Rumely Road to Peter White Road

Segment 4 Rumely Road to Peter White Road
Trail adopter(s): no adopter
Segment length: 4 miles
Last update: March 2010
On the trail:
	Westbound: From the end of Rumely Road, take a 0.25 mile unimproved road walk then head into the woods. You will be following a ridge in an arc to the left for about 2 miles as you approach the Laughing Whitefish River. At this point take the steps down, the bridge across, and the steps up the other side of the river. As you go into the woods from the steps you will see a sign identifying the spur to the left that leads to the Laughing Whitefish Falls. To continue on the NCNST, follow the trail slightly right as it goes through the woods, cross the West Laughing Whitefish River via rock hopping and on out to Peter White Road for another 1.25 miles. Eastbound: From the trail crossing on Peter White Road, turn right (southeast) into the woods. You will travel about 1.25 miles crossing the West Laughing Whitefish River by hopping rocks and then continuing through the woods to a sign pointing to the right (southwest) to the Laughing Whitefish Falls spur. Continue on the NCNST by turning left (easterly). You will be at the top of the Laughing Whitefish Canyon. Take the steps down, cross the bridge, and climb the steps up on the east side of the river. At the top, turn left (northeast) and follow the trail for about 2 miles along the ridge until you reach the unimproved road walk, approximately 0.25 miles from the end of Rumely Road.
Other trail: Laughing Whitefish Falls Spur (2.3 miles) Lon/Lynn Emerick
Previous segment: 3 - Silver Creek Bridge to Rumely Road
Next segment: 5 - Peter White Road to Mangum Road

Segment 4 is all non-certified NCT. It begins heading west off Rumely Rd and ends at Peter White Road. The first portion is a short unimproved road walk from the Rumely Rd parking. After just .1 mile you will come to a “Y” in the road. Take the left fork. In another .15 mile you will reach a second “Y”. Take the right fork. The trail picks up at this point crossing a small stream that drops sharply into Pipe Falls. You may hear the falls and not see it at first so take a few minutes to enjoy it. Next skip over the stream and continue 2 miles to the Laughing Whitefish NCNST footbridge. There are a series of steps leading down to the river/bridge. Take a break and take in this canyon before heading up the steps on the west side of the river. 0.30 mi from the center of the river, you will come to the intersection of the trail with the spur to the Laughing Whitefish Falls (see Other trails - Laughing Whitefish Falls). Turn northerly and follow the well marked trail about a mile to the West Branch of the Laughing Whitefish River. You will need to jump rocks to crossover. The final .25 mile portion takes you to Peter White Road. 

Vehicle access for the two ends of this segment is via M-94 between US-41 and Eben Junction in Alger County.

• From Rumely Road (east end): Approximately 8.8 miles east of the US-41 and M-94 intersection, turn left (north) and travel north 3 miles to the following (Note that Rumely Road turns into unimproved road at the 2.5 mile mark.):

  • There is no designated parking area, but you can park along the road at the intersection here. The first part of the trail to the west is a road walk.

  • As an alternative, you can turn left (west) at the intersection and drive the road walk portion, parking in an open area just before the trail turns into the woods.

• From Sundell Road (west end): Approximately 6.3 miles east of the US-41 and M-94 intersection turn left (north) and travel north approximately 2.3 miles. The road becomes very rough from this point on so drive slowly. Continue heading north for approximately 1.8 miles. You will arrive at a T-intersection. Turn right (east) and follow Peter White Road for approximately 0.9 mile to the trail head on each side of the road.

  • There is no real parking area, but you can park along the road.

Download printable full page map and directions as a pdf file.

As you get out and hike this or any of our segments, please contact the trail adopter or Cliff Stammer (906-228-9897 / cnstammer@charter.net) with reports of trail conditions, including blow-downs, washouts, and inadequate blazing.