I hiked the NCT across Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore this week. Went with an old friend I haven't seen in 15 years. He's a retired DNA wildlife biologist from the Upper Peninsula. We hiked the length of the park (40 miles) from east to west in four days.
Day 0 - Drove 7 hours to get to Munising, stopping for a pasty lunch at Suzie's in St. Ignace. We got our permit from the Visitor's Center in downtown Munising, spotted a car at our destination at the west end of the park (Sand Point) and then drove the other car to the east end (Grand Marais). Had the whitefish basket and beer sampler at the brewery. It's the only drinking place in town so it's always crowded. Go early if you want to get a table. Beer good - Fish and chips just OK - Not a lot of other choices as GM is a very small town. There is an outfitter, hardware, and small grocery store for supplies. We camped at Woodland Park, a large commercial campground right in town on the waterfront, since we didn't have time to hike into a campsite on the trail that evening. Pic #1 is from the campground looking west into the park. The camground has rustic walk-in sites for backpackers. If you are not shuttling cars, you can get transport to various trailheads by Altran, the local bus company. altranbus.com/backpack.html There is also a full-service commercial shuttle service available trailspotters.com/about/picturedrocks/ Reservations required for both.
Day 1 - Originally planned to hike from Woodland Park along the lake and then into the park, but they wanted 5$/day to park. So instead we drove to the Grand Sable Visitor's Center (free parking with backcountry permit) and started there. This cut two miles off the hike. Your permit tells you which campground you must stay at each night (but specific sites are first come first served). Our first day was 7.1 miles to Au Sable East campground. You start with a pleasant walk through the woods by Au Sable Lake and behind the big Grand Sable Dunes. At the Log Slide overlook you can see the front of the Dunes (pic 4) and maybe a deer at the picnic area (pic 2). Looking west you can see your destination near the Au Sable Light House (pic 5). Pic 6 shows my Tarp Ten Notch and Elemental Horizons Kalais. My hiking buddy has an REI tent and the same pack he has been using since the 1970's.
Day 2 - We hike 13.3 miles to Beaver Creek Campground. This section is mostly flat as you follow 12 Mile Beach most of the day (see pic 9). You pass the light house and a couple of drive in campgrounds. These have water and pit toilets for your convenience. There is a long stretch in a dark hemlock forest with very big trees and an old car (pic 8). Beaver Creek Campground may be the nicest in the park. There is a communal fire area on the bluff overlooking the spot where Beaver Creek (a good sized stream) meets the beach where you can watch the sunset (pic 3). Some of the campgrounds have toilets (pic 18) and some may even have walls. But these may not be marked on the maps so you have to look in the woods to find them or ask other campers. There were a few Thimbleberries for picking (pic 19). Also there were lots of blueberries.
Day 3 - We hiked 10 miles to Mosquito Campground (which did not have lots of bugs, despite the name). This section goes past the most scenic parts of the eroded cliffs that give the park its name. Also there were a few scrambles when the trail went up and down the escarpment, but since you are following the lakeshore, there is not a lot of elevation gain or loss. The trails is easy to follow and well marked, but some of the stairs were eroded leaving some big steps to get up or down slopes or rocks. The Coves Campground is near a series of scenic coves with beaches (pic 10). You soon come to multiple view points to see the cliffs all the way up the coast. Our campground is a few miles past the furthest point you can see (Grand Portal Point) in pic 11. One of the highlights is Spay Falls (pic 12). Note the tree on the tip of the rock to the right of the falls. You can walk up to this tree to look down and see the falls up close, but when you do, you can't tell that there is nothing between you and the lake below but that thin rock ledge. It's pretty safe though. That same tree has been there since my last hike to the falls 30 years ago. There are many tour boats that follow the cliffs (pic 13). It was raining that day so everyone was inside. We would wave if a boat would go by and you could see the flashes as everyone took pictures of the crazy hikers in the rain. Possibly the most scenic beach in MI (or anywhere?) is chapel beach (pic 14). Chapel rock at the end of the beach has a horizontal rock held up by 4 rock pillars coming out of a small base, with a large tree growing on the top. The large creek meets the lake with a water fall/cascade. And then there is a beach. There is a camp ground here, but no fires are allowed. You will also see a lot of kayakers paddling up close to the rocks below. (pic 15). At times, the trail goes right along the edge (pick 16) but there is always a more inland options for the faint of heart. For the Odd Man Out on the trail, you can climb to the edge of Grand Portal Point where the cliffs completely surround you for a photo op (pic 17).
Day 4 - We hiked 9.1 miles to the Sand Point Trail junction and from there it is 0.8 miles down the escarpment to the parking lot by the park headquarters. If you continue on the NCT it is an additional 2 miles to the trail head/parking at the Munising Falls Visitors Center. This section of trail doesn't have as many views of the cliffs. You pass the visitors center at Miners Castle (pic 20) which is the only place you can drive in to see the rock formations. Having hiked the length of the park, this developed view point is relatively underwhelming, but they do have flush toilets, picnic tables, and a gift shop. The trail from Miners Beach to Miners Castle is surprisingly steep, and after Miners Castle, it was quite muddy. It only rained for a few hours on day 3, but on our last day, it was blustery (whitecaps on the lake), windy, and cool (53 degrees at the end of the hike). But this is the UP in August - what would you expect? We celebrated with a dinner in Munising. I then drove 7 hrs home, getting back at 1:30 AM, stopping only at Gustafson's in Epoufette on US 2 (about 20 miles west of the bridge) to get some frozen pasties to take home. That is also great place to get smoked fish and meat.
Day 0 - Drove 7 hours to get to Munising, stopping for a pasty lunch at Suzie's in St. Ignace. We got our permit from the Visitor's Center in downtown Munising, spotted a car at our destination at the west end of the park (Sand Point) and then drove the other car to the east end (Grand Marais). Had the whitefish basket and beer sampler at the brewery. It's the only drinking place in town so it's always crowded. Go early if you want to get a table. Beer good - Fish and chips just OK - Not a lot of other choices as GM is a very small town. There is an outfitter, hardware, and small grocery store for supplies. We camped at Woodland Park, a large commercial campground right in town on the waterfront, since we didn't have time to hike into a campsite on the trail that evening. Pic #1 is from the campground looking west into the park. The camground has rustic walk-in sites for backpackers. If you are not shuttling cars, you can get transport to various trailheads by Altran, the local bus company. altranbus.com/backpack.html There is also a full-service commercial shuttle service available trailspotters.com/about/picturedrocks/ Reservations required for both.
Day 1 - Originally planned to hike from Woodland Park along the lake and then into the park, but they wanted 5$/day to park. So instead we drove to the Grand Sable Visitor's Center (free parking with backcountry permit) and started there. This cut two miles off the hike. Your permit tells you which campground you must stay at each night (but specific sites are first come first served). Our first day was 7.1 miles to Au Sable East campground. You start with a pleasant walk through the woods by Au Sable Lake and behind the big Grand Sable Dunes. At the Log Slide overlook you can see the front of the Dunes (pic 4) and maybe a deer at the picnic area (pic 2). Looking west you can see your destination near the Au Sable Light House (pic 5). Pic 6 shows my Tarp Ten Notch and Elemental Horizons Kalais. My hiking buddy has an REI tent and the same pack he has been using since the 1970's.
Day 2 - We hike 13.3 miles to Beaver Creek Campground. This section is mostly flat as you follow 12 Mile Beach most of the day (see pic 9). You pass the light house and a couple of drive in campgrounds. These have water and pit toilets for your convenience. There is a long stretch in a dark hemlock forest with very big trees and an old car (pic 8). Beaver Creek Campground may be the nicest in the park. There is a communal fire area on the bluff overlooking the spot where Beaver Creek (a good sized stream) meets the beach where you can watch the sunset (pic 3). Some of the campgrounds have toilets (pic 18) and some may even have walls. But these may not be marked on the maps so you have to look in the woods to find them or ask other campers. There were a few Thimbleberries for picking (pic 19). Also there were lots of blueberries.
Day 3 - We hiked 10 miles to Mosquito Campground (which did not have lots of bugs, despite the name). This section goes past the most scenic parts of the eroded cliffs that give the park its name. Also there were a few scrambles when the trail went up and down the escarpment, but since you are following the lakeshore, there is not a lot of elevation gain or loss. The trails is easy to follow and well marked, but some of the stairs were eroded leaving some big steps to get up or down slopes or rocks. The Coves Campground is near a series of scenic coves with beaches (pic 10). You soon come to multiple view points to see the cliffs all the way up the coast. Our campground is a few miles past the furthest point you can see (Grand Portal Point) in pic 11. One of the highlights is Spay Falls (pic 12). Note the tree on the tip of the rock to the right of the falls. You can walk up to this tree to look down and see the falls up close, but when you do, you can't tell that there is nothing between you and the lake below but that thin rock ledge. It's pretty safe though. That same tree has been there since my last hike to the falls 30 years ago. There are many tour boats that follow the cliffs (pic 13). It was raining that day so everyone was inside. We would wave if a boat would go by and you could see the flashes as everyone took pictures of the crazy hikers in the rain. Possibly the most scenic beach in MI (or anywhere?) is chapel beach (pic 14). Chapel rock at the end of the beach has a horizontal rock held up by 4 rock pillars coming out of a small base, with a large tree growing on the top. The large creek meets the lake with a water fall/cascade. And then there is a beach. There is a camp ground here, but no fires are allowed. You will also see a lot of kayakers paddling up close to the rocks below. (pic 15). At times, the trail goes right along the edge (pick 16) but there is always a more inland options for the faint of heart. For the Odd Man Out on the trail, you can climb to the edge of Grand Portal Point where the cliffs completely surround you for a photo op (pic 17).
Day 4 - We hiked 9.1 miles to the Sand Point Trail junction and from there it is 0.8 miles down the escarpment to the parking lot by the park headquarters. If you continue on the NCT it is an additional 2 miles to the trail head/parking at the Munising Falls Visitors Center. This section of trail doesn't have as many views of the cliffs. You pass the visitors center at Miners Castle (pic 20) which is the only place you can drive in to see the rock formations. Having hiked the length of the park, this developed view point is relatively underwhelming, but they do have flush toilets, picnic tables, and a gift shop. The trail from Miners Beach to Miners Castle is surprisingly steep, and after Miners Castle, it was quite muddy. It only rained for a few hours on day 3, but on our last day, it was blustery (whitecaps on the lake), windy, and cool (53 degrees at the end of the hike). But this is the UP in August - what would you expect? We celebrated with a dinner in Munising. I then drove 7 hrs home, getting back at 1:30 AM, stopping only at Gustafson's in Epoufette on US 2 (about 20 miles west of the bridge) to get some frozen pasties to take home. That is also great place to get smoked fish and meat.
