Au Sable

Au Sable State Forest covers approximately 786,000 acres in the north-central portion of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, making it one of the largest state forests in the state. Named after the renowned Au Sable River, which flows through its heart, the forest encompasses a diverse landscape of jack pine plains, northern hardwood forests, extensive wetlands, and the storied river corridors that have defined Michigan's outdoor heritage for generations. The forest's history as a landscape devastated by 19th-century logging and subsequent reforestation makes it a remarkable example of ecological recovery and sustainable forest management.

Au Sable State Forest provides critical habitat for Michigan's most iconic and endangered bird species, the Kirtland's warbler, which nests exclusively in young jack pine stands between approximately 5 and 20 years of age. White-tailed deer are abundant throughout the forest and support one of Michigan's most popular hunting regions, while elk from the reintroduced Pigeon River herd range into the forest's northern sections. Black bears, coyotes, fishers, and bobcats inhabit the denser forest areas, and the Au Sable River supports exceptional populations of brown trout, rainbow trout, and brook trout that attract anglers from across the nation. Bald eagles and osprey nest along the major river corridors, and ruffed grouse and woodcock thrive in the young forest habitats created by active timber management.

The forest's vegetation reflects its position in the transition zone between Michigan's northern hardwood and jack pine ecosystems, with soil type and fire history determining the distribution of plant communities across the landscape. Extensive jack pine plains occupy the sandy Grayling outwash plain, an area of nutrient-poor, well-drained soils where jack pine is the dominant species and where managed fire or harvest creates the young stands required by Kirtland's warblers. Northern hardwood forests of sugar maple, red maple, American beech, and yellow birch cover the richer soils in the northern and eastern portions of the forest. Lowland conifer swamps of white cedar, black spruce, and tamarack occupy poorly drained basins, while the Au Sable River corridor supports riparian forests and streamside vegetation that shade and cool the trout waters.

Au Sable State Forest sits atop the Grayling outwash plain, a vast flat expanse of sandy glacial deposits left by meltwater streams flowing from the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the late Pleistocene approximately 12,000 years ago. The sandy, nutrient-poor soils of the outwash plain are highly permeable, allowing rainfall to quickly infiltrate to the water table and creating the cold groundwater springs that feed the Au Sable River and maintain its renowned trout-sustaining temperatures. Glacial moraines, including the Higgins Lake Moraine to the west, border the outwash plain and contain more diverse soils that support different forest communities. The Au Sable River itself follows channels carved by glacial meltwater, and its meandering course through the sandy plain has created extensive riverbank deposits and floodplain features.

North-central Michigan experiences a humid continental climate with cold, snowy winters and warm summers that support the forest's diverse ecological communities. Winter temperatures from December through February average in the teens to low 20s Fahrenheit, with annual snowfall of 60 to 80 inches providing important insulating cover for forest floor organisms and contributing spring moisture to the watershed. Summers bring average highs in the upper 70s to low 80s, with the warm temperatures and adequate rainfall supporting vigorous forest growth during the relatively short growing season. The fire climate of the jack pine plains is characterized by spring drying periods when low humidity and wind create conditions favorable for the wildfires that historically maintained the open jack pine ecosystem.

The Au Sable River and surrounding forests have been utilized by Ojibwe and other Algonquian-speaking peoples for millennia, with the river serving as a major canoe route connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron via inland waterways. The grayling, an elegant cold-water fish once abundant in the Au Sable River, gave the nearby city of Grayling its name, though the species was driven to extinction in Michigan by 1936 due to overfishing and habitat degradation from logging. The lumber era of the late 19th century devastated the region's old-growth forests, with the Au Sable River used to float millions of logs downstream to sawmills at AuGres and Oscoda on Lake Huron. The aftermath of logging left a barren, fire-prone landscape that eventually reverted to state ownership through tax delinquency, forming the foundation of today's state forest.

Au Sable State Forest emerged from the devastation of Michigan's logging era, when millions of acres of cutover timberland reverted to state ownership after being abandoned by lumber companies that had exhausted the old-growth timber. Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, the Michigan Department of Conservation initiated ambitious reforestation programs, with Civilian Conservation Corps crews planting millions of trees, building fire towers, and constructing roads and trails across the barren landscape. The Mason Tract, a 4,669-acre parcel along the South Branch of the Au Sable donated by industrialist George Mason in 1954, became one of the most significant conservation acquisitions in the forest's history, permanently protecting prime trout water from development. Today the forest is managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for multiple uses including timber production, recreation, wildlife habitat, and watershed protection.

The Au Sable River, designated as a National Wild and Scenic River for a 23-mile stretch, is the forest's premier attraction, drawing canoeists, kayakers, and fly fishers from across the country to its clear, cold waters and scenic wooded banks. The Mason Tract offers quality fishing, hunting, and canoeing in a primitive, undeveloped setting along the South Branch of the Au Sable, with no motorized boats permitted. The Shore-to-Shore Riding Trail crosses the forest, providing equestrians with a segment of the 220-mile horseback route that spans Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Multiple rustic campgrounds throughout the forest provide riverside and lakefront settings for camping, while the Wakeley Lake foot-travel area offers a quiet retreat for hikers and anglers seeking solitude.

The forest operates numerous rustic campgrounds along its rivers and lakes, offering primitive tent and small trailer sites with vault toilets and hand-pump water but generally no electrical hookups. The city of Grayling serves as the primary gateway community, located along Interstate 75 and providing outfitters, lodging, dining, and canoe liveries that service the Au Sable River. Roscommon and Mio are additional gateway communities on the forest's southern and eastern edges. A Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry to state forest campgrounds. The nearest airports with commercial service are in Traverse City, approximately 80 miles west, and Pellston, approximately 100 miles north.

Au Sable State Forest's management exemplifies the integration of sustainable forestry, wildlife conservation, and recreation management across a large public forest landscape. The Kirtland's warbler recovery program, a partnership between the Michigan DNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service, manages thousands of acres of jack pine through harvest and replanting on a rotational schedule to maintain the young forest habitat the endangered bird requires. Cold-water stream protection is a top priority, with buffer zones, best management practices for timber harvest, and partnerships with conservation groups like Trout Unlimited working to maintain the water quality and cold temperatures that sustain world-class trout fisheries. The forest also addresses climate change through adaptive management strategies that anticipate shifts in tree species composition and disturbance patterns as warming temperatures alter growing conditions.