June 22

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a land of forests, small lakes, and miles of lake shoreline. When visiting Pictured Rocks NS one should enter the park at either the east (Grand Marais) or west (Munising) ends, then drive to the other end. This is about a 50-mile distance. Route H58 is the primary path, but for many miles it is not in the park. You have to turn north on various roads to access certain parts. An example is Miners Castle Road which takes one to the Castle viewpoints, Miners Castle Beach, and Miners Castle Falls trailhead. County Road 692 is used to access the trailheads for Mosquito Falls and Chapel Falls, as well as their associated beaches.

Many people like to take guided boat tours of the shoreline, the best place to view the colored layers of sandstone which gives this park its name. Others take kayaking tours into the sea caves which have formed at the base of the cliffs. These cliffs have been forming for 580 million years, eroding ever so slightly every millennia. The city of Munising is the jumping off point for these tours.

If you want to buy souvenirs, only the Grand Sable VC and Bookstore on the east end is available. Even though Munising is the largest city (with plenty of hotels and restaurants) bordering the park, nothing is available on the west end.

The only wildlife I saw today were various bird species and chipmunks. Quite a change from Alaska.