Public lands in Michigan

27 units whose boundary reaches Michigan. They are 8 national wildlife refuges, 16 wilderness areas and 3 national forests and grasslands, largest first within each type.

Acreage in Michigan

National wildlife refuges
119,991 acres
Wilderness areas
291,251 acres
National forests and grasslands
4,891,228 acres

Each figure is the acreage inside Michigan for one kind of unit, summed over the units listed below. A unit that crosses into another state counts only the part of its boundary that lies in Michigan. Wilderness often lies inside one of the other kinds, so the figures overlap and should not be added together.

National wildlife refuges

All national wildlife refuges →

Wilderness areas

All wilderness areas →
Show 4 more

National forests and grasslands

All national forests and grasslands →

Boundaries come from the agencies’ own layers. A unit is listed in every state or territory its boundary reaches. Data refreshed November 1, 2026.