Home › Michigan › Public land › State Forests
DNR Forest Resources Division
Michigan State Forests
The Michigan state forest system (3,954,811 acres of Forest Resources Division land) and its 15 forest management units, from the Upper Peninsula units to Pigeon River Country, home of the elk herd.
Photo: DaPuglet (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Michigan State Forests in numbers
Fifteen units, nearly four million acres.
State forest land is open to public hunting and trapping in Michigan seasons unless posted closed. ORVs stay on designated routes and forest roads open to them, and dispersed camping and blind rules come from the DNR land use orders.
Unit boundaries also wrap private, Commercial Forest and federal land; only the state parcels follow state forest rules. The six old state forest names are no longer used.
Counted by DNR region, the forest records split Northern Lower Peninsula 8, Upper Peninsula 7 and Statewide 1. Biggest forest records by acreage: Michigan State Forest System (3,954,811 acres), Shingleton Forest Management Unit (State Forest) (375,050 acres), Newberry Forest Management Unit (State Forest) (359,596 acres), Sault Ste. Marie Forest Management Unit (State Forest) (334,295 acres) and Gaylord Forest Management Unit (State Forest) (314,633 acres).
The Upper Peninsula: 7 forest records, the largest Shingleton Forest Management Unit (State Forest) at 375,050 acres. The northern Lower Peninsula: 8 forest records, the largest Gaylord Forest Management Unit (State Forest) at 314,633 acres.
Every forest record on this list, 16 in all
| Property | Type | County | Acres | Zone | DMU | Bear unit | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Montmorency, Presque Isle… | 291,430 | 2 | 487, 071 | Red Oak | North Eastern Lower Peninsula |
| Baraga Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Baraga, Houghton… | 142,356 | 1 | 027, 066 | Baraga, Bergland | Western Upper Peninsula |
| Cadillac Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Missaukee, Lake… | 234,198 | 2 | 083, 057 | Baldwin, Red Oak | North Western Lower Peninsula |
| Crystal Falls Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Dickinson, Iron | 303,714 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Escanaba Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Menominee, Delta… | 142,296 | 1 | 055, 021 | Carney, Gwinn | Western Upper Peninsula |
| Gaylord Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Cheboygan, Emmet… | 314,633 | 2/1 | 016, 005 | Red Oak | North Eastern Lower Peninsula |
| Gladwin Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Gladwin, Clare… | 230,775 | 2/3 | 486, 018 | Gladwin, Dansville | North Western Lower Peninsula |
| Grayling Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Crawford, Oscoda… | 246,649 | 2 | 487, 020 | Red Oak | North Eastern Lower Peninsula |
| Gwinn Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Marquette, Alger | 281,509 | 1 | 007, 152 | Gwinn, Baraga | Western Upper Peninsula |
| Newberry Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Luce, Chippewa | 359,596 | 1 | 048, 249 | Newberry | Eastern Upper Peninsula |
| Pigeon River Country State Forest | Forest unit | Cheboygan, Otsego… | 123,358 | 2 | 016, 069 | Red Oak | North Eastern Lower Peninsula |
| Roscommon Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Roscommon, Ogemaw | 260,802 | 2 | 072, 065 | Red Oak, Gladwin | North Western Lower Peninsula |
| Sault Ste. Marie Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Mackinac, Chippewa | 334,295 | 1 | 249, 017 | Newberry, Drummond Island | Eastern Upper Peninsula |
| Shingleton Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Schoolcraft, Alger… | 375,050 | 1 | 021, 048 | Newberry, Gwinn | Eastern Upper Peninsula |
| Traverse City Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | Kalkaska, Grand Traverse… | 314,151 | 2 | 040, 051 | Baldwin, Red Oak | North Western Lower Peninsula |
| Michigan State Forest System | State forest system | Alcona, Alger… | 3,954,811 | – | – | – | – |
Acres, zones and units from lands.json (DNR, USFWS, USFS and NPS layers and pages, retrieved 2026-10-22); unit rules from the 2026 regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
Michigan forest management units by acreage
Largest first. Acres are Forest Resources Division parcels in each unit.
| Forest unit | State acres | Parcels | District |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shingleton Forest Management Unit | 375,050 | 9,676 | Eastern Upper Peninsula |
| Newberry Forest Management Unit | 359,596 | 8,992 | Eastern Upper Peninsula |
| Sault Ste. Marie Forest Management Unit | 334,295 | 8,559 | Eastern Upper Peninsula |
| Gaylord Forest Management Unit | 314,633 | 8,592 | North Eastern Lower Peninsula |
| Traverse City Forest Management Unit | 314,151 | 8,578 | North Western Lower Peninsula |
| Crystal Falls Forest Management Unit | 303,714 | 7,699 | – |
| Atlanta Forest Management Unit | 291,430 | 7,718 | North Eastern Lower Peninsula |
| Gwinn Forest Management Unit | 281,509 | 7,158 | Western Upper Peninsula |
| Roscommon Forest Management Unit | 260,802 | 7,445 | North Western Lower Peninsula |
| Grayling Forest Management Unit | 246,649 | 6,614 | North Eastern Lower Peninsula |
| Cadillac Forest Management Unit | 234,198 | 6,203 | North Western Lower Peninsula |
| Gladwin Forest Management Unit | 230,775 | 6,039 | North Western Lower Peninsula |
| Baraga Forest Management Unit | 142,356 | 3,557 | Western Upper Peninsula |
| Escanaba Forest Management Unit | 142,296 | 3,585 | Western Upper Peninsula |
| Pigeon River Country State Forest | 123,358 | 3,096 | North Eastern Lower Peninsula |
From the DNR managed lands (LOTS) layer and the forest management units layer.
Michigan State Forests, asked and answered
Can anyone hunt Michigan state forest?
Yes, in Michigan seasons with the required licenses, unless posted closed.
Which forest unit is largest?
Shingleton Forest Management Unit (State Forest), at 375,050 acres.
Where is the elk herd?
In the northern Lower Peninsula around Pigeon River Country; elk licenses come by resident drawing.
Is every acre inside a unit public?
No. Private, Commercial Forest and federal land sit inside unit boundaries; check Mi-HUNT for ownership.
Next step: open one of the 16 forest records
Forest unit pages break the state acres down by county; Mi-HUNT shows which parcels are state land.