Hello,

I have been looking into doing winter camping in the UP and I was wondering if anyone had experience hiking/snowmobiling to Grand Island in the winter months?

Any advice or information helps, thanks!

I'm planning on doing an out and back on the MRT this weekend, I don't have the time to do the full loop. Assuming I am going to go a little over half way before turning around, which end is better to park at for the best views?

I'm looking to hike the deep lake trail next weekend. I'm wondering how concerned I need to be with hunting season? If I avoid starting early a.m. and wear my orange sweatshirt will that be sufficient?

PS - Y'all confirmed doing the Manistee River Loop would make a nice day hike Labor Day weekend and it certainly was!

Hey folks me and some buddies would love to camp this loop but I’m getting kind of confused do you rent camp sites in advance and do we pay in advance or can we pay on scene and further more if there are campsites which would you recommend for this loop I’m used to camping on blm land where the regulations are less planned. Than you for your help and sorry if I’m asking dumb questions

Hello everyone

Looking for campground recommendations in the lower peninsula. Looking for more rustic sites but with full hookups, if such a thing exists. Bonus points for things for kids to do. Playgrounds, miniature golf, etc. Shaded areas preferred as we don’t really like the “parking lot” feel some campgrounds have. Thank you in advance for your suggestions

Excited for my first time visiting the UP (I live in Minnesota), not first time backpacking but it's been a while.

I planned a 2-night solo trip to the Porcupine Mountains, staying in back country cabins, one of which is on Lake Superior! I'm really looking forward to having some self-care time and 'communing with nature'.

Thing is, it's going to be cold. I booked my trip over Thanksgiving weekend, so I'm heading out of there literally the last day the road is open for the season. I know that staying in a cabin will help a lot with the cold, but my main concerns are staying warm and dry, and a potential cougar threat.

I know a run-in with a cougar is highly unlikely, but my sister got me worried about it after showing me a bunch of cougar attack videos. Is there any general cold-weather hiking, food, and safety advice anyone can give who's done a lot of hiking in the UP?

Thanks in advance!

There is a mine that is proposed to be made adjacent to the porcupine mountains in the UP.
I just came across this petition to try and stop it. Any signatures or sharing would be appreciated.

Cheers.
https://chng.it/qXXcsNWQZs

Hey guys new to the area and looking for some new places in the Coldwater area to camp/fish. There seem to be a lot of lakes but I haven’t found any spots for shore fishing yet!!!

Hello,

Was looking to get some information on camping the Porkies in the off season. I see on their website you have to reserve a campsite throughout mid october, but it does not specify what to do after that period of time. Is it first come first serve for campsites?

Also any information on the park this time of year would be helpful. Have backpacked before but this will be my first solo trip and I haven't visited the UP this late in the season.

This past weekend my older son, myself, along with two other kids and two adults completed the Triple Crown of the Lower Peninsula in 2024. We did Manistee in May, Fife in June (in preparation for 7 days on Isle Royale that we did in July). This last weekend we did Jordan. The three kids are 13! In addition to these hikes we've also done two scout specific backpacking trips, and many day hikes. My son has almost 250 miles on his boots this year! We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful state!!

Side note - Does anyone know of any patches/stickers/etc for this accomplishment? If not, any graphic designers want to take a stab at it? I have some ideas and could laser engrave leather patches.

Hike on! (our next trip is already scheduled for January!)

Hey all, I was planning on hitting the MRT/NCT the weekend of the 15th to avoid the bridge closure but scheduling conflict pushed it up a week. Has anyone been out recently and is it still actually closed? Also do they work on it on weekends? Seems odd to open it on a Monday holiday unless they are doing a ceremony or something. Any insights would be helpful!

Hello my fellow Michiganders. This post describes a recent self-prescribed ultra event that I did, for some reason, this past September. 120 miles (40 miles of cycling and 80 miles of hiking/running) in a single night, linking together a round-trip bike ride from Ann Arbor to Silver Lake in Pinckney, an out&back on the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail, and the Potowatomi Trail. Baseweight was 4.77 lbs.

Here's the good stuff:

• The route

• gear photos, specs, descriptions. Most of my shelter system was home made, including my trekking poles.

• lighterpack

• quick video edit

• more detailed discussion on /r/utralight

I live in Ann Arbor, and have spent a good bit of time in the Pinckney area and its trails. If you don't know, the trail opportunities here in SE Michigan are considerably better than one would think. We have a lot of state-owned forested land, and lots of glacial moraines which make for hilly terrain. There are two popular backpacking routes emanating from the Pinckney Rec Area: The Potowatomi Trail ("the Poto"), and the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail. I have backpacked the Poto in the past, and spent some time trail running there, and paddling around the lakes and creeks of Pinckney. It's a lovely area that has become quite sentimental to me, as an escape from the strain of grad school.

A bit about my background; I am a lifelong midwesterner and backpacker. I'm also a rock climber, and have increasingly spent a good amount of time out west. Breaking into alpinism has made me obsessed with endurance endeavors, and for better or worse, has corrupted my backpacking ambitions to less enjoyment, and more "achievement". The latter is of course arbitrarily-defined, but the result is that I spend a lot of time staring at local maps, searching for opportunities to conquer potentially implausible trail objectives. I recently posted about my speedy hike across the Manistee NF, for example. As my ultralight-ism has been evolving, and I've gotten more into trail-running, at some point it dawned on my that I would be able to link the Poto and the Waterloo trails as a human-powered mission, from my doorstep, in a single night. The criteria would be

1. My kit would have to be < 5lbs

2. The kit would need to fit in the smallest pack possible

3. A significant portion of the mileage would need to be run

4. The kit could be comfortably carried on a bike

After some strategizing, I was able to achieve a 4.77 lbs baseweight with a full summer kit. I rode my bike 20 miles from A2 to the Poto trailhead, did the Waterloo trail, reversed the Waterloo trail, finished the Poto, and returned home. I clocked it at 41 hours, 51 minutes and 5 seconds. 8,092 feet elevation gain. The trail portion was 80 miles, and took me abour 37 hours.

Running strategy:

Contrary to what this post may suggest, I am not a runner. Longest I've ever run is a half-marathon, and my training for this was lacking. I was trail running up something like 20 miles per week. So in order to avoid injury, I had to be conservative. Every 5 miles of hiking, I would run a 5k. In total I ran about 29 of the 80 trail miles. I finished the trail portion of the route in ~37 hours, which I was happy with. The bike ride between my house and the trailhead was 20 miles each way. My kit was plenty light and small enough to comfortably cycle with.

Many people could crush my time by running more, or all of it. In fact, what I did is only a few miles longer than an out&back on the Waterloo trail, for which the FKT is sub-13 hours! Having said that, many runners would either be supported, or would aim for a single push without sleeping. It's a whole 'nother thing to have a backpacking-oriented skillset, which allows a full camp kit and calories for a couple of days, in a pack that is still suitable for running.

Trail Impressions:

• I was a bit too early to see the fall colors, but was also early enough to have warm temps and get away with a minimal kit. The area was lovely this time of year, and there were lots of friendly folks.

• Hoping I don't offend any locals... the eastern half of the Waterloo trail is much nicer than the western half. At some point (not sure exactly where), the trail opens for equestrian use. It seemed to me that this has a pretty significant impact on the trails. They become very loose, very sandy, and full of shit! The loose ground in particular saps a lot of energy, especially when you're trying to move fast. The eastern half, and especially the Poto, is excellent in comparison.

• Having said that, I am immensely grateful for the trail maitenance, routing, and marking throughout. It is generally very well done, and we're fortunate that it's here.

• Passing through the Discovery Center was a very pleasant suprise.

• The frequent gunshots were a bit unnerving. Until you actually encounter a hunter and they seem like someone's jolly old grandpa.

• Water access is good, but you have to know what you're looking for. Several of the water sources that I used, I honestly would not have ever thought to consider. They look like muddy, marshy sess pools. But look closer, and you see there is some legit flow, and the water is clear. I owe my thanks to /u/mittencamper for their map of water sources on the Waterloo trail.

• I will miss MI :(

Thanks for reading!

The Manistee River trail is one of the most beautiful sights I've been fortunate enough to experience, living in lower Michigan. After hours of preparing at home, I thought I had every last detail figured out. Well I was wrong. Fire wood was absolutely non existent, at nearly every sight that wasn't already occupied. It was the cleanest forest floor I've ever seen. I ended up having to walk a good distance off the path into the thicker areas to find fallen debris. Anyway, I was cleaning up the yard today and thought of that little memory, I hope it helps someone out there.

I usually camp at rustic campgrounds, state forest campgrounds specifically to try to avoid these type specifically but it seems with each trip it’s getting worse or I’m becoming more irritable. On this last trip it was a noise issue which I honestly haven’t had that issue before but it was enough that my brother told the ranger station and they said they’d look into it. What happens after you report an issue? Do they look into it, do they fine people?