Leelanau State Park is located at "the tip of the pinky
finger" of
Michigan's glove-shaped lower peninsula. The park covers more
than 1,200
acres and includes a beautiful stretch of beach along Lake
Michigan. I
visited this area in July 1993 and again in September 2000.
Directions
to the old growth: heading north to the park from Northport,
look for a
small airport on the left and then take a left onto Densmore
Road.
Follow the road until it ends at a small parking lot. Take the
trail
that begins at the parking lot and follow the trail signs to the
beach.
It's about a mile hike, and along the way you will notice stands
of
mature/old growth beech and maple, especially after about half a
mile.
There are also a few large hemlock and white pine, as well as
paper
birch (Betula papyrifera).
As you approach the beach, the forest transitions from large
beech-hemlock-white pine into scattered cottonwood on the sand
dunes
immediately adjacent to Lake Michigan. Is this how the forest
transitioned to beach in the pre-logging era? It's hard to say
how much
human disturbance took place in this forest, but I estimate at
least 100
acres of old growth beech/maple forest here. The beech and maple
attain
heights close to 100 feet from what I could estimate, with 2-3
foot dbh.
I have seen several examples along Lake Michigan of this type of
forest,
mainly in sheltered areas behind the large row of dunes set back
from
the lake shore a few hundred feet.
One very pleasing sight to behold from the beach was looking
back at
the "super-canopy" of white pine towering over the
other trees, their
tops "sculpted" into weather vanes with boughs
elongated in the
direction opposite to the prevailing winds.
Ernie
Ostuno
http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/ParksandTrailsInfo.asp?id=467 Michigan
DNR website
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