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Michigan Hiking

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    • Michigan Hiking

      Gonna hike Pictured Rocks National Lake shore on the south coast of Lake Superior with my sons in August. It is one of the most scenic hikes, on bluffs 200 feet above the lake shore. I then will be hitting Isle Royal in September. Are there any others that hike Michigan on this site?
      bacon can solve most any problem.

    • hikerboy wrote:

      i only hike michigan on this site.
      i hope to hike part of it vicariously through you.
      i have yet to set foot in the state itself.
      i do know a cpa( connecticut peakbagging attorney) that may be able to offer some firsthand advice from guidebooks and articles he's read.
      I always take advice from a cyber hikers as long as they have lots of posts, and speak with authority. That shows that they know their stuff. Good research skills are also a must.
      bacon can solve most any problem.

    • sheepdog wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      Isn't Michigan part of Detroit?
      We fought Ohio for detroit. We lost and got it.....Just think how much worse Ohio would suck if it had detroit too.
      in that battle Ohio got Toledo and we go the UP so we definitely won.

      I'm from MI and will be hiking PRNL in Aug too. Maybe we will cross paths. I will be hiking front Grand Marais to Sand Point. I heard that the lakeshore trail was closed from Sand Point to Munising Falls so the last few miles was going to be a road walk. That was a month ago. I don't know if it is open yet. I haven't back packed PRNL before but day hiked to spray falls an have been to all the places you can drive to many times.

      For all the cyber hikers we should point out this hike also includes waterfalls, giant dunes that drop into the lake and a 12 mile long wilderness beach.

      As for other MI destinations, I've hiked North Manitou Island in Sleeping Bear Dunes NL. Not as big but makes a great weekend. I would also like to do the Porkies (Porcupine Mountains) sometime. This is a large state park in the western UP. It's managed as a wilderness so there are few facilities. But at large camping is allowed so no reservations or advanced planning needed. If you do a loop around the whole park it will be more than a 30 mile trip. It will take you from the shore of Lake Superior to the tallest mountains in MI.

      I was at IRNP a long time ago. We stayed in the cabins at Rock Harbor Lodge and day hiked the trails on the northern end of the island. Also rented a canoe and paddled Tobin Harbor. This is a spectacular destination. In Aug I will be hiking PRNL with a friend who is a retired wildlife biologist for the DNR. He was backpacking IRNP in June and has been there many summers doing Moose research.

      Got to go now. Can post later about some trails in the LP I've read about.

    • hikerboy wrote:

      i only hike michigan on this site.
      i hope to hike part of it vicariously through you.
      i have yet to set foot in the state itself.
      i do know a cpa( connecticut peakbagging attorney) that may be able to offer some firsthand advice from guidebooks and articles he's read.

      sheepdog wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      i only hike michigan on this site.
      i hope to hike part of it vicariously through you.
      i have yet to set foot in the state itself.
      i do know a cpa( connecticut peakbagging attorney) that may be able to offer some firsthand advice from guidebooks and articles he's read.
      I always take advice from a cyber hikers as long as they have lots of posts, and speak with authority. That shows that they know their stuff. Good research skills are also a must.
      The Detroit trail is lovely this time of year. With all the abandoned houses it's so much easier to choose a shelter at night. I suggest bringing bear spray.

    • sheepdog wrote:

      I worked for the Michigan Department of Corrections for over 29 years. Detroit kept me working. So I'll always be grateful.
      Ever visit the prison by Soo Ste Marie? Used to be a SAC bomber base in the area and I heard it was turned into a regional airport and state prison.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • sheepdog wrote:

      Dan76 wrote:

      sheepdog wrote:

      I worked for the Michigan Department of Corrections for over 29 years. Detroit kept me working. So I'll always be grateful.
      Ever visit the prison by Soo Ste Marie? Used to be a SAC bomber base in the area and I heard it was turned into a regional airport and state prison.
      Kinross Correctional facility....been there many times.
      That's not good...get your act together.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.

    • sheepdog wrote:

      Dan76 wrote:

      sheepdog wrote:

      I worked for the Michigan Department of Corrections for over 29 years. Detroit kept me working. So I'll always be grateful.
      Ever visit the prison by Soo Ste Marie? Used to be a SAC bomber base in the area and I heard it was turned into a regional airport and state prison.
      Kinross Correctional facility....been there many times.
      Kinross had a smallish lake with great fishing.

      I once paddled a canoe through the Soo Locks. Received a few frowns.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • here are four other trails I've looked into.

      Just not of Ludington on the shore of Lake Michigan is the noordhouse dunes wilderness area. I've day hiked into there before. There is a large NF campground on the north side. There is a trailhead with parking lot on the west side. You could hike in from Ludington SP from the south. There are no long trails. It's not a large area but you can camp almost anywhere you want. Because it is a dune are there isnt a lot of water. There is one inland lake not far from the west trailhead.. Otherwise there is lake michigan.

      Then there is the Manistee River NCT loop in the northern LP. The Manistee river trail follows the river for about 11 miles. Then you can connect with the NCT to hike on the hills above the river back to your starting point for a 23 mile loop.

      Then there is the Jordan tiger Pathway. This is in the NW LP. You start from Deadman Hill scenic overlook. The trail descends thw hill and follows the river for about 9 miles to a SF campground where you can spend the night. Then the trail winds back to the overlook for an 18 mile loop. I have day hiked a shot loop at the beginning a couple of times. A portion of this loop also overlaps with the NCT.

      My hiking buddy (the retired biologist from the UP) recommends the Hrap Hills in the western UP, also part of the NCT. I have not been there but found this description on the Web page for the Peter Wolfe Chapter of the NCT.

      "For 34 miles, the NCT follows an up-and-down route across the Trap Hills, from Highway M-64 to Old Victoria. The route is entirely off road except for a few hundred feet. And, the scenery is spectacular from the highest cliffs in the state of Michigan! With most of the route on lands of the Ottawa National Forest, it is not hard to find places to camp. PWC Segments 2 thru 10 in the Trap Hills are all on US Forest Service lands in the Ottawa National Forest. You may find places where others have camped, but there are no developed tent sites on the NCT in the Trap Hills. All in all, the Trap Hills provides one of the best choices for backpacking in the Upper Midwest. The trail is not heavily used, and many days you may see no one else on the trail. "

      The post was edited 1 time, last by odd man out ().

    • Drybones wrote:

      sheepdog wrote:

      Dan76 wrote:

      sheepdog wrote:

      I worked for the Michigan Department of Corrections for over 29 years. Detroit kept me working. So I'll always be grateful.
      Ever visit the prison by Soo Ste Marie? Used to be a SAC bomber base in the area and I heard it was turned into a regional airport and state prison.
      Kinross Correctional facility....been there many times.
      That's not good...get your act together.
      just another sad case of "the man" keepin a brother down.
      bacon can solve most any problem.

    • odd man out wrote:

      here are four other trails I've looked into.

      Just not of Ludington on the shore of Lake Michigan is the noordhouse dunes wilderness area. I've day hiked into there before. There is a large NF campground on the north side. There is a trailhead with parking lot on the west side. You could hike in from Ludington SP from the south. There are no long trails. It's not a large area but you can camp almost anywhere you want. Because it is a dune are there isnt a lot of water. There is one inland lake not far from the west trailhead.. Otherwise there is lake michigan.

      Then there is the Manistee River NCT loop in the northern LP. The Manistee river trail follows the river for about 11 miles. Then you can connect with the NCT to hike on the hills above the river back to your starting point for a 23 mile loop.

      Then there is the Jordan tiger Pathway. This is in the NW LP. You start from Deadman Hill scenic overlook. The trail descends thw hill and follows the river for about 9 miles to a SF campground where you can spend the night. Then the trail winds back to the overlook for an 18 mile loop. I have day hiked a shot loop at the beginning a couple of times. A portion of this loop also overlaps with the NCT.

      My hiking buddy (the retired biologist from the UP) recommends the Hrap Hills in the western UP, also part of the NCT. I have not been there but found this description on the Web page for the Peter Wolfe Chapter of the NCT.

      "For 34 miles, the NCT follows an up-and-down route across the Trap Hills, from Highway M-64 to Old Victoria. The route is entirely off road except for a few hundred feet. And, the scenery is spectacular from the highest cliffs in the state of Michigan! With most of the route on lands of the Ottawa National Forest, it is not hard to find places to camp. PWC Segments 2 thru 10 in the Trap Hills are all on US Forest Service lands in the Ottawa National Forest. You may find places where others have camped, but there are no developed tent sites on the NCT in the Trap Hills. All in all, the Trap Hills provides one of the best choices for backpacking in the Upper Midwest. The trail is not heavily used, and many days you may see no one else on the trail. "
      The NCT --Manistee River loop is a fun hike. The Jordan River pathway is very pretty. I'll have to check some of those others out..
      bacon can solve most any problem.