North Higgins Lake State Park is a public recreation area located west of

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

in Beaver Creek Township,

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford Count ...

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 ...

. The state park occupies on the north shore of

Higgins Lake Higgins Lake is a large recreational and fishing lake in Roscommon County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 9,900 acre (40 km²) lake is known for its deep, clear waters and is the 10th largest in Michigan with a shoreline of . It is named ...

at the site of what was once one of the world's largest seedling nurseries.

Features

Higgins Lake Nursery and CCC Museum

The Higgins Lake Nursery and CCC Museum documents the role of 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 ...

in Michigan from 1933 to 1942 when more than 100,000 young Michigan men performed a variety of conservation and reforestation efforts. Exhibits tell the story of how the Michigan CCC planted 484 million trees, spent 140,000 days fighting forest fires and constructed 7,000 miles of truck trails, 504 bridges and 222 buildings. The Michigan state park system carries many examples of their work still in use today, including the MacMullan Conference Center.

Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center

The Ralph A. MacMullen Conference Center Scenic Site (RAM Center) is a lodge and free-standing facility in the park. Originally built by the

in the 1930s, it currently serves as a retreat center for nonprofit and

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

groups. It is located on the northern shores of

, northeast of the village of

between U.S. Route 127 and

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

. The MacMullen Center was built in a rustic style with a fieldstone exterior. It has a capacity of 135.

Activities and amenities

Park activities include camping, swimming, fishing, picnicking, and boating. There are eleven miles of trails for hiking and cross-country skiing through state forest land adjacent to the park.

References

External links

North Higgins Lake State Park
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
North Higgins Lake State Park Map
Michigan Department of Natural Resources

{{authority control Protected areas of Crawford County, Michigan State parks of Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps museums History museums in Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan Museums in Crawford County, Michigan Protected areas established in 1965 1965 establishments in Michigan IUCN Category III