The trail features 12 numbered posts that correspond to an interpretive brochure available at the visitors center or can be downloaded from this web site and are laid out in a counter clockwise direction.

Post No. 6 marks the Monarch, the most famous tree in the park. Before the tree died in 1996, the Monarch stood at 155 feet tall with a circumference of 12 feet and was thought to be 325 years old. Surrounding it is still some very impressive timber as the tallest trees in the park will be viewed from post No. 5 to post No. 9.

The trail also provides access to the park’s Logging Museum, a quarter mile walk from the visitor center and even less from a trailhead just north of it. The museum is a replica 19th century logging camp with a bunk house and mess hall set up to show how thousands of men lived, worked and dined (rather well by the way) in the forests during Michigan’s logging era. Outside there are Big wheels, jammers and other logging equipment and a working sawmill that is operated by volunteers on several weekends during the summer.

Near post No. 11 is the Hartwick Pines Chapel. Perched on a small rise the log chapel, surrounded by towering pines, is a secluded spot where many visitors pause for a few minutes of peace and serenity. Occasionally even a wedding will be staged here, a ceremony in the heart of the forest.