Michigan Trails?

[Feral Bill]

My daughter is off to grad school at MSU in a couple of months, and wants to know where the best hiking is in that part of Michigan. Any ideas will be gratefully passed on.

[Lyle]

Backpacking or day hiking?

[wiz]

Sleeping Bear Dunes is my favorite.

[Feral Bill]

Backpacking or day hiking?

Both. as well as other outdoor pursuits.

[Ewker]

Pictured Rocks National Seashore

[slow mind]

Sleeping Bear Dunes, ask for Hollywood whe she meets a ranger , (Brian) he's a great guy who can help with the locals tour.

[Lyle]

For a nice overnight, she could try the North Country Trail/Manistee River Trail loop: twenty some miles with some nice hiking. It's near Cadillac. Another really popular hike is the Jordan River Pathway, a loop hike through the Jordon River Valley. The Jordon River is a well protected trout stream. Ask for a tour of the National Fish Hatchery. The folks there are VERY hiker friendly. It's about 13 miles west of Gaylord.

For day hiking, she should be sure to check out the Rose Lake Biological Research area east of East Lansing a few miles. Great bogs if she's never had experience with that biotope. Fennor Arboretum (guess it's called Fennor Nature Center now) is also nice. It's between MSU and Lansing.

Right on campus is the Baker Woodlot and the Sanford Natural Area, both great for a quick, short get-away. The Farms at the south part of campus offer some pleasant, low-traffic, biking/running. There's always the Red Cedar River right through the heart of campus for some easy paddling.

Also Check out the rest of the North Country Trail, Hoist Lakes Foot Travel Area, and the High Country Pathway. These are all a bit of a drive, but good for a long weekend trip. Should be able to find them all on the Internet.

[Ox97GaMe]

The Ice Age Trail runs the full height of the lower puninsula and length of the upper puninsula. It runs near Kalamazoo, Cadilac, Traverse City and across the Mighty Mac. I havent hiked all of it, as I now live in the south, but try to get out for a day or two along that trail each time I return to my hometown area.

If you are looking for extended hiking, the trail on Isle Royale is one of the prettiest in the state.

[Lyle]

The Ice Age Trail runs the full height of the lower puninsula and length of the upper puninsula. It runs near Kalamazoo, Cadilac, Traverse City and across the Mighty Mac. I havent hiked all of it, as I now live in the south, but try to get out for a day or two along that trail each time I return to my hometown area.

That's the North Country Trail. The Ice Age Trail is entirely in Wisconsin. Makes a loop around the state.

[slow mind]

Ice age tr. is in Wisconsin, a long ride. Isle Royale, an even longer ride, has many trails.

[FatHead64]

My daughter (currently MSU freshman) and I are doing the High Country Pathway in early May as soon as she is out of school. She will be home about a day before I drag her away.

Actually, she is my adventure partner and is looking forward to it - some real backpacking. She is even starting to talk about having to buy her own "real" backpack. For this trek, she is getting to borrow my old, external frame pack I used at Philmont. Many moons ago.

[Odd Man Out]

Hey I went to grad school at MSU too! Pictured Rocks and Isle Royale are not exactly in "that part of Michigan". From East Lansing, you could get to 1/2 the AT in less time it takes to get to IRNP.

We like to day hike at Loda Lake NF Wildflower Sanctuatry. It's not a large property, but there is a spur trail connecting it to the NCT. Nichols Lake NF Campground north of there is nice for car camping, if you can get in (they don't take reservations).
LodaLake.JPG
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/reg...ke/index.shtml
http://www.northcountrytrail.org/wmi...GroveTrail.pdf
http://www.northcountrytrail.org/wmi/schoolhouse.php

Last summer we did a day hike look at the Jordan River Pathway. This is also setup to be a two day, 18 mile loop hike with a campground at the halfway point.
JordanRiver.JPG
http://www.michigantrailmaps.com/Ant...anPathway.html

A more ambitious hike is The High Country Pathway, an 80 mile loop through the Pigeon River area. Last summer we were there for just a day. Did not see any elk, but we saw a bazillion butterflies.
PigeionRiver.JPG
http://www.pigeonriver.org/high-country-pathway.html

A really interesting option is to hike in the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area, just north of Luddington on the shore of Lake Michigan. At 3500 acres, it's not very big, but you can hike in, camp anywhere you want, and play on 4 miles of beach wilderness and sand dunes. On the north side of the Wilderness Area is a large NF campground (Lake Michigan Recreation Area).
NordhouseDunes.JPG
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/hmnf/...a/?recid=18902
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5151641.pdf

Someone suggested Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (a but further north). This includes North Manitou Island. This is also managed as a wilderness area. It's about a 80 minute boat ride from Leland, they drop you off, and you are on your own. More wilderness beaches and dunes - plus no bears or skunks. Went there on a three day backpacking trip with my daughter a few years ago.
NMI_SLBNL.JPG
http://www.nps.gov/slbe/planyourvisi...itouisland.htm

[miloandotis]

For something real close, a lot of the students come down to the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail through Jackson and Washtenaw Counties for a weekend hike of 36 miles. It runs in some parts along the Potawotami Trail which is a very popular tri-state mountain biking trail. If she's looking for real local it's about 45 min from MSU.

[4Bears]

Bill when I googled "michigan hiking trails" I found a ton of links, here are a few I found useful.
http://www.michigan.org/hiking/
http://www.michigantrails.us/index.html
http://hikingmichigan.com/
http://www.trails.com/stateactivity.aspx?area=10064

[Kerosene]

For something real close, a lot of the students come down to the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail through Jackson and Washtenaw Counties for a weekend hike of 36 miles. It runs in some parts along the Potawotami Trail which is a very popular tri-state mountain biking trail. If she's looking for real local it's about 45 min from MSU.

I lived in Ann Arbor for 35 years, 45 minutes south of MSU. Unfortunately, there isn't much available in southeast Michigan that is very interesting, outside of the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail in mid-October (it can get extremely buggy in the summer, and it isn't very pretty before the leaves come out). PM me if you'd like a PDF of the trail map.

Beyond that, you'll have to head west or north for a section of the North Country Trail (1-2 hour drive), or to the Upper Peninsula (6+ hours) or the Porcupines (8+ hour drive). Another option might be sections of the Buckeye Trail that circumnavigates Ohio, or Hocking Hills in southwest Ohio. Actually, it's only 8 hours to get to Harpers Ferry, and 9 to get to the AT at Roanoke, VA.

[Odd Man Out]

Another resource to check out are the books by Jim DuFresne. He has written many books about hiking trails in MI (and Alaska, and other places too).

http://www.amazon.com/Jim-DuFresne/e/B001H9TB08

[Feral Bill]

Many thanks to all. I'll pass on the information.

[miloandotis]

there isn't much available in southeast Michigan that is very interesting, outside of the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail in mid-October (it can get extremely buggy in the summer, and it isn't very pretty before the leaves come out)..

TDSCF6171.jpgDSCF6186.jpgDSCF6214.jpgDSCF6218.jpgDSCF6223.jpgDSCF6226.jpgDSCF6238.jpghe mountains it ain't, but if you she wants something local....yeah, not pretty at all but ya make due with what ya got.

[Kerosene]

The mountains it ain't, but if you she wants something local....yeah, not pretty at all but ya make due with what ya got.

Yep. I used portions of this trail for several shakedown hikes over the years. It certainly doesn't qualify as mountainous, but at least there weren't a whole lot of people around (apart from mountain bikers on some days).

The trails in the Minneapolis area aren't much better. I went to the North Shore (north of Duluth) where my girlfriend asked me to climb to the top of the highest point in Minneapolis, Eagle Mountain at all of 2,301 feet. Even though she is in very good shape (she walks marathons), she felt that the final climb to the summit was steep. I, on the other hand, viewed it as a fun little romp up a few rocks. On the way home, I kept pointing out steep slopes that seemed similar to some of the steeper AT climbs (South Kinsman, Wildcat, Agony Grind, Albert Mtn., etc.). She didn't believe me.

[jrwiesz]

Another resource to check out are the books by Jim DuFresne. He has written many books about hiking trails in MI (and Alaska, and other places too).

http://www.amazon.com/Jim-DuFresne/e/B001H9TB08

http://www.michigantrailmaps.com/

Here is the web site for more from Jim DuFresne.