Many of you will be heading Up North for this holiday weekend, packing up the car to leave today or tomorrow. And when you do, be aware that things will look a little different due to the massive March ice storm that affected about 3 million acres of Northern Michigan.
Twelve counties, including Alpena, Oscoda, Emmet, and Mackinac, are under a state of emergency for repairs. This includes 19 state parks, 55 state forest campgrounds, and 169 boating access sites.
The Department of Natural Resources is asking everyone to respect all nonmotorized and motorized trail closures due to potential hazards. If you are heading out to fish or paddle, be on the lookout for downed trees, branches, or other obstructions in the water. You may also encounter boating access site closures. The weight of the ice on the trees caused many to fall, snap in half, or lose a significant number of branches. If you're spending time outdoors, be aware of broken branches overhead and underfoot.
You probably already have your campsite reserved, but remember that the DNR has aninteractive map where you can check out campgrounds and park facilities across the upper and lower peninsulas.
The good news is that a good chunk of DNR-managed facilities up north are now back open. 1 84 sites are back open to the public, 45 facilities, mainly in Cheboygan County, are still closed as cleanup continues.
The list of state-managed trails that are still closed is a little more lopsided. That number is still sitting at over 2,000 miles of trails as of Thursday morning.
Now, this shouldn’t stop you from going up north this weekend. The DNR is just asking people to be aware of their surroundings and take extra precautions.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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