Category: Michigan Trails

  • Hiking Hogback Mountain

    Hiking Hogback Mountain

    Considered Marquette’s second most popular summit, Hogback Mountain’s rugged terrain, hemlock forests, and stunning views make this an incredible hike. While the trail is well marked, getting to the summit of Hogback isn’t easy. It is a strenuous hike across bare bluffs and up steep mountainside. The first half of…

  • Hike Lansing: Lake Lansing North Park

    Hike Lansing: Lake Lansing North Park

    Finding a great place to hike when you live in Mid-Michigan can be challenging. The terrain is pretty flat and there is city everywhere but places like Lake Lansing Park North provide a break in the mundane. The park contains over 530 acres of natural recreation area, including over 5…

  • A Hike to Pyramid Point: Sleeping Bear Dunes

    A Hike to Pyramid Point: Sleeping Bear Dunes

    Located in Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Pyramid Point is a moderate hike with a stunning view of Lake Michigan. The trailhead is located off of Basch Road, about 10 minutes north of Glen Arbor. There were maps available at this location that show the 2.7 mile loop as…

  • McCormick Wilderness Area & the West Branch Yellow Dog Falls

    McCormick Wilderness Area & the West Branch Yellow Dog Falls

    Upon approach, the McCormick Wilderness trailhead looks like any other. However, before embarking on your hike, you must leave detailed information about where you are going, how long you will be there, and your emergency contact information. Why? Because the trails are unmarked and it is easy to get lost.…

  • Hiking Thomas Rock

    Hiking Thomas Rock

    Thomas Rock, previously known as Gobbler’s Knob, may not have the 360-degree views that the neighboring Sugarloaf Mountain has, but it still offers something spectacular. We discovered this scenic site back in 2013 and it has yet to lose its charm. Visitors follow a paved, interpretive trail to the top…

  • An Easy Hike to Big Sable Lighthouse

    An Easy Hike to Big Sable Lighthouse

    If you’re looking for an easy hike that takes a couple of hours or for a place to have a picnic and hang out, Big Sable Lighthouse is a great location. The hike is around 2 miles, each way, down a sandy but well-worn path that starts at Ludington State Park.…

  • 42 miles of Happiness: Hiking the Pictured Rocks

    42 miles of Happiness: Hiking the Pictured Rocks

    Hiking the Pictured Rocks – really hiking – is amazing. It is one of the trips that will stick with me forever. Two hundred foot cliffs, numerous waterfalls, lake shore as far as the eye can see and mountainous dunes. 

  • Canyon Falls and the Gorge that Follows

    Canyon Falls and the Gorge that Follows

    The Sturgeon River is a 106 mile long wild, raging river with some pretty amazing waterfalls. One such waterfall is Canyon Falls, called such for a good reason. Canyon Falls is located at a scenic rest stop on US-41, making it a fairly well known and visited waterfall. At roughly…

  • The Hike to Spray Falls

    The Hike to Spray Falls

    heer rock cliffs, unruly waves, miles of forest and wild waterfalls. Who could say no to that? That’s the scenery you can expect to see when you hike the North Country Trail in Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore. The trail follows, literally, along Lake Superior from Munising to Grand Marais…

  • A Trek Up Sugarloaf Mountain

    Sugarloaf Mountain may not be Mount Everest, but it certainly has something to offer those in the Marquette area. Honestly, I could have sat up there all day, admiring the view. Miles and mile of forest in one direction, Lake Superior 470 feet below in another. This 360 view of…

  • Hiking the Estivant Pines Sanctuary

    In 1971 Lauri Leskinen published an article in the Houghton Daily Mining Gazette called The Last Stand. It addressed protecting “one of the last stands of virgin pines in the Midwest” from the lumber industry.