Sylvania Wilderness

Sylvania Wilderness is an 18,327-acre federal wilderness within Ottawa National Forest in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula, preserving 34 lakes and one of the Midwest’s few large remnants of old-growth forest. Once used by Ojibwe clans, the area entered a new phase in 1895 when A.D. Johnston bought land intending to log it but instead chose preservation; neighboring tracts became the private Sylvania Club resort. The U.S. Forest Service bought the tract in 1967, and it gained federal wilderness status in 1987. Its high, spring-fed, landlocked lakes are notably pure yet fragile, and its extensive northern hardwood forest supports diverse wildlife and low-impact backcountry recreation.

Michigan · United States