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| Miners Castle from Lake Superior |
Looking for a great place to take the family for an extended weekend? Or are you looking for outdoor adventure with beautiful scenery close to home? Take the 4 hour drive to Munising, Upper Michigan and spend some time exploring Pictured Rocks National Shoreline. This 35 mile shoreline has sandstone cliffs and caves, clean beaches, sanddunes, and beautiful waterfalls.
Where To Stay:
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view from campsite Kingston Lake |
Hotels/Motels are located in either Munising (West end) or Grand Marais (East end) of the shoreline trail. The nicest chain hotel is located in Munising, the AmericInn. Otherwise there are numerous campgrounds throughout the park. I had a great experience when camping at Kingston Lake campground off of H-58. We had a beautiful lake-site during the fall.
There are some campsites only accessible to backpackers. Permits are required and reservations for campsites are encouraged. A shuttle bus service is available for those backpacking who don't want to make the 35 mile return to their vehicle. Altran public transit can be contacted to make reservations for your trip. Where To Eat:
We always stop at the Falling Rock Cafe for tea and coffee during the trip and to check out their large assortment of books for sale.
Dogpatch Restaurant on E Superior Street downtown has a good selection of food.
Hikes/Waterfalls:
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| Munising Falls in Winter |
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| Munising Falls |
1. Munising Falls- Located on the east end of the city where Washington Street becomes Sand Point Road, near Munising Memorial Hospital. This .25 mile trail leads to a platform viewing a 50 foot waterfall. This waterfall is beautiful and accessible in both summer and winter!
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| Miners Castle |
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| Miners Falls |
2. Miners Castle- Located 6.5 miles east of Munising on H-58, then five miles north on Miners Castle Road. This short walk from the parking lot leads to the most famous rock formation at Pictured Rocks. If you look to the right of the castle you may get a glimpse or can take a short hike to Bridalveil Falls which flows over the cliff ledge into Lake Superior.
3. Miners Falls-Just prior to reaching Miners Castle, you will see a sign for Miners Falls of Miners Castle Road. The hike from the parking lot is 1.2 miles round-trip.
5. Spray Falls- Well worth the 1.75 miles further on from Chapel Beach, is the remote Spray Falls plunging 70 feet over the cliffs into Lake Superior. the 1856 shipwreck liesat the base of the falls in 20 feet of water.
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| Chapel Falls |
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| Chapel Rock |
6. Log Slide/Grand Sable Dunes- The kids and grown ups will have fun running down the 300 foot high log slide located at the far east end of the park near 7 miles west of Grand Marais.
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| Log Slide |
Other Activities:
Don't wanna hike the entire shoreline or don't have the time? It can be viewed by boat tours!
The Au Sable LightHouse can be seen and toured just west of Grand Marais on H-58.
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| Valley Spur Ski |
Lakeshore trails are available for cross country skiing during the winter. Also, Valley Spur Ski Trails located 6 miles south of Munising off of M-94 has well groomed trails through the Michigan hills. Cost is $8 per person.
Tahquamenon Falls State Park- An easy drive east from Grand Marais to Paradise Upper Michigan, Tahquamenon Upper and Lower Falls is worth the extra drive. The Upper Falls is a easy .4 mile paved pathway, accessible in both summer and winter. The Lower Falls is a 4 mile round trip hike along the river.
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| Tahquamenon Falls in Winter |
Warning: If traveling during winter months not all roads in Upper Michigan are accesible by car since they don't plow the snow. Many times H-58 is closed past Munising Falls and Tahquamenon Falls is open only by taking M-28. The rest can be accessed only by foot/snowshoe.
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