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 | 44°38′51″N 83°17′40″W / 44.64750°N 83.29444°WCoordinates: 44°38′51″N 83°17′40″W / 44.64750°N 83.29444°W |
| Area | 107 acres (43 ha) |
| Established | 1921 |
| Governing body |
 Michigan Department of Natural Resources
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| 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, it is one of the oldest parks in the Michigan State Park system, today encompassing some 107 acres (0.43 km2). There were an estimated 151,273 visits to the park in 1996.
Harrisville State Park features 195 campground sites, one modern bathhouse, and two mini-cabins with electricity, a fire ring, and an outdoor grill. 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.
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 and takes about 1 hour to walk. Other features include a swimming beach, beach house, picnic area, softball diamond, horseshoe pits, volleyball court, basketball court, children's playground, and group shelter.
The park does not offer any facilities for boating or fishing, with the exception of a carry-down beach access launch for kayaks and canoes. However, there is a boat ramp in Harrisville that allows direct access to Lake Huron.
This is considered to be an important location for birders, especially as large and varied migratory populations move in and through it.
It is "dog friendly", although dogs must remain on leashes, off the main beach, and owners must pick up after them.
The park also hosts periodic community events, such as hunter education courses.
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.
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.
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Wikipedia