic Site Allegan State Game Area Bond Falls Scenic Site Laughing Whitefish Falls Scenic Site Michigan Islands Wilderness Area Pointe Mouillee State Game Area Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center Sturgeon Point Scenic Site Wagner Falls Scenic Site

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

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