Michigan state parks news - September 2026

While we aren't trying to wish time away, those first hints of fall – crimson leaves and shorter, cooler evenings – are hard to ignore. Here are some ideas to embrace the season:

• Book a state park campsite or harbor slip, when you'll often find open midweek dates and weekend openings. Or, if you're looking for a more rustic experience, stay in one of 140-plus state forest campgrounds located throughout Michigan's Upper and northern Lower Peninsulas.
• Walk, run, roll, bike! Find color along Michigan's 1,300 miles of state-designated trails.
• Seeking an adrenaline rush? Soar down the zipline at Michigan Luge Adventure Sports Park in Muskegon State Park or take a whitewater rafting trip at at Menominee River Recreation Area in the western Upper Peninsula. Outfitter companies keep whitewater adventures running through October.
• Volunteer at a stewardship workday.

You can also use Pure Michigan's fall color map to plan your trip. Just slide the leaf to scout predicted color.

Get a bird's-eye view of the western Upper Peninsula's stunning fall foliage and Lake Superior on a fall color chairlift ride to the top of the Porkies Winter Sports Complex in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.

The chairlift is open weekends Saturdays and Sundays Sept. 26 through Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST.

As the weather cools and the days shorten, the DNR removes swim buoys and the Great Lakes flag system from state park beaches.

Once buoys are removed – a process that always starts after Labor Day – the area is no longer considered a designated swim area. While the beach remains open to the public, swimming is not recommended, and beachgoers are urged to pay keen attention to weather and water conditions.

Visit Michigan.gov/BeachSafety for tips and information on safely visiting the Great Lakes, including buoyed swim beach locations, the beach flag warning system, Great Lakes currents (and how to escape them) and more.

Experience Michigan's brilliant fall foliage in a whole new spectrum. Several state parks offer specially adapted EnChroma lenses or sunglasses designed to help visitors with red-green colorblindness experience vibrant autumn hues more clearly, distinctly and vibrantly.

Following a recent expansion, these adaptive lenses are already available at the following locations: Porcupine Mountains Wilderness, Highland, Ludington, Maybury, William G. Milliken, Mitchell, Muskegon and Waterloo state parks and recreation areas.

Even more parks will offer them soon, including Brimley State Park, Grand Haven State Park, Island Lake Recreation Area and Rifle River Recreation Area.

To help reduce the risk of hunting accidents, always wear blaze orange when using trails on public or private land, especially during archery and firearm deer seasons.

While hunters are typically very vigilant, wearing this highly visible color is the best way to ensure they see you. Outfit your pet with a blaze orange bandana, leash or harness as well.

Archery season takes place Oct. 1-Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 -Jan. 1, and regular firearm deer season takes place Nov. 15-30. Find all hunting dates.