P. H. Hoeft State Park
Paul H. Hoeft was a lumberman, businessman, and an abundant land owner near Rogers City. He and his father owned a successful lumbering business that clear-cut thousands of acres in the northwest Lower Peninsula, owned and operated a general store in the area, and ran a shipping business to ship his lumber and other natural goods. By the 1920s, the lumbering industry had died down in Michigan, and many men had become multi-millionaires. With the creation of the State Park system in 1920, Hoeft offered to donate a large parcel of land on Lake Michigan for the creation of one of the state's first State Parks, and Paul H. Hoeft State Park opened in 1921. Just like most state parks, the first thing built was a picnic area, followed by a bathhouse, primitive campsite, and play area for local children and tourists alike to enjoy. Many of the state parks in Michigan saw improvements in the 1930s at the hands of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which added new trails, better roads, a new bathhouse, and major reforestation efforts. The two major indicators that the CCC did work at Hoeft are the dense forests and the bathhouse that now operates mostly as a picnic shelter. The shelter was completed in 1937 by the CCC, and it was designed by Ralph B. Herrick, who also designed the Ludington State Park Beach House. The 1929 Park Ranger Cabin also remains, which was purchased out of a Sears & Roebuck catalog, and can be rented for lodging. Today, Hoeft is known for its 120+ site campground, a handful of maintained trails, miles of beachfront, and rock hunting along the shore of Lake Michigan. We were not avidly searching on our visit to Hoeft, but we were able to get our hands on a few coral fossils and a few pretty stones. P.H. Hoeft State Park is a great place to stop for a picnic, search for fossils, take a hike, or go camping. It is located just two miles south of the 40 Mile Point Lighthouse and just under five miles north of downtown Rogers City.
