Elk country: the Pigeon River Country State Forest

Northeast of Gaylord, the land turns wild. The Pigeon River Country State Forest — more than 100,000 acres of forest, rivers, and lakes — is the largest unbroken block of undeveloped land in the Lower Peninsula. Locals call it “the Big Wild,” and a young Ernest Hemingway, who knew this country, called it about the greatest place he’d ever been. It’s deliberately left rugged: dirt roads, few signs, and miles of backcountry for hiking, camping, fishing, and horseback riding, including a 70-mile loop trail through the high country.

The forest’s biggest draw is its elk. Michigan’s elk were hunted out more than a century ago, then brought back — just seven animals, released in 1918 — and the herd that grew from them is now the largest free-roaming elk herd east of the Mississippi, around a thousand strong. They range across this corner of the state, and the village of Vanderbilt, right on I-75, is the handy gateway in. Fall, during the bugling season, is the classic time to watch them; the forest’s Discovery Center can point you to the viewing spots.

For buyers, this part of the county is about space and quiet. Properties back up to public land, lots are large and wooded, and homes run on wells and septic (see the well-and-septic note). It’s remote — which, for a lot of people, is exactly the appeal.