Lumberman's Monument Visitor Center

Overlooking the historic Riviere aux Sable (River of Sand) Lumberman’s Monument Visitor Center offers forest visitors an opportunity to interact with Forest Service Interpretive Staff as they present a full range of conservation education and local history on the lumbering past of the Au Sable River Valley. 

Join us Friday May 1 as we kickoff the 2026 recreation season at Lumberman's Monument. With help from the Eastern National Forests Interpretive Association(ENFIA) and the Student Conservation Association (SCA), this popular visitor center will remain open seven days a week through Labor Day.

Our staff has provided an engaging season of activities. KIDS DAY! has moved to Fridays at 1 p.m. and features popular programming like Jenny Schroeder and her Great Horned Owl from Hawk Hill Raptors and Historical Interpreter Michael Deren and his characters "Shanty Boy, Jim Murphey" and "Civilian Conservation Corps Enrollee, 1941." 

Join us Independence and Labor Day Weekends, as we welcome back the Lumberjack and Logging Museum bringing their traveling museum dedicated to preserving, educating, and presenting the history of the American lumberjack, logger, and woodworker and the unique culture that they created. Demonstrations start at 10 a.m. This is a favorite among visitors and you will not want to miss it!

All programs are free of charge thanks to the ENFIA. Check our Events page as well as Facebook/X for upcoming Lumberman’s events.   

Lumberman’s Monument Visitor Center also provides for local history and interprets the area’s colorful lumbering past. Learn how logging helped develop northern Michigan and the men who cut the timber that helped build a nation. 

Study the 14-foot bronze statue depicting a “River Rat,” a surveyor and a sawyer representing Michigan's logging history. First conceived by former Supervisor of the Huron National Forest R.G. Schreck the statue greets many a forest visitor. Robert Ingersoll Aitken, known for the "Iron Mike" bronze statue at Parris Island, South Carolina and the West Pediment of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., was contracted to cast the statue, at a cost of $50,000. The completed monument was dedicated on July 16, 1932 as an homage to the significant impact 1800s logging era has had on the development of Michigan’s economy and the settling of the Midwest. 

A 16’ by 60’ log cabin-style visitor center built in 1982 by the Forest Service and local volunteers serves as the hub of interpretive programs from May through October. 

Descend the 242 steps down to the river and wander through the wanigan, a floating mess hall where the loggers would take in their meals.

Climb through a log jam, use a peavey, cut a wooden cookie with a cross-cut saw and discover the life of a lumberjack through video and displays. 

Hike the guided nature trail to the dune observation deck and look out over the expanse through the seasons and watch the vibrant fall color arrive in autumn.

There's always something to see or do at Lumberman's.