GAYLORD — The Michigan Department of Transportation will keep nearly all of the state’s 77 rest areas open this winter to maintain the convenience and safety they provide to motorists but will again close five seasonal areas beginning Dec. 2.

Only five rest areas are closed each year for a 20-week period, which this winter will be from Dec. 2 to April 14.

In the Upper Peninsula, the St. Ignace Rest Area on southbound I-75 in Mackinac County is the only one that will close for winter.