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The NCT in the water wonderland |
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Michigan is the only one of the NCNST states that has a full set of trail maps covering the state from border to border. The trail in Michigan follows a wide variety of trails, some obscure, with obscure trailheads, varying widely in types and degree of marking, and the mapsets are invaluable. Modeled after the older series maps of the Finger Lakes Trail, the detailed sketch maps are unbound, and contain a brief trail description of each segment, detailed enough for the hiker unfamiliar with the area to successfully and enjoyably follow the trail. The maps are available in seven sets: (A) State Line to Calhoun County; (B) Kalamazoo County to Kent County; (C) Newaygo County to Wexford County, (D) Grand Traverse County to Antrim County; (E) Charlevoix County to Mackinaw City; (F) St. Ignace to Marquette, and (G) Marquette to Ironwood. Each of the sets is $4.00, and is available from the North Country Trail Store. Several, but not all, of the certified segments are described in "Certified Sections of the North Country Trail -- the NCT in Lower Michigan," available for $8.00 from the North Country Trail Store. The trail in the state south of the Manistee National Forest is mostly through rolling farmlands, and will be a rural, rather than a wilderness trail. Only occasional patches of public land are available for trail development, so eventually much of the trail will have to cross private land. The NCT in Michigan is planned to cross the state line in southeast Hillsdale County, near the village of Waldron, and follow roads northward to Lost Nations State Game Area, where new trail, still awaiting certification, was constructed in 1997-98. Further west, at Osseo, the trail follows the first certified trail in Michigan, the Baw Beese Trail, on abandoned railroad grade about 5 miles northwest to Waterworks Park, on the southeast corner of the city of Hillsdale. The Baw Beese/North Country Trails will then follow a "river walk" under development through the city. After passing through the city, trail users reach the three-mile M-99 bikeway between Hillsdale and Jonesville. The paved bikeway parallels M-99. Only a general route of the trail exists northwest from Jonesville; through hikers will have to consult Hillsdale and Calhoun County maps to get 40 miles to downtown Battle Creek, where the hiker can follow the Battle Creek Linear Parkway and its westward extension west for about 8 miles. The path picks up downtown and goes west for about two miles, jogs south across the Kalamazoo River, and heads westward, emerging to follows a sidewalk paralleling M-96 to the Ft. Custer National Cemetery. Information is available from Battle Creek Public Works Department, Battle Creek, MI 49014. From Ft. Custer, the user will have to follow M-96 west to Augusta, but new trail, constructed north from Augusta, was certified in 1998, and the next thirty miles north are a hotbed of trail development where things are in flux; the Chief Noonday Chapter of the NCTA hopes to have trail developed through Barry County, including the Barry State Game Area and Yankee Springs State Park, in the next few years, so the best information will be a current copy of the Michigan "B" mapset. The game area has a 9 mile horse trail, of which about four miles are usable to the through hiker; in Yankee Springs, hikers can use the ivory-blazed Deep Lake and orange-blazed Chief Noonday Trails. Contact Department of Natural Resources, Yankee Springs Field Office, 2104 Gun Lake Rd., RR#3, Middleville, MI 48933 for information. North of Barry County, it's still a roadwalk in Kent County to Lowell, where several miles of trail were recently certified in Lowell State Game Area, and new trail development is under way in a county park to the north. The National Park Service has developed a plan for trail devleopment in Kent County, but progress has been slow. Again, the best current information is Mapset "B" of the Michgan map series. North of there, users will have to follow roads to get to the next piece of usable trail, at Rogue River State Game Area in northern Kent County. The trailhead for 4.5 miles of NCT is located on Division Avenue. No camping or horses are permitted. The trail emerges from the Rogue River State Game Area on the Newaygo County line; from here, hikers will have to follow Newaygo County roads to Croton Dam, and the 115 miles of trail in the Manistee National Forest. Croton Dam represents the second of the three major changes in character of the North Country National Scenic Trail -- from farmland to northern forest. Although the land for the last hundred miles has been steadily more wooded, at Croton Dam, public ownership starts to prevail over largely private ownership. The NCNST is more or less continually marked from the dam over 600 miles north to the vicinity of Marquette, MI, in the upper peninsula. During the late 1800s and early 1900's, the virgin forest that would become the Manistee National Forest, made up of oaks and pines, were cut for lumber. The land was burned and farming began, but the sandy soil provided little reward. Much of the land lay idle and wind-blown sand dunes until the Manistee National Forest, of 481,000 acres, was established in 1938. This troubled land has now been covered with a young forest, and is a haven for campers, swimmers, hunters, fishermen, snowmobilers, canoeists, and hikers. The trail varies from slightly rolling on the south end, to steep hillsides and long vistas toward the north end. Users should contact Forest Supervisor, Manistee National Forest, 421 S. Mitchell St., Cadillac, MI 49601 for current information. "Certified Sections of the North Country Trail" also has a segment about the Manistee National Forest. The Michigan "C" Mapset also covers this area, in somewhat more detail than the forest service maps. It is also available, for $4.00 from the North Country Trail Store. Bear are present, but cannot be called common, and bear precautions are not usually taken by hikers. It's generally level or slightly rolling walking. Trailside camping is permitted in the forest, but must be at a site at least 200 feet off the trail and 200 feet from a lake or waterway. There are also several developed campsites that hikers may wish to use. Due to intermingled ownership patterns on parts of the forest, trail users are asked to respect private property; some of which is posted. In other cases, the trail crosses private property on a narrow easement. There has been considerable controversy about the National Forest opening some segments of the NCNST to mountain bikes, and considerable treadway damage has been reported on these segments. The segment from Croton Dam to M-37 is fairly new, and partly located on roads, but the 28 miles north from
that point is a much-loved section that largely predates the North Country Trail -- the Manistee Trail. |
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The old Manistee Trail ended at Nichols Lake Forest Campground, but new trail extends northward from there, sometimes in quite scenic countryside, past several forest campgrounds and trailheads. The northernmost segment in the forest, though partly open to mountain bikes, is one of the best in the forest, running through the Manistee River valley from High Bridge to a trailhead on Beers Road, west of Hodenpyl Dam. The Forest Service recently opened a mountain- bike-banned segment of trail on the east side of the river that could be used as a loop trail or alternative. Work has been under way for some time on a connection through the Pere Marquette State Forest to reach the next segment of trail, the south branch of the Michigan Shore-to-Shore Riding- Hiking Trail (STS). The trail follows the north side of the Manistee River valley eastward, occasionally following roads, not always near the river. The best available route description is in "Certified Sections of the North Country Trail - NCT in Lower Michigan". The STS stretches 213 miles from Empire on Lake Michigan to Tawas City on Lake Huron. Its route across the northern lower peninsula traverses some of the most scenic areas in the state. The NCT uses about 35 miles of the trail, developed mostly for horse use; the trail has a reputation of being hard going for hikers in spots due to heavy horse use on sandy soils. Five forest campgrounds and two other camping areas are located along the segment of the STS utilized by the NCT. Trail along this stretch includes segments in the Muncie Lakes Pathway and the trail system of the Sand Lakes Quiet Area, a 2,800 acre tract set aside in 1973 where motorized vehicle use is prohibited. Camping is permitted in state forests along the trail if the camp is more than 100 feet from the trail. The STS is marked with blue markers showing a footprint and a horseshoe, and routed wooden signs. At road crossings, turns and corners, there are square wooden posts with arrows and the marker. The Michigan "D" Mapset shows the route; it's available from the North Country Trail Store for $4.00. The best available route description is in "Certified Sections of the North Country Trail - NCT in Lower Michigan". East of Kalkaska, the STS follows roads, though marked. Near the corner of Sunset Road and CR 612, a segment of the NCT splits off and heads north about 20 miles to the Jordan River Pathway. The NCT picks up the Jordan River Pathway at Landslide Scenic View, about two miles northwest of Alba, and follows about 10 miles of this loop pathway, a National Recreation Trail. The popular trail is marked with blue paint blazes and markers, but has a reputation for not getting a high degree of maintenance. Points of scenic, biological and historical interest are located along the trail. A hike-in campground is located along the segment utilized by the NCT. In 1991, a connection was completed between the Jordan River Pathway and the next segment to the north, Warner Creek Pathway, one mile north of the Jordan River Pathway's northernmost point. The NCT uses the southeast 1.6 miles of the Warner Creek Pathway, marked with blue paint blazes and triangular markers. Again, the Michigan "D" Mapset shows the route; it's available from the North Country Trail Store for $4.00. The best available route description is in "Certified Sections of the North Country Trail - NCT in Lower Michigan". Several segments of certified trail mixed with occasional road walking will be encountered as the hiker continues northward through Antrim and Charlevoix counties, passing through Petoskey, now using the Michigan "E" mapset as a guide. North of there in Emmet County, the trail heads northwest toward Wycamp Lake State Forest Camp Ground. From there, the trail is complete but not yet certified through Wilderness State Park to Mackinac City. One of the NCTA's good opportunities for a loop hike is under way in this area. The loop can be closed with a 22-mile abandoned railroad grade that mostly parallels US-31 from Mackinac City to Alanson. This grade was recently acquired by the DNR and has been developed as a snowmobile and bicycle trail. In Wilderness State Park the trail follows the Lake Michigan shore north about 2 miles, then turns inland to Sturgeon Bay Road (closed to vehicles), then east, and north on Swamp Line Road to the park headquarters. From there, it goes east on Red Pine, Nebo, East Ridge, East Boundary and Spruce Ridge Trails to the park boundary. The usable NCT route is about 9 miles through this 7,500 acre park, which has two campgrounds and five rental cabins. Contact Wilderness State Park, Box 380, Carp Lake, MI 49718 for more information. The NCTA has recently completed a 7-mile section connecting Wilderness State Park with Mackinac City. It picks up on the Spruce Ridge Trail and winds through dense forests until reaching the railroad grade, which it follows to town. The NCT and the railroad grade in this area is home to the Mackinac Mush, a dog sled race held every year in January, the largest annual event held on the North Country Trail. Mackinac City is the gateway to Michigan's upper peninsula, one of the wildest places on the NCNST. Getting to the upper peninsula, however, can be a bit of a problem for the long-distance hiker.
For information on a different state, click on the map below:
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Michigan has the largest percentage
of the NCT of any of the seven states, and the most certified miles. Still, there are many miles to go; only about
50 percent of the NCT in Michigan is certified, most of it in the northern two thirds of the state. Another 15
to 20 percent can be considered usable. The trail is under development in many areas, and Michigan NCTA officials
have hopes of having usable trail continuous from the Grand Rapids area to the Wisconsin line in the not too distant
future.
Hikers, especially
through hikers, are invited to stop for a night at the NCTA Headquarters and Hostel at the corner of Felch and
Five Mile Roads, about 7 miles northwest of White Cloud and about 1 1/2 miles east of the trail. Located in the
100 year old Birch Grove School, hot showers and late information on the trail are available. The building is not
manned daily; users should contact (616) 689-1912 or write to NCTA to make advance arrangements.