After ice storm, more than a dozen Michigan state parks remain closed indefinitely

• Fifteen state parks remain closed because of storm damage
• Some facilities and state-managed trails are also closed
• The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will post updates on its website as they become available

There’s no clear open date in sight for 15 state parks shuttered indefinitely by the Michigan Department of Nature Resources after parts of northern Michigan were hit with a severe ice storm. 

The storm started on March 28, resulting in countless downed trees and more than 300,000 customers losing power.

The DNR is almost finished with initial damage assessments. Officials found some parks still don’t have power, others have excessive downed branches. 

“Fortunately, we didn’t have much infrastructure that was harmed,” said Ron Olson, chief of the DNR Parks and Recreation Division.

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 The closures mean camping will not be allowed in these parks until they reopen. The DNR said, as of Tuesday, around 25 bookings were canceled as a result of the ice storm. About half were for Clear Lake State Park, the rest were spread out across the area. Some would-be campers canceled reservations in the Upper Peninsula.

"Travelers were avoiding having to drive through the impacted area to reach their destination," said Christa Sturtevant-Good, a DNR staffer who works with its Central Reservation System.

If people have reservations during the closure period, they will be contacted by the DNR. Upper Peninsula reservation holders traveling from the Lower Peninsula are strongly encouraged to cancel for a full refund. People should call the parks where they have reservations with questions.

In addition to state parks, the DNR Customer Service Center in Gaylord and Oden State Fish Hatchery and Visitor Center in Emmet County are also closed.

The DNR also closed all state-managed trails in the 12 counties where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared a state of emergency: Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Mackinac, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego and Presque Isle.

The DNR is providing heavy equipment and operators to help the Michigan National Guard and partners clear storm debris across the affected region. It is also planning to work with ORV, hiking and mountain bike clubs to help clear the trails.

“The damage was extensive in the forests of the northern Lower Peninsula where our recreational trails are found, and the cleanup effort will take weeks or months,” Paige Perry, DNR recreation trails specialist for the north-central Lower Peninsula, said in a press release. 

The DNR said it will post updates on its website as trails, state parks and facilities reopen to the public.