AuSable River Trail (Hartwick Pines State Park)

Hartwick Pines State Park is located just a few quick miles off I-75 just northeast of Grayling. It is a very accessible park with seemingly plenty of trail options. I was heading home from a conference in Boyne City and stopping in here for a quick hour long hike seemed perfect. The weather also cooperated wonderfully.

The State Park website has a nice trail map download showing several large loops on the north side of the park. I was attracted to the AuSable River Loop on the southeast side of the park. There also seemed to be several short trail segments in the heart of the park between the Visitor Center and the Day Use area.

The River Trail was almost like carpet, nice and wide at first, very smooth, only some small roots and rocks. It would get rougher as it neared the River and there was even a boardwalk section over what looked like it was wet and marshy. The fall colors were nearing full swing and there were several areas of absolutely gorgeous forest.

It was a shame today that the bridges over the AuSable River were closed. I got the impression this has been the case for some time. I couldn't do the loop with them closed. There was a sign at the junction starting the loop warning of this. I hiked what trail I could and checked out the bridges at the north and south ends. It was tempting to just ford the River, looked perhaps 3-4 foot deep. I wasn't exactly excited about getting most of my person wet today.

Trip Info:
AuSable River Trail

Trailhead Elevation: 585 ft.
Distance: 5.04 mi. 
Elevation Gain: 167 ft.
Start Time: 10:55am
End Time: 12:20pm

Track:
I have a track and waypoints from the activity all contained in the embedded Google Map. Check it out and use at your own risk.