Please note that Michigan is home to Poison Ivy -- Oils from the plant can cause a nasty rash -- keep your eyes open! -- Before hiking off of established trails, be sure that you can identify, and be on constant watch for, Poison Ivy . . .

Michigan
Destinations

Cross in the Woods (Indian River, MI)

Legs Inn - To some, Cross Village, MI, simply marks the end of the "Tunnel of trees", a 27 mile drive up M-119, a paved Ottawa Indian trail, from Harbor Springs - One of those "Yuppie" coastal villages filled with quaint, albeit expensive, "boutiques."

The drive itself is a nice one, listed in one of those National Geographic books detailing "America's Best Scenic Drives." It takes about 45 minutes to slowly wind up the two-lane (barely) road from Harbor Springs to Cross Village. There are no stops between the two communities. Along the way you will be literally traveling through a "Tunnel of Trees," as the upper branches of the trees on either side of the road have met above you. Every now and then you get a peep of Lake Michigan through the trees, or the roofline of a VERY expensive, and LARGE, house. The homes are vacation retreats of the rich and not-so-famous (some famous people too, but they don't flaunt their presence when in the area). The drives to these houses are all gated, private, and labeled appropriately - for your own good, stick to the road.

In the spring and summer, the forest along the roadside is carpeted in trillium. In the fall, the oaks, maples, birches, and cedars host a festival of color.

Arriving in Cross Village, you can't miss the Legs Inn. From the road, it looks like some cheesy dive, or a favorite hangout for the hunting crowd, complete with neon signs and bulletins in the windows, a tepee next to the fieldstone Inn, and a bunch of cast-iron stove "legs" along the roofline. All this in a dinky little town.

Time to turn around and head back right? Wrong!!!. Walking into the Inn is a unique and interesting experience, as the eclectic and outrageous bombarded your senses. Most of the interior furnishings are built from carved tree stumps, twisted vines and branches, logs, roots, and driftwood, all shellacked and painted to portray any number of animals borrowed from Woodland Indian and European tradition. The bar is made of a giant log, and many of the table benches inside are also made of logs, although smaller in size. Even the doors are made of massive native trees.

Once you are done gawking at the various sculptures and have finished identifying what was made from what, be prepared for your next shock - the food.

Between the authentic Polish cuisine (they've even got cooks in the kitchen conversing in Polish), the extensive beer selection (over 100, from all over the world), and the freshly caught whitefish, you won't be able to be dragged out without sampling a few of their dishes. The prices are very reasonable for what you get too.

Behind the Inn lie exquisite gardens on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. If weather permits, you can even eat your meal outside.

Be sure to read up on the history of the Legs Inn in the front lobby - there are newspaper clippings displayed which detail the history of the original proprietor, Stanislaw Smolak (1887 - 1968), who built the Inn and all of the wacky innards using locally "recycled" wood (dead and washed-up trees). The fieldstone for the Inn was collected throughout the neighboring farms. The local Indians were so impressed by Stanley and his respect for nature that they made him an honorary member of their tribe, and named him "Chief White Cloud." The Legs Inn is still owned and operated by Stanley's family - Stanley's nephew George Smolak and his wife Kathy.

If you can, be sure to catch the local music. On Sunday's, from 4-8, there's "Music in the Garden" and, on Sunday evenings through Labor Day, the "Jelly Roll Blues Band", one of Northern Michigan's best, plays at 9. Other bands play on Friday and Saturday nights, plus on Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout July and August - no music after the season's close on Labor Day weekend, although the Legs Inn stays open until the third weekend in October.

The Mackinac Bridge connects Michigan's Lower Peninsula at Mackinac City with the Upper Peninsula at St. Ignace. Fondly dubbed Mighty Mack, the 5-mile bridge is the longest suspension spans in the world - a full 950 feet longer than the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Its opening in 1957 unified the two sections of the state and eliminated such nuisances as 23-mile lines of cars awaiting ferry passage across the straits.

On either side of the bridge is a roadside park where you can rest and get scenic views of the bridge and passing lake traffic. At night, the views are especially nice as the bridge is lit up like a Christmas tree.

On the north side of the bridge you can find Straits State Park, complete with modern camping facilities - in the evening, they even have trucks driving around selling bundles of firewood.

If, as you speed along US-2, about 4-miles west of Brevort, you feel a strange vibration from underneath your car, chances are that you are passing over the Cut River Gorge. If you're heading west, turn around. Motorists heading east should be on the lookout for a rest area on the north side of the road, right after the bridge ends. From this parking area, you can take either a dirt footpath or an asphalt path that leads under the bridge and to a stairway. Whichever way you choose to descend, the further down you go the less you'll hear of the traffic from above and the more you'll hear of the waves crashing into the beach below.

The trail to Canyon Falls begins at Canyon Falls Roadside Park. This trail is maintained by volunteers from the Michigan Technical University Forestry Program and, consequently, is in great shape and full of markers detailing the surrounding flora. There is also a map displayed at the trailhead.

After a quarter mile, the path reaches the Sturgeon River, then turns to follow the banks downstream. The river here forms a series of rapids, plus a few scattered miniature falls, then quickens its pace as it nears Michigan's largest box canyon ahead.

Canyon Falls, the first falls, drops straight into the mouth of this canyon. The smooth ledge at the top of the falls breaks away into a zigzag pattern as the white rush of water spills downward about 15 feet over a few rock layers, then plunges into a small pool.

At this point, the currently maintained trail ends. If you look closely, you can see where the original trail continues, although you might have to step across a barrier. This next segment of trail allows you to hike to the edge of the canyon, and down into the canyon itself. Be careful in this area, as most tourists have stopped their trek at canyon falls - Hiking down into the canyon, and along its edges, is not recommended for solo hikers.

The trail continues to follow the river's high banks along what some people refer to as "The Grand Canyon of the Upper Peninsula." Thick stands of pine and fir top the moss-covered walls of stone along the route, and the air is thick with the smell of balsam.

About halfway between Canon Falls and Upper Falls is an easy-to-miss small unnamed falls. If you pass it as you continue downstream, look for it on your return trip. Looking upstream it will appear as a distant 8-foot-drop of white framed entirely by the powerful greens of the surrounding forest.

The river continues its rough course through the bottom of the canyon to Upper Falls. Here, the river slides nearly 30 feet over a large chute of smooth black rock, then splits before it falls. The section of stream nearest the trail drops in several long stages.

Bond Falls
From the parking area, a simple hike down a short (less than 1 mile) loop trail will take you on a tour of Bond Falls. The trail begins by following the Ontonagon River, with views of rapids and small cascades along the way. In order to minimize erosion by the strong flowing river, the banks along the trail are lined with cement. The developed trail soon meets up with a number of staircases, which safely take you down the hillside.

At the bottom of the stairs you have an unobstructed view of the main falls - a drop of nearly 50 feet over a cliff who's face looks like a series of squared-off rock stairs.

At the bottom of the developed trail, there is a set of bridges that take you across the river and to the second half of the loop which returns to the parking area. This portion of the loop trail is not as developed as the previous leg, and lacks such luxuries as stairs. Those who are not sure of their footing should go back the way they came. At the height of summer, when river levels are at their lowest, daring individuals can leapfrog along a series of exposed boulders onto an island near the middle of the falls. The boulders can be found near the bottom of the falls, along the edge of the "undeveloped" half of the loop. As the river is not fast moving or deep in this area, slipping will result in nothing more than being thigh-high in water.

2 1/2 miles east of Eagle River, you'll find Jacob's Falls.

Part of Jacob's Falls can be seen from the roadway. Climbing a steep path into the forest will take you to the upper cascades. Because of the angle of the path, and the density of the forest, your focus is centered on the falls themselves - there are no scenic view of the forest beyond, nor is is the sky acting as a backdrop to the scene. Moss covers much of the surrounding area, giving the falls an emerald hue.

Next to the scenic parking area you'll find The Jampot Bakery, home to three real-live monks who have withdrawn from the world and now produce old-world baked goods, jams, and butters. As with everything in the U.P., it's simple, laid back, and friendly. If you're backpacking in the area, make sure to buy some extra bread and a container of jam to hit the trail with.

Climbing 600 feet, Brockway Mountain Drive is as close to "mountain" driving conditions as you're going to find in Michigan. In fact, the road is the highest between the Alleghenies and the Rocky Mountains. From the lookout point at the top of the drive, you have an excellent view of the lake and surrounding countryside - Eagles and hawks can be seen soaring through the sky and, on a clear day, you can make out Isle Royale National Park, beckoning from forty miles away. Needless to say, sunsets here can be breathtaking.

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore - According the Chippewa Indian legend, a mother bear, Mishe Mokwa, fled a great forest fire in Wisconsin with her two cubs. Mishe Mokwa reached the Michigan shore and climbed a steep bluff to await her cubs. The cubs, exhausted by their long swim, never reached land. The mother bear waited day after day to no avail. Finally she died. The Great Spirit Manitou marked her resting place with the Sleeping Bear Dunes and raised North and South Manitou Islands from the spot where the cubs perished.

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore encompasses a 35-mile stretch of Lake Michigan's eastern coastline, as well as North and South Manitou Islands. The park was established primarily for its outstanding natural features, including forests, meadows, beaches, dune formations, and ancient glacial phenomena. The park also is home to an extensive Rural Historic Farm District, the 3,000 acres of Port Oneida.

The dunes are the product of several glacial assaults that ended 11,000 years ago. The glaciers left a legacy of rock, sand, and silt as they melted. Rugged bluffs now rise as high as 480 feet above the lake. Among the dunes are the ghost forests, the bleached remains of trees that were once covered by advancing dunes, then exposed as the sand moved on.

Many visitor simply drive to the "Dune Climb", try to run to the top of the dune, roll down, and drive away, assuming, mistakenly, that they have climbed the "Sleeping Bear" - in truth, they probably never even saw her. The "Sleeping Bear" is nearly gone now, the dune slowly carved into a bowl by the constant winds coming off of Lake Michigan.

For the hiker, loop and connector trails within the area can be used to create treks that range from a "quick look" at the landscape to multi-day outings which can extend from the dunes into the nearby Rural Historic Farm District, to the offshore islands.

Port Oneida Rural Historic Farm District (Map) has been recognized for the significance of its architecture, land use practices, and agricultural features, as well as for the stories that these homesteads tell about early European settlers to the region. It is rare to find such a large collection of older farms that are free from modern development. The area was farmed for over 100 years, the houses and fields passed down from generation to generation. Please respect any private property in the area. For your safety, do not enter any of the buildings and be cautious around them.

Mackinac Island - American Indians called it "Michilimackkinac", or "Great Turtle," but time and usage have shortened the island's name to Mackinac (MACK-i-naw). While extremely overrun by tourists, the island can be an interested place to visit, especially if you go there before Memorial Day or after the high season has ended on Labor Day weekend.

The island is 3 miles long, and 2 miles wide with high cliffs fronting the shore. Ravines, natural bridges, caves, and strange rock formations can be found.

Mackinac has a real Victorian image, preserved and enhanced by a small population of 500 permanent residents and scores of summer residents, maintaining bluff cottages in original state.

Outside of fire and, I believe, ambulance, there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island's roads. The airport most likely has a number of necessary vehicles, which stay within the airport limits. I've never even seen any of the aforementioned, I just remember reading about the fire engine and the others would only make sense. In the wintertime, snowmobiles are used for transportation on the island. In all other cases, its either horse and buggy, bicycle, or foot.

To get onto the island, take one of the many ferries from either St. Ignace or Mackinaw City. The trip lasts about 30 minutes and, like all open-air excursions on the Great Lakes, the wind chill can make the tour and extremely cold experience, even in the summertime - be sure to pack a light windbreaker. There is no camping allowed on the island, but the highpoints can easily be covered on foot in a solid day. For those wishing to spend the night, there are many Victorian styled bed and breakfasts, which are traditionally open from mid-May to late October, and mid-December to March.

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Kitch-iti-ki-pi - Located in Palm Brooks State Park, Kitch-iti-ki-pi, or "Big Spring", is the State's largest natural spring. It is 200 feet wide and 40 feet deep. Over 10,000 gallons per minute "erupt" through the sandy bottom of the spring from the many fissures in within the limestone base. The spring flows year-round with a constant water temperature of 45°.

The name "Kitch-iti-ki-pi" is a Chippewa word (I'll get the meaning the next time I'm up there :)

Visitors to the spring can hop aboard a 15x15' self-operated wooden raft with a viewing area in the middle. The raft is connected to a steel cable stretched across the spring, and a wooden dowel is used as a lever to pull the raft and its passengers (up to thirty) slowly from one side of the spring to the other - small children especially get a kick out of providing the muscle, actually pulling the raft into motion (although sometimes it takes two working in tandem).

Looking through the viewing area visitors will see the spring "erupting" from the floor below, with bubbles rising up to the surface through an ever-changing array of shapes created by clouds of sand. Huge brown trout can be seen slowly meandering by, and the limestone-encrusted roots of nearby trees reach out, fully exposed, into the spring.

The Tahquamenon Falls are Michigan's best-known, and most visited, set of falls. They can be found in Tahquamenon Falls State Park, the second largest state park in Michigan, extending over thirteen miles along the Tahquamenon River and encompassing more than 35,000 acres.

With a width of 200-feet, a nearly 50-foot-drop, and a flowage of up to 50,000 gallons a second, the Upper Tahquamenon Falls are the second largest falls east of the Mississippi. The water flowing from the lowlands in rich in tannic acid from cedar and tamarack trees and is a deep, golden brown, At the bottom of the falls, a thick foam forms making the water look like root beer.

The lower falls, divided by an island, are a series of rapids and cascades. Boat rentals are on-site, allowing you to row the 100 yards to the island and walk around the small island. Here you will have the opportunity to get extremely close, and even touch, the falls. In dry summers, when the level of the river has fallen, you can walk out into the river and actually sit next to the falls without having to worry about being swept away. Please be on the lookout for patches of moss growing in the shallow waters - they tend to be extremely slippery and falling can cause injury by the surrounding rocks.

While there are a lot of tourists attracted to the falls, taking the option of hiking the four miles from the Upper to Lower falls will give you a window of escape. Arriving in the morning will get you a jump on the crowds. Also, don't forget that there's more to the park then just the falls - Tahquamenon Falls State Park is a designated wilderness area and, as such, you won't see a power line or hear a car once you get out into the backcountry. Winter visitors will be able to inspect the falls in a frozen state and study the waters to their content.

For me, Munising is the "combination plate" of the Upper Peninsula (U.P.). If someone had only a week to experience natural Michigan, Munising would be the place to go - it gives the visitor an excellent introduction to the many types of natural wonders which can be found in the state, all in one convenient location. Within a 30-minute drive, there is an abundance of lakes, rivers, waterfalls, sand dunes, long and short hiking trails, cliffs, wetlands, and flat and hilly terrain.

By simply chasing waterfalls, the entire gambit of local sites can be experienced. Some of the waterfalls are located right off of the roadside (Alger, Wagner, and Scott). Others are confined within cheesy tourist attractions where you have to pay a small fee to see the falls (Horseshoe). However, each fall has its own unique shape, size, and personality and should be visited if only for the sake of comparison. Most of the falls require a hike of anywhere from a quarter mile (Munising) to 6 miles (Spray) to see. Other area "hike-in" falls include Laughing Whitefish, Memorial, Castle, Mosquito, Sable, and Chapel falls.

By using the Lakeshore/North Country Trail found within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore as a base trail from getting between in-park waterfalls, the challenges of a multi-day, backcountry trip can be experienced.

The roadside falls can also be turned into extended hikes as you climb to the top of the falls and follow the river flow back into the woods looking for smaller falls upstream and other interesting "distractions."

For a complete listing of other Munising area waterfalls, as well as the 200 naturally occurring waterfalls recognized in the U.P., along with their locations, refer to DeLORME's Michigan Atlas and Gazetteer.

Books dedicated to outlining Michigan's Waterfalls include:

Roar of Thunder Whisper of Wind: A Portrait of Michigan Waterfalls by C. J. Elfont
A Guide to 199 Michigan Waterfalls by the Penrose family

Big Eric's Bridge is in a relatively remote location and a great spot to make camp. Trees and wildflowers surround the meadow-like area near the bridge - the Huron River flowing beside it. Just below the bridge, the river drops in three sections to form Big Eric's Falls.

Rocks scattered throughout the river form a series of rapids and smaller waterfalls, a smoothing rhapsody for overnight visitors. The fishing is great, and there is an abundance of wild berries, which can be found throughout the summer months.

Day hikers can take the riverside trails and head up steam, along the west branch of the Huron River. About 1.5 miles upstream hikers will find the West Branch Falls and, in another 2.5 miles, Eric's Falls.

From its Wisconsin origin, the Black River runs 30 miles and drops 1000 vertical feet before dropping into Lake Superior.

CR-513, the road from Bessemer to Lake Superior, follows the course of the Black River. As this route nears each of the falls found along the river, parking areas become available. From any one of the falls hikers can opt to take the riverside trail to get from to the next set of falls. This sure beats returning to the car and driving. Be on the lookout for bear activity in this area - while you will most likely not see an actual black bear, there are plenty of standing and felled trees in the area which show the telltale scars made by bears ripping at the bark to get at the underlying insects.

If you're hiking the riverside trail, it's about nine miles from the first set of falls (Narrows Falls) to where the Black River flows into Lake Superior. Narrows Falls if mainly a rapids, but it is in a tucked away into a very scenic spot and is located near the Narrows Spring Campground.

About 2.5 miles downstream are the Chippewa Falls and, in another 1.5 miles, the Algonquin Falls, another set of falls that some would simply classify as rapids.

After another 1.5 miles of riverside hiking are the Great Conglomerate Falls (30 foot). The final 3.5 miles to Lake Superior are home to an additional four sets of waterfalls - Patowatomi (40 foot), Gorge (30 foot), Sandstone (20 foot), and Rainbow (45 foot drop).

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is located 15 miles west of Ontonagon in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Established in 1945, the parks 60,000 acres are one of the few remaining large wilderness areas in the Midwest. Towering virgin timber, steep ridges, secluded lakes, and miles of wild rivers and streams make a visit to the "Porkies" a trip to remember.

The "Porkies" represent one of the few remaining large wilderness areas in the Midwest.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources maintains over 90 miles of foot trails and 16 rustic trailside cabins for use by the public. Trails traverse most of the park and lead hikers to spectacular overlooks and vistas.

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Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore - Sandstone cliffs - ochre, tan, brown, ssandwiched with layers of white and green - tower 50 to 200 feet above the water. Lake Superior - so vast, so blue - glistens against a cloud-streaked sky. Deep forests - emerald, black, gold - open onto small lakes and waterfalls. The image is reminiscent of a master's painting: a palette of nature's colors, shapes, and textures creates the scene that is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

This place of beauty was authorized as the country's first national lakeshore in 1966 to preserve the shoreline, cliffs, beaches, and dunes, and to provide an extraordinary place for recreation and discovery. Little more than 6 miles across at its widest point, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore hugs Lake Superior's shore for nearly 40 miles, stretching across the area between Munising and Grand Marais. The park consists of two zones: the Lakeshore Zone, owned and managed by the National Park Service, and the Inland Buffer Zone, a mixture of federal, state, and private ownership. Together these nearly 72,000 acres protect a portion of Lake Superior's shoreline and watershed.

The name "pictured rocks" comes from the steaks of mineral stain that decorate the face of the sculpted cliffs. The ramparts of the cliffs are composed of 500-million-year-old Cambrian sandstone of the Munising Formation. The Munising Formation makes up much of the angled slopes and formations, such as Miners Castle - a spectacular example of the erosive action of rain, wind, and ice. Closest to lake level is the Jacobsville Formation, a late-Precambrian mottled red sandstone that is the oldest exposed rock in the park. Covering all is the 400 million-year-old Ordovician Au Train Formation, a harder limy sandstone that serves as a capstone and protects the underlying sandstone from rapid erosion. The streaks on the cliffs occur when groundwater oozes out of cracks. The dripping water contains iron, manganese, limonite, copper, and other minerals that leave behind a colorful stain as water trickles down the cliff face.

On the east side of the park, near Grand Marais, lie the Grand Sable Dunes. The dunes expose part of a glacial deposit up to 200 feet high. Five square miles of dunes that once edged an ancient predecessor of Lake Superior top the banks by another 85 feet.

At 6,983 acres, Craig Lake State Park isn't the biggest of Michigan's State Parks. It is, perhaps, the most isolated and least visited though - Most administrative chores are handled by nearby Van Ripper State Park. Simply put, Craig Lake is pure wilderness.

At one time, Craig Lake was the "getaway" retreat of a national brewery executive who built a pair of cabins on the shore of Craig Lake. Today, visitors to the park can can rent these cabins - they sleep 6 an 14 people respectively.

The parking area, the only other facility in the park, is an adventure in itself. The posted entrance to Craig Lake State Park is Keewaydin Lake Road, a set of "two-tracks" situated 8 miles from Van Ripper State Park on US-41/M-28. The trip, which begins down Keewaydin Lake Road, is actually a 6.5 mile "strut killer" along logging roads that can be deeply rutted and washed out. The lack of signs and appearance of "forks" can make the route more than just a little confusing - stop at Van Ripper State Park headquarters and pick up a Craig Lake access map, containing exact mileage from one turn to the next.

From the parking area, it's either a 1.5-mile hike, or a portage and a 30 minute paddle across the lake.

A loop hike around Craig Lake is a distance of approximately 6.5 miles and can be a fun and peaceful wilderness hike.

For paddlers, a portage can take you into the surrounding Clair and Crooked Lake. From Crooked Lake, you can paddle into the adjoining Aligan Lake. A steam flows from Aligan's southwest shore into another, unnamed, lake to the south, which has a 3.5 acre island at its heart.

At only 5,260 acres South Manitou Island is a great "first" wilderness experience. The boat ride from Leland takes approximately 1 1/2 hours and, by forgetting your windbreaker, can be a harsh experience in itself.

The boat docks on the island for 5 hours, allowing plenty of time for some exploration - The trail system and the sandy shoreline of the island allows for unparalleled hiking opportunities to see rare wildflowers, old farmsteads, and a number species of hawks and eagles. The island has only about eleven species of mammals, including fox, beaver, coyote, fox squirrel, snowshoe hare, deer mouse, four species of bats, and the Northern Miniature Tiger (AKA chipmunk).

For overnight visitors, South Manitou Island has three campgrounds: Weather Station, Popple and Bay. The three locations all provide very good spacing of sites. In most cases, you cannot see your neighbors. Check the South Manitou Island Map for campground locations.

I've graded North Manitou Island as somewhere between Intermediate and Advanced in terms of outdoor skills. The reason for this it that, once you've decided to stay on the island, there's no changing your mind - the boat from Leland has no layover and leaves immediately. On top of this, the island has no protected anchorage, which means that, if the weather turns ugly, you're basically stranded. Be sure to pack at least an extra day's worth of rations if you're visiting this island.

At 15,000 acres, North Manitou is three times larger than its southern neighbor. It is 7-3/4 miles long by 4-1/4 miles wide and has 20 miles of shoreline. The highest point on the island is in the northwest corner, 1,001 feet above sea level or 421 feet above Lake Michigan. The topography varies considerably on the island. Low, sandy, open dune country on the southeast side grades into interfingering high sand hills and blowout dunes on the southwest side of the island.

Lake Manitou [elevation 675 feet] occupies a lowland in the north central portion of the island. To the west of the lake the terrain becomes very rugged as you approach the west and northwest bluffs. The bluffs are very incised and steep between Swenson's and the Pot Holes. Its 300-foot high face is deeply gullied by erosion.

Conditions on North Manitou emphasize solitude, self-reliance and a sense of exploration. Potable drinking water is available only at the ranger station, and, except for 8 campsites, wilderness camping regulations are in effect. Open fires are prohibited in the wilderness area - Use gas or alcohol stoves.

As the trails aren't always well marked, taking along a compass is recommended. Actually, with a "topo" map in hand the island is a great place to learn to use your compass. As it's easy lose the trail, you'll need a compass but, if you don't know what you're doing, a little common sense can help you from really getting lost. In a worst case, you just hike down to the shoreline and start walking around the island until you see a familiar starting point.

North Manitou Island Map

The High Country Pathway is a 70-mile trail through some of the most diverse environments in Michigan. Because it is a loop trail, there are a good number of access points from many Northern Michigan communities.

The trail cuts through Pigeon River Country State Forest, home to the largest free roaming heard of elk east of the Mississippi. Other fauna, which can be found along the trail, include white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, black bear, along with a host of smaller animals. Eagles and ospreys soar overhead, and more than 100 other species of birds call this area home. One of the best brook trout steams in the Midwest, the Black River, also flow through the area. The lakes along the trail offer fishing for everything from rainbow trout to panfish, to northern pike and bass.

Isle Royal National Park is one of the least known, and least visited, park in the National Parks system. Yellowstone, Yosemite, or the Grand Canyon get as many visitors in a busy day as Isle Royale gets in an entire year - On any given day, you share 134,000 acres with about 300 other visitors.

Isle Royale is the largest and most remote of all the Great Lakes islands. Accessible only by ferry or floatplane, Isle Royale is not something that you can visit for a couple of hours. Isle Royale is truly an escape from modern society, a total wilderness experience. Be prepared to commit at least a couple of days to your park visit.

For those opting to arrive by ferry, the ride is a 4.5 to 6.5 hour cruise; depending on which city you leave from. Except for a few freighters and the seagulls, all there is to see on your voyage is Lake Superior, the largest body of fresh water in the world. You cannot help but be in awe of the sheer size of the "Lady". The trip helps to put Isle Royale in perspective - you are entering a world of solitude and isolation. The island is relatively untouched by direct outside influences.

Isle Royale is 45 miles long, and 8.5 miles at its widest point. There are no roads, and no vehicles are allowed on the island. There are one hundred 65 miles of hiking trails, including the 42-mile Greenstone Trail. Off trail travel being difficult due to the dense vegetation, bogs, and swamps.

The park is closed from November 1 to April 15. It is the only National Park to shut down completely - no hikers, hunters, fishermen, or tourists; the only exception is the few researchers who tough out the winter in order to study the delicate balance between moose and wolf populations.

For more information, contact:

Isle Royale National Park
800 East Lakeshore Drive
Houghton, MI 49931
(906) 482-0984

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The Shore to Shore Riding-Hiking Trail is a 220-mile path connecting the town of Empire, on the Lake Michigan shore, with Oscoda on the Lake Huron shore. It is the longest continuous trail in the Lower Peninsula. Horseback enthusiasts looking for and extended ride conceived the trail - Hikers should expect to share the path with their equestrian friends. In fact, the trail is available for all non-motorized uses except bicycling.

The trail itself is far from wild, making use of rural roads, "two-tracks", and old Indian and deer trails which follow river valleys. For the most part, the footing on the trail is great. It's fairly easy to follow and well marked - re-supplying is never an issue. The trail covers terrain that can be described as "hilly", and, consequently, has habitats which support a vast array of flora and fauna, birds, and animals.

For more information, contact:

Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Forest Management Division
P.O. BOX 30452
Lansing, MI 48909
517/373-1275

Michigan Trail Riders Association
1650 Ormond Road
White Lake, MI 48383
810/889.3624

The North Country National Scenic Trail (4200 miles, estimated, upon completion) is the Granddaddy of the National Scenic Trail system. It links outstanding scenic, natural, recreational, historic, and cultural areas in seven of our northern States - New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota.

Other trails include the Lewis and Clark (3700 miles), Continental Divide (3000 miles), Pacific-Crest (2650 miles), Florida (1300 miles), Ice Age (1000 miles), Potomac Heritage (700 miles), Natchez Trace (694 miles), and, perhaps the most famous, the Appalachian Trail (2158 miles).

The Michigan segment of the NST contains 1150 miles of trail, 581 of which are certified - more than in any other state. From its point of entry, in the Upper Peninsula near Ironwood, the NST route soon enters Ottawa National Forest and Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. A short, but pretty, 7.5-mile segment is located in Craig Lake State Park. Rivers, waterfalls, and forested hills and ridges characterize the trail. Laughing Whitefish Falls and Rock River Falls and Canyon provide outstanding scenery as the trail continues eastward to Munising and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Some feel that the segment within Pictured Rocks NL may be the most scenic of the entire trail. This 43-mile segment parallels the shore of Lake Superior, sometimes at beach level and sometimes on top of the high, colorful, sandstone cliffs offering spectacular views across and down into the clear waters of Lake Superior. The trail continues eastward along the lake to Muskallonge State Park before turning south to Tahquamenon Falls State Park, where the second largest waterfall east of the Mississippi River and many smaller falls await the hiker. South of the park, the trail passes through Hiawatha National Forest on its way to Father Marquette National Memorial at the Straits of Mackinac. Trail users will find a side trip to Mackinac Island enjoyable. Use of a shuttle is necessary to cross the spectacular 5-mile long Mackinac Bridge expect on Labor Day morning during the annual "Bridge Walk." The long stockades of Fort Michilimackinac stand guard at the tip of the Lower Peninsula as a living history display of French and British history in the region. From the fort, the trail heads down the western side of the peninsula passing through Wilderness State Park, State forest lands, and the scenic Jordan River Valley. Continuing southward, the trail follows the Shore-to-Shore Riding-Hiking Trail for 24 miles before entering Manistee National Forest. The sandy floor of the Manistee provides easy walking southwards toward Grand Rapids. From there, the trail heads southeast toward Ohio, passing through primarily agricultural lands as well as a variety of State and local recreation areas and greenways.

Note that the NST is not complete and much of the trail sits on private land. Trail users are urged to show their appreciation for the voluntary public and private efforts to develop and manage the trail by using it and related facilities properly and complying with any applicable rules and regulations. Users should be especially careful to respect the rights of private property owners - those who have generously allowed the trail to cross their land and those who live adjacent to publicly owned segments. Please stay on the trail, especially when crossing private lands.


Strictly Michigan
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