Forget The Old Debates: Michigan Has a Firmly Defined ‘Up North’ Line

The question of where 'Up North' begins in Michigan is about the most trite and tired discussion Michiganders can have. Yet it pops up often both on social media and in traditional media. After all, people engage with the discussion (and I earned a click from you).

So just when you thought you knew exactly where Northern Michigan begins (whatever your definition is: US-10, M-55, the Mackinac Bridge or maybe even 8 Mile Road), there's a new and somewhat official dividing line.

Defining the Michigan "Up North" Debate

It comes from Michigan's Department of Natural Resources and it's the Mason-Arenac Line named for the tier of counties stretching from Mason County (home to Ludington) on the Lake Michigan shore to Arenac County (Standish and Au Gres) on Lake Huron.

In between those two are Lake, Oscoda, Clare and Gladwin Counties.

The Mason-Arenac Line Explained

The northern boundary of each of those counties can be seen as a dividing line between southern and northern Michigan.

The Mason-Arenac line was shared to the Michigan subreddit of Reddit by u/LukeL1000 with a fantastic headline that I would absolutely steal, 'The “Up North” Boundary you never considered or knew about. Mason Arenac Line'

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The line is actually quite significant to the Michigan DNR. Or, rather, it was made quite significant by the Michigan Legislature in the 1994 Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. 

That law directs the DNR to treat public land differently whether its above or below the line. The state must maintain a database of how much acreage it owns and manages both above and below the Mason-Arenac Line. There's also a provision as to making payments for land above the line.

A New Northern Identity for Michigan

A map of the state's land holdings show the clear distinction in the vast amount of land held by the DNR north of the Mason-Arenac Line versus land to the south.

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Perhaps here's a new T-Shirt slogan for souvenir shops in Michigan: You're Not Up North until you're Mason-Arenac Line North!