Glen Arbor Township in Leelanau County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Early State Parks

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 11, 2024

1. Early State Parks Marker

Inscription. By the end of World War I, the rapid growth of the recreation industry in Michigan, a need for a state-wide parks system had arisen. In 1919 the State Park Commission was established. D. H. Day State Park, honoring the commission's chairman, was the first park that it set up. When state parks were transferred to the Conservation Department in 1921 over twenty other sites had been acquired, most of them, like D. H. Day State Park, beautifully located on lake shores.

Erected 1957 by Michigan Historical Commission. (Marker Number 173.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1919.

Location. 44° 54.023′ N, 86° 1.191′ W. Marker is near Glen Arbor, Michigan, in Leelanau County. It is in Glen Arbor Township. It can be reached from the intersection of Harbor Highway (Michigan Route 109) and D. J. Day Campground entrance. The marker is reachable by auto using the roads of the D.H. Day Campground, a campground operated by the National Park Service. Inquire at the ranger's station at the entrance. Touch for map. Marker

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is at or near this postal address: 8010 W Harbor Hwy, Glen Arbor MI 49636, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northern Michigan Lower Peninsula,

in the Grand Traverse Bay Region,

and in one of the Lake Michigan Shore counties. It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sleeping Bear Point Life Saving Station. (approx. 0.9 miles away); The Moving Dune (approx. 1.6 miles away); Sand and Ice (approx. 1.7 miles away); Pierce Stocking (approx. 2.3 miles away); D.H. Day's Million-Dollar Plan (approx. 2.6 miles away); Glen Lake Was Once a Bay (approx. 2.6 miles away); Mother Bear Is Migrating (approx. 3.7 miles away); Of Wrecks and Water Trails (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Glen Arbor.

Regarding Early State Parks. The D. H. Day Campground, where this

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 11, 2024

2. Early State Parks Marker

marker is located, is no longer a state park. It is now part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a national park operated by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 21, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 21, 2024, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 137 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 21, 2024, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.