Michigan's 97 state parks and recreation areas draw more than 20 million visitors each year, but their existence did not really start until 80 years after statehood.

So which Michigan State Park is the oldest?

Although Mackinac Island had been declared a national park in 1875 and became a state park 20 years later, the state park system managed by the Department of Natural Resources actually began in 1917, when the legislature authorized the purchase of 200 acres of land near Interlochen for a state park.

The land included one of the last remaining stands of virgin pine trees in the Lower Peninsula that had escaped the logger's axe. The purchase price was $60,000.

According to the state forester's report in 1918, the area was made up of "old growth white and Norway pine that has never been cut, towering 175 feet or more in height."

Appropriately, the park was named "The Pines," and though the name was changed to Interlochen soon after, this very special stand of trees can still be seen today as visitors walk along the Pines Nature Trail.

To celebrate its 90th anniversary as a Michigan State Park, Interlochen held an old-fashioned birthday party on Aug. 25.

"This was a great opportunity to celebrate the vision and legacy of the origin of the Michigan state park and recreation system," said Ron Olson, DNR Parks and Recreation Division chief.

Interlochen State Park Manager Craig Gulseth said each vehicle that entered the park received a special gift bag that included a commemorative token, a 90-cent coupon for the Beach Bites Café and other goodies.

Activities included games, music, craft demonstrations, prizes, antiques, refreshments, a nature hike and a wonderful performance by the Detroit Theater for the Dramatic Arts. Wagon tours to the new and renovated cabins also were given. 

From the early days of the state parks system Interlochen has always been popular, Gulseth said, with many visitors returning year after year.

"The park offers excellent opportunities for camping, swimming, boating and fishing, along with the beauty and fragrance of the pines," he said.

Established in 1917, "The Pines" was administered by the Public Domain Commission until 1919 when the state legislature created the Michigan Park Commission.

The park commission had authority to acquire land, accept gifts of land and develop those lands for park purposes. During the two years of its existence, the commission acquired and accepted 1,360 acres at 23 sites and developed 17 of them.

Of these 23 sites, eight were located on Great Lakes and seven included frontage on larger inland lakes. W. J. Hayes State Park was the only location in southeast Michigan.

Seventeen of the original parks still exist today: Burt Lake, Cheboygan, East Tawas, Grand Haven, Harrisville, Hayes, Hoeft, Mears, Interlochen, Mitchell, Onaway, Orchard Beach, Otsego Lake, Silver Lake, Traverse City, Wilson and Young.

"Few improved roads existed in northern Michigan, and the task of even getting to a park was a serious undertaking, with unreliable automobiles, frequent tire repairs and numerous tows by cooperative farmers and teams of horses assisting cars that were stuck in the mud," Gulseth said.

The work of the park commission was turned over to the newly established Department of Conservation in 1921, and over the next 24 months an additional 22 sites were created encompassing 2,333 acres.

Beginning in 1922 the parks first began estimating attendance although no detailed records were kept. Total park attendance for 1922 was estimated to be 220,000.

The system grew quickly. By 1925, the total number of parks had grown to 57, although not all were in operation, and park employees were provided with uniforms. Official park attendance was 2,539,672, which included 77,534 campers.

Today, Michigan's 97 state parks and recreation areas encompass 284,154 acres and offer four million campers their choice of more than 13,000 campsites.

"On Aug. 25, we celebrated this wonderful jewel of our heritage," Gulseth said. "But more importantly, we wanted to give our visitors an opportunity to take a glimpse of the past and see the recent physical improvements made to the park, as we look toward providing great recreational opportunities for generations to come."