ABSTRACTMeasurements of ground‐water recharge in sand drift aquifers in northern lower Michigan show that winter and spring precipitation provides a major portion of the annual water yield. In general, the accumulation of snow beneath forest canopies varied inversely with crown density during the winters of 1962 and 1963. Pine plantations with crown densities of over 80 percent in winter had 1.8 inches less water in the snowpack than neighboring deciduous forests, at the time of maximum accumulation. Ground‐water recharge during the melt period was proportionally lower beneath the pine forests where snow accumulation was least. The difference in snowmelt recharge was a major factor in the smaller annual water yields measured under these pine fore