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Hard Luck

Ghost town · Gladwin County, Michigan

Sterling SW quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1968, 1:24,000)
Sterling SW quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1968, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Hard Luck is a ghost town in Gladwin County, Michigan, recorded as human settlement in Michigan, United States of America. It is the only former community in Gladwin County recorded on the federal names register, out of 39 across Michigan.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Hard Luck as a historical populated place: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 44.0717° N, 84.1931° W.

Key facts

Elevation765 ft
Nearest living townSterling, MI
Distance to it9.1 miles
Coordinates44.07167, -84.19306

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Hard Luck is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Sterling, MI (population 439), about 9.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 765 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.