McLain State Park

Don Hunt

Thin but long, Mclain offers visitors 2.5 miles of Lake Superior beachfront.

Some two miles of beautiful Lake Superior beach here culminate at the breakwall and lighthouse at the Upper Portage Entry to the Keweenaw Waterway. The beach is sand with some stones, backed by low dunes and woods of big oaks and pines, with birch and maple, too.

Once these big trees were a quarter-mile inland, protected from strong winds. But shoreline has been lost to erosion, and the big trees aren't sheltered any more. The breakwall has made erosion worse. Before it was built, an average of three feet a year was lost. Now it's more like seven feet a year.

This is a large park, 443 acres. Additional kinds of habitat include a pond and marsh across the road.
As you enter the park, the day-use areas with parking are along the shore to the left (south).

The park's most interesting part is the breakwater area and beach, a mile from the park entrance. The UPPER PORTAGE ENTRY LIGHTHOUSE at the end of the breakwater guides mainly pleasure boats into the Portage Canal and Keweenaw Waterway.

As the copper boom got underway in the 1870s, increased shipping led to cutting the canal through a sandy two-mile portage. There's a level cement surface on much of the pier, so you can walk out on it to within 50 feet of the lighthouse.

The seawall makes swimming off the sandy beach on the waterway warmer than in Lake Superior. Perching above the beach are the combined bathhouse/park shelter (also wheelchair accessible) and playground.

Sunsets over the big lake are spectacular. Benches with two seats flanking a small table make for perfect spots for refreshments by the lake.
On the inland side of the drive, a large shelter, rentable for special occasions, has electricity, a cook stove, and water.

A mile-long trail winds along the bluff through the big trees, looking out at the lake. It's a lovely place for fall color. One end of the trail starts by the parking area near the shelter and bathhouse. The linear trail goes northeast back to the main picnic pavilion and playground near the park entrance road.

The pretty picnic gazebo is in a wooded area up on the bluff, reached by a handicap-accessible cement walkway from pit toilets and the parking lot.

From the second week of June into the second or third week of August, free summer Explorer Programs (nature programs for the whole family) are held at the main pavilion Monday through Friday in the afternoon or evening. Call the park for the schedule.

Another part of McLain State Park is on the inland side of M-203, around shallow BEAR LAKE. The lake is a good place for children to catch small fish. The Bear Lake Trail starts by M-203 opposite the main park entrance drive. It goes back from the road to Bear Lake through an attractive wooded area. Parking can be by M-203, but a park sticker is still required. This has been a good place to see wildflowers in spring and early summer. The trail follows the Bear Lake shore for a bit before turning north across M-203 and heading toward the end of the campground loop.

In winter these trails and connecting drives are groomed to form two easy cross-country ski loops, starting at headquarters and totaling four miles.
Local people put on snowshoes or skis and use McLain year-round because it's close to town (8 miles from Hancock and Calumet) and it affords dramatic views of the lake and ice in all weather conditions. Inspecting the lake ice at different stages of winter is a fun thing to do, and this is the most convenient place. (This does NOT mean walking out on the ice, a gamble.) In winter only the parking by the office is plowed.

The groomed cross-country ski trails (great for beginners) converge there at the lot and follow hiking trails, except that the entry road is groomed instead of the lakeshore trail. For online photos and map, see michigan.gov/mclain. (—May, 2008)

On M-203 at the entrance to the Portage Ship Canal, 8 miles north of Hancock and 8 miles west of Calumet. In Hancock, M-203 is along the canal, intersecting with U.S. 41 by Gino's, where 41 turns and heads up Quincy Hill. In Calumet M-203 is Pine St., a major cross street toward the north end of Fifth and Sixth. (906) 482-0278. michigan.gov/mclain The park is open year-round. Flush toilets operate from May 15-Oct 15, weather depending. Otherwise, vault toilets are available. Wheelchair-accessible: restrooms, main picnic pavilion, gazebo, woods pavilion, concession bathhouse. State park sticker required: $6/day residents, $8 for nonresidents, or $24 and $29 a year.

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