Imagine spending a morning among giant pine trees, fern-covered forest floors, lush bogs, a wide river with waterfalls, and beautiful lakes where moose love to roam. Sound perfect? I thought so. The Tahqua Trail Run takes runners along a spectacular route that has all of those things and more.
Out of all of the races that I have participated in, the Tahqua Trail 25K is one of my favorites. It has everything that I love about trail running on a relatively easy course.
The Tahqua Trail 25K Course
The Tahqua Trail 25K is a point-to-point race, beginning on some dirt road in the middle of nowhere and ending at Michigan’s beautiful Tahquamenon Upper Falls.
Runners began the race at the Upper Falls parking lot. A bus picked us up and shuttled us about a mile from the start line. We had to walk the rest of the way.
We began the race on a gravel road that quickly took us to the North Country Trail. That is where the magic began.
We were immediately immersed in a pine forest with bright green ferns and beautiful moss lining the way. We passed by lakes and bogs that were the picture-perfect location for moose. We were told they are common to see in this region and that the lakes we would be running by are some of their favorite spots.
From there, it was nothing but the forest. It was as though the outside world didn’t exist and it was just us and the trail. It was perfect. The trail itself was entirely dirt, coated with pine needles, very level, and extremely smooth. It was the very definition of runable.
We reached the first aid station at about mile 3.2. After this, we started climbing a ridge where at the top we had beautiful views of the valley, including the spectacular Camp Ten Lakes. The trail leveled out and aside from a couple of smaller hills, was pretty flat for the next several miles.
At around mile 6.5, we reached our second aid station and continued through heavily forested terrain until about mile 9.5. Here the terrain began to change.
We had reached the Lower Falls campground and the final aid station of the race. From here, we were rewarded with awesome views of the Lower Falls, roaring on the Tahquamenon River. About a mile after that, the North Country Trail merged with the River Trail and we spent the next 4 miles working our way across technical terrain RIGHT next to the Tahquamenon Falls river.
There were PLENTY of roots in this section that slowed me way down, along with slippery rocks, mud puddles, wet bridges, and a few stairs. It was the most technical part of the race and required lots of attention for good footing.
The final mile or so was a mix of muddy trail, boardwalk, and pavement as we once again entered the Upper Falls portion of the Tahquamenon Falls State Park.
The finish line was by the bathrooms/parking lot at the Upper Falls. While we didn’t get to see the Upper Falls, we did hear it and saw the stairs to go down to the viewing platform.
The Goodies
All participants receive the traditional race t-shirt.
Those who finished in the top three of their age group received a stainless steel pint with laser engraved GLE turtle logo.
The Organization
Great Lakes Endurance is a fantastic organization that focuses on the essence of trail running – getting people to connect with nature.
I love their events and am working on participating in all of their trail runs at least once. I have completed the Two Hearted 50K, Treetop Trifecta (multiple times), the Rock River Canyon 50K, and now Tahqua Trail Run.
Overall
Every once in a while, I participate in a race that gains a special place in my heart. This was one. Tahqua Trail 25K has made its way onto my annual race schedule. I thoroughly enjoyed this race and highly recommend it to anyone who loves running in the woods.
For more information or to register, visit Great Lakes Endurance.