The Other Lakeshore

Adapted from the August-September 1997 North Star: The Magazine of the North Country Trail.

There's no doubt about it -- the central Lake Superior shoreline in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is one of the centerpieces of the NCNST. It's picturesque scenery and wide, empty beaches are one of the places we point to when we talk about terrific hikes on the trail.

And that's the problem: everybody knows it. Pictured Rocks is probably on the top-ten destination list of most midwestern backpackers.

Pictured Rocks is heavily visited. Popular place though it is, steps have had to be taken to minimize impact on the place. Camp only in camping areas. Stay away from cliff spaces. Read the signs. Get a permit. No pets. Let's face it; it's a rather civilized backcountry.

But what if you want a nice walk by the lake, and really get away from it all?

There's always the other lakeshore, wild, little known, little visited. While it lacks the vertical scenery of Pictured Rocks, it still has the great woods walk, the open beaches and the wide expanse of the big lake looming over you. What it doesn't have is the development, the prepared trail and camping areas, and the people.

Where is it?

It's the next 40 miles east from the Pictured Rocks. The trail continues eastward, mostly along the Lake Superior shoreline, with occasional trips inland. First constructed in the late 1970s in an early burst of North Country Trail enthusiasm, and named in some Michigan DNR publications as "Michigan's North Country Trail", Lake Superior State Forest allowed the trail to fall into disrepair in the early '90s, and there were many reports that the trail had become unfindable.

Michigan DNR Forest Division doesn't put much priority on hiking trails, preferring to save available funds, time and effort for snowmobile trails, so most work to resurrect the trail in this area has been done by volunteers, which are sometimes few and far between in this thinly-populated region. The North Country Trail Hikers of Marquette, MI, have taken the lead in the effort. Also, during 1996, the DNR marked off-road routes east of Grand Marais, and Americorps volunteers spent several weeks clearing and marking these segments.

Recent reports indicate that additional maintenance remains to be done west of the Big Two-Hearted River. Expect to lose the trail in spots where the trail has eroded out along Lake Superior, and it becomes necessary to walk the beach or inland roads to the next marked segment.

Camping is permitted anywhere in the state forest, but must be at least 200 feet off the trail. There are segments of private land where camping is not permitted. In addition, there are several state forest camp grounds (SFCG), and a developed campsite at Muskallonge Lake State Park.

A combination of the maps given here, or the North Country Trail Store's Michigan Mapset -- either of which are a little vague for a primary map in this area, given reports of spotty blazing -- and good county and/or topo maps is about the best that can be expected. The western section is covered by the Grand Marais NE, Muskallonge Lake West and Muskallonge Lake East 7 1/2 minute topos. For the eastern section, the Betsy Lake NW and Betsy Lake SW 7 1/2 minute topos are highly recommended. No 15 minute topos cover the area.

There's no public transportation available, so the person on a longer hike is going to have to get creative on carspotting. For shorter hikes, though, the proximity of paralleling low-use county roads make separate return loops feasible without retracing steps.

For visitor information on Luce County, where most of this segment is located, contact the Newberry Area Tourist Association, PO Box 308, Newberry MI 49868 (800) 831-7292.

GRAND MARAIS, MI 49839 (Pop. 400). One of Michigan's most isolated towns, over 25 miles in any direction from any other village, nestled in trees overlooking Lake Superior. It's a pretty good trail town, used to backpackers hiking the Pictured Rocks, so it makes a good place to start. down the "other trail". Limited services are available, but it's a long way east on the NCT before hitting the next store. LODGING: Dunes Motel, on M-77 at south end of town, open May-Oct, cable TV, (906) 494-2324; Hilltop Motel, open May-November, TV, 1 mile east of town on H-58, (906) 494-2331; Welker's Lodge, on beach north of H-58 intersection, open May-Oct, pets welcome, satellite TV, pool, jacuzzi, saunas, laundry. (906) 494-2361. GROCERIES: small grocery/convenience store. OTHER SERVICES: Bank, sporting goods. POINTS OF INTEREST: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Maritime and Historical Museum, Great Lakes Sea Kayaking Symposium, usually late July; Music and Arts Festival the second week of August.

0.0 [0.5] TURN EAST AT SOUTH M77 & CR H58 INTERSECTION The North Country Trail turns east for a roadwalk along CR H58 to get out of town, which doesn't take long. About 2.5 miles out, start watching for a new trailhead leading to the south.

2.5 [2.5] TURN SOUTHEAST ON MARKED TRAIL The newly-developed trail in this area starts out to the southeast, then turns to the east to parallel CR H58. After 1.5 miles, it turns back to the northeast, and rejoins CR H58 to cross Grand Marais Creek.

4.0 [1.5] CROSS CR H58 The trail turns away from the road, and heads north on a ski trail. The turn has a small "Grand Marais Ski Trail" sign and a "North Country Pathway" sign. Certification begins at this point. The trail follows the well-marked cross-country ski trail eastward along a creek, then northward, turns back to the west, and finally north again.

5.2 [1.2] ENTER LAKE SUPERIOR STATE FOREST Certification begins at this point. The trail continues north another half a mile to the Lake Superior shore, where it turns east to follow the shoreline.

6.3 [1.1] REACH LAKE SUPERIOR SHORELINE For about the next 35 miles, the trail mostly follows along the Lake Superior shoreline, sometimes quite close to the shore, sometimes cutting inland to avoid private property. Close to the shoreline, there are places where the trail is blocked by downfall, or where wave action from the lake has washed part of the trail into the lake. There are places where the blazes are thin, and there may be bushwhacking - but mostly the trail stays in a narrow corridor between CR H58 and the shore. Shortly after reaching the shoreline, the trail leaves Alger County and enters Luce County.

10.8 [4.5] CROSS CR H58 About a mile into Luce County, the trail turns inland and crosses H58 to skirt south of private property. This turn may be poorly marked. The trail recrosses H58 to the north just east of Randolph Lake and goes through open woods, and parallels the Lake Superior Shoreline until reaching a loop ski trail out of Blind Sucker River SFCG.

13.0 [2.2] JOIN BLIND SUCKER RIVER LOOP TRAIL Shortly after joining the ski trail, the ski trail and the NCNST continue on the lakeward side of CR H58. The loop trail branches off to the south shortly afterward.

13.7 [0.7] LEAVE BLIND SUCKER RIVER LOOP TRAIL The trail continues to return to the lakeshore, and then continues down it, sometimes behind a row of heavy trees. After a distance, a two-rut trail to Blind Sucker River SFCG is reached.

16.7 [3.0] SPUR TRAIL TO BLIND SUCKER SFCG Blind Sucker River SFCG is a fee campground, about a mile south of the Lake Superior shoreline, with 13 developed sites and pit toilets. The NCT continues on along the lakeshore.

17.4 [0.7] LAKE SUPERIOR SFCG Lake Superior SFCG is another fee campground, with 36 developed sites and flush toilets. The trail continues to the east, increasingly squeezed between the Blind Sucker River and the lakeshore. Trail conditions were marginal in this area when Talone passed through in 1994.

21.3 [3.9] CROSS BLIND SUCKER RIVER The Blind Sucker River is crossed on a log jam, and continues along the lakeshore. "The next three miles were incredible," Talone wrote of his 1994 hike in this area. "The trail followed a bluff 20-30 feet above Lake Superior in an open white birch forest. I enjoyed the pounding surf and the distant views everywhere I looked." The trail briefly joins CR H58, and follows along it until turning north into Muskallonge Lake State Park.

23.0 [1.7] REACH MUSKALLONGE LAKE SP Muskallonge Lake State Park is under Michigan DNR Parks Division, where the priority for trails is higher. As a result, the trail here is in good shape, and it's a shame that the park only has 217 acres. The campground is a fully-developed fee state campground, with 179 modern camping sites, flush toilets, a picnic area, beach house, boat launch and playground. For more information, contact the park at (906) 658-3338. The trail route continues out of the park on the access road.

24.5 [1.5] LEAVE MUSKALLONGE LAKE SP Shortly after leaving the park, CR H58 turns to the south. The trail continues eastward, sometimes along the lakeshore, but dipping inland to avoid private land holdings, until reaching Reed and Green Bridge SFCG.

29.8 [5.3] PASS REED AND GREEN BRIDGE SFCG Reed and Green Bridge SFCG is another fee state forest campground, with moderate development, and pit toilets. The trail continues eastward mostly along the lakeshore, or slightly behind it, with little vertical travel; the Big Two-Hearted River lies to the south, almost parallel to the trail.

37.0 [7.2] PASS TWO-HEARTED RIVER SFCG Two-Hearted River SFCG is another fee state forest campground with 45 sites, pit toilets and limited development. The trail crosses over the Big Two-Hearted river on a suspension bridge near the campground. The Big Two-Hearted River is famous for being the subject of one of Ernest Hemingway's early stories, but it's flying false colors; Hemingway lied to cover up good trout fishing in the Fox River, 40 miles to the south. It's still a pretty good trout stream, though. The trail continues on eastward, still on the shoreline or close to it.

40.3 [3.3] LITTLE LAKE SFCG Little Lake SFCG is another fee state forest campground with pit toilets and limited development. Little Lake, which is a state harbor of refuge, and is popular with small-boat sailors. Here, or at Culhane Lake SFCG to the south might be a good place to spot a car on a longer trip. The Edmund Fitzgerald, the largest ore carrier on the lakes at the time and the most recent large "iron boat" to sink on the great lakes, sank in a furious "Witch of November" storm about 30 miles northeast of here in 1978; it was later the subject of a famous Gordon Lightfoot song. Here, the trail finally leaves Lake Superior, and follows around the west and the south shore of the lake, then heads inland to the Culhane Lake SFCG.

42.1 [1.8] CULHANE LAKE SFCG Culhane Lake SFCG is another fee state forest campground, with 22 sites, pit toilets and limited development, and is the last of these that are located along this stretch. The trail circles around the west side of the lake, and continues in a southerly direction, passes through a marshy area, then angles southwest to CR 500 (Northwestern Rd.). The trail south from Culhane Lake to inside the Tahquamenon Falls boundary has also been the subject of recent work, but trail maintenance has often been thin in this area.

So, if you're looking for a quiet walk on the beach, this might be your place.

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