Admittedly, I hadn’t heard of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore until we moved to Michigan; what a shame that this gem is not more widely known! It’s a beautiful park on the northern shore of Michigan along the Lake Superior coastline. We spent a week in July 2020 backpacking 42 miles of the North Country Trail while enjoying the beautiful views! Here is a bit about our trip and a how you can plan your own adventure to this magical place.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is in Munising (in the Upper Peninsula), which is 6 hours from both Detroit and Chicago. The trip from southeast MI was 2 days with a dinner stop at Biere de Mac in Mackinaw City (yum!). Munising hosts several hotels and provides access to boat and kayak tours of the Pictured Rocks. There are numerous restaurants in the area and a short drive west on M-28 will land you in Christmas, Michigan! But, let’s get on with the hike …

Day 1: Grand Sable Visitor Center to Au Sable East Campground

On the first day of our hike, we boarded a shuttle at Munising Falls and headed north to Grand Sable Visitor Center to start our journey!

• 

• 

• 

The trek had us hiking along the road as we passed Grand Sable Lake and Sand Dunes. Once we dipped into the woods, the trail was flat and pleasant. We walked just over 5 miles to our lunch spot, which was at the top of the Log Slide. Early loggers built wooden chutes to slide logs down the Grand Sable Dunes to waiting ships. Today, people run down the barren sand dune to play in the lake and we had fun watching those same people slog back up 175 feet of dry sand! It was an entertaining lunch stop before we ventured on to our campground.

(Click on any picture to open the gallery and read the captions)

We arrived at the Au Sable East Campground 2 miles later, set up camp and explored the area! The highlight of this campground is the proximity to the Au Sable Lighthouse and the steps leading to the beach. This was the perfect first night’s stop!

Day 2: Au Sable East Campground to Sevenmile Campground

After breaking down camp and enjoying a breathtaking sunrise, we began our 7 mile hike from Au Sable East to Sevenmile campground. The temperature was in the 80s and we arrived at camp in early afternoon. We set up our tent near the Sevenmile Creek and walked to the empty beach for our first swim in Lake Superior! The lake remains near 50 degrees in the summer, so it’s appropriate to say that we spent our afternoon chillin’ at the lake!

Day 3: Sevenmile Campground to Coves Campground

What a beautiful hiking day this was! The trail was elevated atop sand dunes and overlooked Lake Superior for much of the day. We came across an old car in the woods, enjoyed the views and arrived at another empty beach with enough time to enjoy a dip in the lake!

We were in our tent at hiker’s midnight (you know, 8:30 PM) and around 9:00, we heard a lot of commotion; someone was banging on aluminum pots, yelling and shining a headlamp. I thought a crazy person was in the campground and I promptly protected myself by burying deep in my sleeping bag! The following morning, we asked other campers how much vodka they had downed the previous evening. Low and behold, they told us a story of a black bear in camp! The bear was hanging around and one camper said he could hear breath outside of his tent! There was one guy outside using all available tools to scare away the bear until he finally sauntered away. To say I felt like a wimp hiding in my sleeping bag is an understatement, but I was also secretly disappointed that we missed seeing our campground guest!

Day 4: Coves Campground to Mosquito River Campground

The hike on Day 4 transitioned from walking across sand dunes to hiking high above the aquamarine Lake Superior with views of dramatic cliffs. It was my favorite part of the trip. One of our first stops was on an outcropping with a view of Spray Falls. The only way to see the falls is from this spot on the North Country Trail or from a boat. While enjoying the view, a pair of peregrine falcons flew out from the rocks below and over our heads! When we came to Chapel Rock and Chapel Beach, we were surprised to find it to be the busiest part of the entire trail. We quickly ate our lunch at Chapel Beach, took a quick dip in the lake and forged ahead to the campsite!

After setting up camp at Mosquito River campground, we were back on the trail to see Mosquito Falls. The loop was 4.5 miles, making today a 13 mile day! We watched sunset over Lake Superior to mark our last night on the trail.

Day 5: Mosquito River Campground to Munising Falls (our last day on the trail)

We woke up at 5:00 AM to the sound of thunder in the distance and packed up camp early. Although it sprinkled a bit, we avoided any heavy rain – phew! We hiked 5 miles and arrived at Miner’s Castle mid-morning. Much to our delight, we saw some of our new hiking friends and exchanged stories about our adventures. One fellow hiker, Jason, told bear tales from a different campsite and has video on his You Tube Channel (Jason Outdoors). The Miner’s Castle area overlooks the lake with a big picnic area and running water. It was a great mid-morning break before we finished our Pictured Rocks journey.

The final 7 mile stretch went by quickly as we recounted the good memories made during the week. This was our first solo backpacking trip and we were grateful for the nice weather, beautiful scenery and the kind people we met along the way! We could have completed this trip in fewer days; however, that would have meant less time spent at the empty beaches! A return trip to this part of Michigan is most definitely in our future plans!

To get here and have your own adventure:

From the lower peninsula in Michigan (and further south), take I-75 north over the Mackinac Bridge and follow the GPS to Munising! To complete the one-way hike, you will need to contact Altran to make a reservation in advance of your trip. We traveled during the pandemic and the shuttle service strictly followed the government-issued mandates. You are able to leave your car in the Munising Falls parking lot while you hike. Once you reach Grand Sable Visitor Center, there is fresh water available to top off before hitting the trail! The trail is in nice shape and a fit hiker can complete more daily miles than we did on this trip. After your hike, be sure to check out the other waterfalls in the area and enjoy your time in this beautiful part of the country!

Thanks for reading! Have you been to Pictured Rocks and if so, what was your favorite part of the trip?