Harrisville State Park
| Harrisville State Park | |
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 Location within the state of Michigan
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| Location | Harrisville, Michigan Alcona County, Michigan |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Area | 107 acres (43 ha) |
| Established | 1921 |
| Governing body |  Michigan Department of Natural Resources |
| Website | Official website |
Harrisville State Park is a heavily wooded state park on the shore of Lake Huron. It is located on U.S. Route 23 in Harrisville, Alcona County, Michigan. Established on a mere 6 acres (0.024 km2) in 1921,[1] it is one of the oldest parks in the Michigan State Park system, today encompassing some 107 acres (0.43 km2).[2] There were an estimated 151,273 visits to the park in 1996.[3]
Contents
Camping and features
Harrisville State Park features 229 campground sites, two modern bathhouses, and two mini-cabins with electricity, a fire ring, and an outdoor grill.[4] Each cabin is furnished with two sets of bunk beds and a table. The mini-cabins are designed to sleep four comfortably. Camping facilities are open from April 15 to November 1.[4]
The Cedar Run Nature Trail is a 2-mile (3.2 km) trail that was cut through the forested areas of the park as early as 1945[4] and takes about 1 hour to walk.[5][6] Other features include a swimming beach, beach house, picnic area, softball diamond, horseshoe pits, volleyball court, basketball court, children's playground, and group shelter.[4]
The park does not offer any facilities for boating or fishing. However, there is a boat ramp in Harrisville that allows direct access to Lake Huron.[4]
This is considered to be an important location for birders, especially as large and varied migratory populations move in and through it.[7]
It is "dog friendly."[8]
On the last Saturday in July, the park hosts an annual sand sculpture contest.[9]
The park also hosts periodic community events, such as hunter education courses.[10]
The Harrisville State Park offers bike rentals. The new program coincides with the opening of the new "Alcona Heritage Route Multi-use Trail." The trail is a three-quarter mile paved, multi-use trail heading out of the park and connects to the remainder of the trail leading into Harrisville.[6][11]
Birds and other wildlife
As with most places along the shores of Lake Huron, Harrisville State Park offers outstanding birding opportunities in May. It is not unusual to find over a dozen warbler species on a good day. Other species of birds may include nuthatches, woodpeckers, wrens, thrushes, vireos, and sparrows.[12]
Image gallery
See also
References
- ↑ "Harrisville State Park," StateParks.com, Accessed June 23, 2007.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Spencer DM, Kim DK, and Alexander PJ (1998) "Alcona County Tourism Profile," Travel, Resource, and Recreation Center of Michigan State University, Accessed June 23, 2007.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Profile for Harrisville State Park," The Weather Channel, Accessed June 23, 2007.
- ↑ "Trails," Huron Shore Chamber of Commerce, Accessed June 23, 2007.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Alcona County birding, map and narrative.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Michigan goavernment press release.
- ↑ Alcona Review, June 28, 2010.
- ↑ "Alcona County Birding Locations," Birds-n-Such, Accessed June 23, 2007.
