USFS · Michigan

Hiawatha National Forest

Hiawatha National Forest is an 894,836-acre (362,127 ha) National Forest in the Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan in the United States. Commercial logging is conducted in some areas. The United States Forest Service administers this National Forest; it is physically divided into two subunits, commonly called the Eastside 46°14′N 84°50′W and Westside 46°08′N 86°40′W.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.3 million acresUSFSMI42 campgrounds within 10 mi79 Forest Service sites140 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
1 fire
active
Silver Leaf · 43 mi from the center · 12 acres
Interagency incident data as of 2026-11-01
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateMichigan
Size1.3 million acres
Forest Service code0910, region 09
Center point46.11° N, 86.68° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 11)

Boundary map

4 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Hiawatha National Forest10°20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 1.80 inches of precipitationFebruary: 1.54 inches of precipitationMarch: 1.95 inches of precipitationApril: 3.06 inches of precipitationMay: 3.16 inches of precipitationJune: 3.44 inches of precipitationJuly: 3.53 inches of precipitationAugust: 3.16 inches of precipitationSeptember: 3.72 inches of precipitationOctober: 3.51 inches of precipitationNovember: 3.01 inches of precipitationDecember: 2.26 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 16.8°F averageFebruary: 17.3°F averageMarch: 24.8°F averageApril: 37.9°F averageMay: 51.2°F averageJune: 61.2°F averageJuly: 66.0°F averageAugust: 63.1°F averageSeptember: 56.1°F averageOctober: 44.9°F averageNovember: 34.0°F averageDecember: 23.4°F average0 in1 in2 in3 in4 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Garden Corners, 16 miles from the center point at 587 feet, station USC00203078 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 34 inches a year.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

38 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 4 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
Au Train Lake Campground
Reservable34 sites
FS · Inside
Bass Lake Campsite
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Bay Furnace Campground
Reservable49 sites
FS · Inside
Bear Lake Campsite
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Brevoort Lake Campground
Reservable72 sites
FS · Inside
Camp Cook Campsite
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Camp Seven Lake Campground
Reservable39 sites
FS · Inside
Carp River Campground
Reservable20 sites
Show 4 more

30 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 79

The Forest Service lists 79 recreation sites in this forest, among them 40 dispersed campings, 14 campgrounds, 7 scenic Drivings, 5 interpretive sites. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 60

The 60 closest to the center point are listed; 19 more are on the Forest Service site.

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 140 named trails in this forest, 1,047 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
North Country NTL Scenic-East ↗76.2
Sturgeon River Canoe Route ↗51
Indian River Canoe Route ↗41.8
Bay de Noc - Grand Island ↗40.3
Brevoort-Cedarville OHV ↗36.5
Big Spring-Baldy Lake Snomo ↗35
Carp River Canoe Route ↗31.8
Big Bay de Noc Snomo ↗28
Moss Lake Motorcycle Trail ↗26.6
Trout Lake - Hulbert Snomo ↗25.5

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 140 trails in Hiawatha National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Wildfire
    Silver Leaf

    43 mi from the center point · 12 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Lakeshore · 9 mi
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
National Register listings within 15 miles · 73 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Hiawatha National Forest and Michigan

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Field Guide Hiawatha National Forest Ecological Classification System
    Greg Kudray, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Rail-trails Michigan & Wisconsin
    Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Explorer's Guide 50 Hikes on and Around the North Country Trail - Michigan and Wisconsin
    Thomas Funke, 2016
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Hiawatha National Forest?

1.3 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Hiawatha National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Hiawatha National Forest in?

Michigan.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Hiawatha National Forest?

Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites. Check the forest page for closures. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Hiawatha National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 46.110° N, 86.678° W. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is 9 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Hiawatha National Forest right now?

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Silver Leaf at 43 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Hiawatha National Forest?

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (9 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Hiawatha National Forest?

The National Register has 73 listings within 15 miles, including St. Ignace Mission and Grand Hotel.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Description: Hiawatha National Forest on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.