Highland Recreation Area is a 5900 acres (2,387.6 ha) state recreation area in the southeast part of the U.S. state of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. It is located in north Oakland County

Oakland County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...

, 14 miles (22.5 km) west of Pontiac

Pontiac, Michigan

Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...

.

Haven Hill Natural Area, within the Highland Recreation Area, was designated in 1976 as a National Natural Landmark

National Natural Landmark

The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...

.

Recreation Area

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor and accepted by the Natural Resources Commission...

 (MDNR), which owns and operates Highland, describes the recreation area as a parcel of forest, wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

, and kettle lakes primarily operated for light camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

 and drive-in/drive-out recreational day use. 45 miles (72.4 km) of trail

Trail

A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...

s in the recreation area are designated for hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

, mountain biking

Mountain biking

Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...

, and equestrian

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

 sports.

West of Duck Lake Road in Highland Recreation Area, a group of small moraine

Moraine

A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...

s are locally called "mountains" -- the highest elevation in the park, Mount Kanzer, is 1150 feet (350.5 m) above sea level. The highland for which this recreation area is named is this group of moraines.

National Natural Landmark

South of Highland Road and east of Duck Lake Road lies the 721 acres (291.8 ha) Haven Hill Natural Area and National Natural Landmark, a component unit of the Highland Natural Area. MDNR describes Haven Hill as an area that contains "all of southern Michigan's principal forest types within one small area, including swamp forest of tamarack, cedar

Thuja occidentalis

Thuja occidentalis is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is widely cultivated for use as an ornamental plant known as American Arbor Vitae. The endemic occurrence of this species is a northeastern distribution in North America...

, beech-maple

Beech-maple forest

A beech-maple forest is a climax mesic closed canopy hardwood forest. It is primarily composed of American Beech and Sugar Maple trees which co-dominate the forest and which are the pinnacle of plant succession in their range...

 forest, oak-hickory

Oak-hickory forest

The oak-hickory forest is a general type of North American forest ecosystem with a range extending from southern New England and New York, west to Iowa, and south to Northern Georgia. Smaller, isolated Oak-Hickory communities can also be found as far west as North Dakota, south to Florida and...

 forest, and mixed hardwood forest

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

Mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The typical structure of these forests includes four layers. The uppermost layer is the canopy composed of tall mature trees ranging from 33 to 66 m high. Below the canopy is the three-layered, shade-tolerant understory that is roughly 9 to...

. The area has remained largely undisturbed for the past 75 years." Haven Hill was preserved as a natural area first by auto magnate Edsel Ford

Edsel Ford

Edsel Bryant Ford , son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was president of Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death in 1943.-Life and career:...

, whose estate it was, and then by MDNR after Ford's death in 1943.

Today

The Highland Recreation Area, and the Haven Hill Natural Area embedded within the recreation area, are both located on M-59 directly west of Pontiac, Michigan. The nearest limited-access highway is U.S. Highway 23 at M-59/Clarkston Road.

External links

• Friends of Highland Recreation Area
• Highland Recreation Area Pure Michigan
  Pure Michigan
  Pure Michigan is the nationally known brand of the State of Michigan, administered by the state's marketing arm, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation...
  
  
• The Haven Hill Project
• Haven Hill Project Blog
• Haven Hill Project, Complete Haven Hill History
• Haven Hill Project, First History Hike Video
• Haven Hill Arch, White Lake, Michigan Waymarking.com
• Haven Hill Natural Area Protected Planet (World Database on Protected Areas)