Estivant Pines Wilderness Nature Sanctuary — Attraction in Grant Township

Nice park and trails. If you are coming solely for the specific old trees, you might be underwhelmed like I was. If you’re coming here having seen the sequoias out west or any other truly impressive tree focused park, don’t. If you’re coming here and normally live in a place like Chicago or Nyc and rarely get to see nature, definitely come here. On one hand it’s amazing to be surrounded by trees so old, but I could barely even find them on my hike and a lot of the ones that are left are cut or broken on the top half. Other useful info: It’s super quiet. This might be one of the quietest places you’ll ever go to (other than hearing a bunch of nature sounds of course). As such, if you have a big group or even just some rowdy kids, please skip this spot. You will be the loud group no one likes. Even other couples or groups I was passing were mostly silent the whole time, just taking it all in. It’s free/donation based, and parking is feet away from the trailhead. Driving up the road to get to it isn’t a problem either. Just be mindful of other cars on some of the narrow turns. It’s not super well known so it isn’t as packed with people as other spots are. Fairly easy- only a few steep hills to go up or down in. It’s also possible to do it in sandals, though hiking shoes would definitely be preferred. Don’t forget to look up and listen! I found a woodpecker going to town on a tree after a few minutes of quietly observing. Also recommend reading the history of it on the bulletin board at the entrance- the history of these trees and how close they’ve been to being cut down multiple times is crazy.

All in all, I’d skip this if you’re only in the area for a day or two. If you’ve got like a week here and just need something to do, this is a pretty nice way to...

For those who us who seek peace and refuge within nature, Estivant Pines offers that peace. In this wondrous place I found a specific location that was visibly alive yet which emitted no noise. I could only hear my heartbeat and just the faintest intermittent hum. This was truly the most peaceful place I have ever been in my life. Walking among these towering giants that have been presiding over these woods for hundreds of years was humbling. Encountering the rocky areas was very interesting, I instantly felt aware of these areas having local significance throughout history and could only imagine what had taken place there.

Estivant Pines is best recommended after spending at least a day in the KP/UP and all of its moving water and noise. The contrast between the beautiful beaches and the silent forest with no noise to be heard at the right spot, is diabolical.

This area was recommended by a friendly local...

The trails are reopened from construction! The gravel road leading up to it was also graded recently, so most cars can drive through it no problem.

Absolutely beautiful place. Massive white pines, paper birches, and red oaks spread throughout the grove. The trails are well maintained and clearly marked, and the roundtrip distance isn’t that high, only around 2-2.5 miles or so. If you’re like me, it’ll take you a few hours to get through it since there’s so many good trees to stop and hug.

Sadly, there is lots of graffiti here as well. Many names, initials, hearts, phalluses, etc. that selfish wastes-of-air have carved into trees over time. If you’re one of those people who vandalized nature with a crude heart and the first letters of your and your partner’s names, I hope you have a...