Question for those of you familiar with the Michigan section of the NCT between Newaygo and the Manistee River Trail. What are your favorite places to camp along the trail North of Newaygo all the way up to the Manistee River Trail loop? Preferably not established campgrounds. I’m looking more so for recommendations of general areas along the trail in that section that are good for dispersed camping or at least camp areas that aren’t all that accessible to vehicles. I’m weird about backpacking all day in the wilderness only to end up camping at night in a campground next to an RV or camper. It’s just a better feel to be backcountry camping away from people and vehicles. Thanks for any recommendations!

Can anyone tell me if there any good dispersed camping spots between these two areas?

Thanks

Was hoping if somebody might know if there is a water source between miles 757-763 in Michigan. We are just trying to dial in our hike a little tighter.

Hi All! I am section hiking the NCT and am trying to pick a hike in northern LP of Michigan. Looking to do a 2.5 days (so anywhere between 24-36 miles). Asking for recs. For this time coming up, I'd like to not deal with roadwalks or looking for water and places where it's legal to camp. These are the spots I'm looking at.

Petoskey to Skyline (24 mi)

Mackinac Forest - Taylor Rd to Sand Lake (27mi) 

Kalkaska to  Spring Lake (35 miles)

Scheck’s Place to Baxter Bridge (30 miles)

Baxter Bridge to MRT bridge/trailhead (Is a short hike to water possible anywhere along here?)

Fletcher Creek to Upper River Rd (dropping down to the MRT for that section to have water access) (26 miles)

I've thought about just caving and getting the FarOut app at this point, but I'd rather not pay for something that may prove to be not-so-useful! Any input appreciated.

EDIT: HIKE*

If you had to choose one 30 to 50 mile section hike to do on the NCT what would it be? I'm considering doing a section and would like some recommendations!

We are section hiking the UP of Michigan on the NCT. Our next section is from Perry's landing to Grand marais. We are looking for a transport from Grand Sable visitors center in Grand Marais to the trail at Perry's landing on Sunday September 7th around 10AM. If anyone is interested or know someone that may do it we are willing to pay good. Thanks.

Has anyone hiked the 20 ish mile loop SOBO starting at 240 for 10 miles south then back up the Manistee River trail? Wondering on stealth camping on NCT section. Thanks for any info.

Hey everyone, Canadian from Toronto here. Ontario can be boring so I'm considering heading to New York State for some hiking.

I'm planning on doing a 1-2-night hike (out and back) in a month. Any recommendations on the best/your favourite sections in New York for such a trip?

Thanks!

I’ve never done the NCT in the White Cloud area and I’m looking to venture out that way this week- looking for suggestions

Experienced hiker but not NCT. Hiking with a dog. Thoughts on this section hike, end of July. Looking for more wilderness vs road hiking. Camping options? Open to any suggestions. Thanks

My friend is experiencing a sense of wanderlust and wants to get out on doing the whole trail. I’ve been lucky enough to do parts of Michigan and Ohio already so I offered to do Wisconsin with him as I’ve never been. It’s 140 miles and I’ve only seen information about the three towns that are stops.

Anyone have experience with this section of the trail and what to expect? Gear? Campsites to avoid or must go to? Walking average 15 miles, hiking average about 12 miles over a day.

(Edited to correct miles)

Hey everyone! I recently finished a six-day section hike of the NCT from Grand Marais to Marquette (104 total miles according to my Garmin Fenix). I did post this on the NCT Facebook group, but I thought I'd share it here, too, for those interested. The dates of my hike were April 30-May 5 (2024).

First of all, I'll give a shout-out to Kurt for the excellent shuttle. Anyway, here's a brief trail report. I'm writing up a longer one for elsewhere if anyone is interested. For the most part, the weather could've been better. Sadly, it was cloudy, cool, and rainy when I hiked through the Pictured Rocks section. It wasn't buggy, however - I only saw three ticks and just a few mosquitos and black flies. T-Mobile service isn't the best, but in spots, I did get one or two bars of service.

--The trail from the Grand Marais visitor center to the Masse Homestead campground was dry and easy. The Masse campsite has a sand dune/bluff. If you climb it you get some great views of Lake Superior. There's no water at this site.

--The trail from Masse Homestead to the Beaver Creek tent site was fine as well. It was a little muddy in places but not bad. The Au Sable lighthouse is very cool!

--The trail from Beaver Creek to the Cliffs tent site was a soggy mess. (I should note that probably 70% of the trail through Pictured Rocks is very close to the Lake, which makes for wonderful hiking and lovely views unless it's foggy!)

--The trail from Cliffs to the other side of the Sand Point Marsh was also a soggy mess - to the point of being dangerously slippery. Did a small road walk to avoid some of it.

--The road walk through Munising to the trail at Valley Spur Creek was a welcome walk because it was dry and even sunny. Also, I highly recommend Falling Rock Cafe in Munising for a good americano and breakfast sandwich.

--The hike from the Valley Spur Creek entrance to the Buck Bay Creek DCA is fine. A little muddy, but not bad. Just a regular MI forest hike. Note: there's an AWESOME vault toilet where the trail crosses M94. There weren't many water sources on this section.

--The hike from Buck Bay Creek all the way to the Lakenland Shelter was pretty brutal and muddy. The little section through the State Park is nice, but the rest of that trail is rough and uninspiring. Some of it was under 6 inches of water. I did use a few gravel roads to avoid the muddier parts of the trail. The trail does already use some gravel roads as well. When I got to the Lakenland shelter, someone was already there so I set up my tent beside it. I later learned the person using the shelter wasn't even an NCT hiker. A little frustrating but...

--The hike from Lakenland to Marquette is mostly a gravel-like road walk. A nice break from the muddy, wet day before. There are no amenities on this section of the trail until you get closer to Marquette.

--NOTE: all the campsites I saw and used through Pictured Rocks had very nice bear boxes. I used an Ursack the rest of the time.

--NOTE: if you're planning to hike any of these sections, I'd consider rescheduling if the trail is super muddy or if a lot of rain is forecasted during your hike.

--I've added a few pictures. Let me know if you have questions. Thanks!

https://preview.redd.it/rzrit9m74m0d1.jpg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3675880377ee1fb33667befc0eae7af8a4c72c33

https://preview.redd.it/eh7magl74m0d1.jpg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f578d647a40f25fa04e8d246418edda05d3ad322

https://preview.redd.it/3flo9hl74m0d1.jpg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d7d4d4b773196af42c541758bf41cff1e08f8ed

https://preview.redd.it/5aupsfl74m0d1.jpg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e268d1fdb9b15de9dea43e7edf24f40e8f6a2c0

https://preview.redd.it/igpiftl74m0d1.jpg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3143c00cc0a8c477af3642dec843cf83624e0474

https://preview.redd.it/2fiujgl74m0d1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9db0a4984ef52fbd53c0cc51c5404f07b9356095

https://preview.redd.it/wpewrtl74m0d1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b67067e560417d71a0833ffe8942652cc2879f3e

Planning a 4-day shake-down hike in the Lower Peninsula (MI) in May—how bad will the bugs be? 😬

I live in Chicago and looking for reccomendations for a scenic 15-20 stretch that’s within 3 hr drive if possible, ideally with the most of it going through forest areas. If anyone has a recommendation would be appreciated!

Hello! I'm planning a quick 3 day hike in a few weeks. I live in Central New York (in Ithaca) and could drive up to 5 hours or so. I have a trail-acclimated dog and a 15 year old. Any recommendations near me? Thank you in advance!

Hi all. Just stopping by to share a great experience with local chapters. I’m planning a 7 day section hike in the UP (MI) from Muskallonge Lake State Park to Marquette for this summer. I did the park to park hike several years ago and decided to continue it this year. The section is a bit tricky because it goes through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore as well as through several towns (Grand Marais, Munising, and Marquette). I was early enough to grab appropriate sites in Pictured Rocks but after that I wasn’t entirely sure what camping options were. I went online and found the Marquette Chapter as well as the Superior Shoreline Chapters. Messaged them on Facebook Sunday morning and within hours I had responses from both chapters giving me all the information I needed for dispersed camping and even section guide documents from the Marquette Chapter. Everyone was super responsive and super helpful and very kind. I’m sure your experience may vary by chapter but just a reminder that these volunteers are amazing and a great resource.

I’m looking at knocking out as much as I can of the lower peninsula this spring, summer, and fall over the weekends. Is it pretty difficult to find places to camp? Or should I be able to find places to set up camp pretty easily?

I'd like people's thoughts here on what most consider the hardest section hike of the NCT? When Googling it, the top result is the Trap Hills section in Michigan. Is that the generally agreed upon hardest section or are there others?

Ohio seems like a challenge for throughhikers, it has a lot of farm roads and urban areas. Does anyone have experience backpacking between west unity and waterville?

My wife and I are wanting to do a thru hike in late August/early September of this year. I am wanting to get the most bang for our buck with regard to scenic trails and remoteness. Can you give me some recommendations of trails or sections that we should look in to?

Does anyone have a check list of section hikes? Even better if it's separated by state. I'm having trouble keeping track lol

Anyone know what these are?…Hundreds of white posts in a fenced off area just north of the 76th St Trailhead near Baldwin, MI.

Hey I’m hiking from Grand Marais to Munising in early November, any idea of the trail conditions and the weather this time of year?

Let me first clarify some specifics/desires of my trip:

I agree that the 3 triple crown loops (Manistee River, Jordan River, and Fife Lake) are arguably the 3 best sections to backpack in the lower peninsula, but I’ve done each at least 5-10x and I’m looking for a new section.

Also, I’m just looking for the best overnight section in or near the Manistee National forest, so nothing longer than 25miles tops.

And I realize you can pretty much camp anywhere along the trail but I’d prefer not to stay at any established “car camping” areas or campgrounds that are right off the trail. I’d prefer areas where I can backcountry camp off trail not in an actual campground.

What are some of your favorite sections? I just hiked around Bowman lake last weekend and that was really nice, but I’m not sold on their 4 campsites due to them all being taken even in cold rain. So I don’t want to chance not having a spot.