"Way up at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula is one of Michigan's genuine hidden treasures.  The Estivant Pines Sanctuary is a 377-acre stand of old growth Eastern White Pine growing in a mixed hardwood forest.  This wilderness tract was named for Frenchman, Edouard Estivant, who purchased it in the 1870's.  Since then it has changed hands many times and has survived several attempts to get in there and log these trees.  In the 1970’s, the Michigan Nature Association launched a successful campaign to save the Pines.  There is a current campaign to save an additional 128 acres to the Pines, creating 500 acres of protected old growth trees.  The Michigan Nature Association needs your help to raise additional funds in order to ensure this 128-acre addition can be saved!"

 

Estivant Pines

groveOn the right is what it says in the brochures and magazines and it is all true but, there is more.  This is a truly beautiful spot unlike anything else you will see.  If you want to see virgin pines in a wilderness setting, this is the spot.

You will enter a world that for many is unknown.  There are no improvements here and the going can be rugged.  I am in good shape and these trails are a handful.  If you go, dress properly and take water with you.  This is a wild spot and you will want to stay for a while.  I wouldn't recommend leaving the trail unless you are experienced and well equipped; rough terrain.

On the positive side, this is a beautiful spot full of silence and lush growth.  It is not crowded, I met two other people, and is as close to what old "up north" Michigan was like as you will find.  This is a magical place and if you take your time and slow down, you will hear and sense things you have missed for a long long time.

Just go through Copper Harbor and follow the signs.