Highland State Recreation Area is a state recreation area in the southeast part of the U.S. 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 ...

. It is located in north

Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan, b ...

, west of

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

. ''Haven Hill Natural Area'', within the Highland State Recreation Area, was designated in 1976 as a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

Recreation Area

The

Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor a ...

(MDNR), which owns and operates Highland, describes the recreation area as a parcel of forest,

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

, and

kettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a type of pot specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle'', or a small electric kitchen appliance of similar shape that functions in a self-contained ...

lakes primarily operated for light

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

and drive-in/drive-out recreational day use. of

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

s in the recreation area are designated for

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, mountain biking, and

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

sports. West of Duck Lake Road in Highland State Recreation Area, a group of small moraines are locally called "mountains"—the highest elevation in the park, ''Mount Kanzer'', is above sea level. The ''highland'' for which this recreation area is named is this group of moraines.

National Natural Landmark

South of Highland Road () and east of Duck Lake Road lies the ''Haven Hill Natural Area'' and National Natural Landmark, a component unit of the Highland Recreation 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 ''Larix laricina'', commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and als ...

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

, 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 Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...

, whose estate it was, and then by MDNR after Ford's death in 1943.

Today

The Highland State 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

Image:Higland Recreation Area Michigan park office.JPG, Park office Image:Highland Recreation Area Michigan Teeple Lake Beach.JPG, Teeple Lake Beach Image:Highland Recreation Area Michigan Lakeside Picnic Area.JPG, Lakeside Picnic Area

References

External links

Friends of Highland Recreation AreaHighland Recreation Area

Pure Michigan Pure Michigan began as an advertising campaign launched in 2008 by the state of Michigan, featuring the voice of actor and comedian Tim Allen, using the title song from ''The Cider House Rules'' as the background music in television commercials. ...

The Haven Hill ProjectHaven Hill Project BlogHaven Hill Project, Complete Haven Hill HistoryHaven Hill Project, First History Hike VideoHaven Hill Arch, White Lake, Michigan
Waymarking.com
Haven Hill Natural Area
Protected Planet (World Database on Protected Areas) {{authority control National Natural Landmarks in Michigan Protected areas of Oakland County, Michigan Protected areas established in 1976 State recreation areas of Michigan 1976 establishments in Michigan