PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS STATE PARK

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19 secluded and very popular rustic cabins in the park reached by foot are on Lake Superior, Mirror Lake, and Big Carp River. Some are a mile or less from roads, others up to four miles in. They usually must be reserved long in advance. Note the large size and deep shade of these old-growth hemlocks by this Mirror Lake cabin.

Long, high ridges made the interior forests here too inaccessible and too expensive to log. The ridges are remnants of once-towering mountains formed when ancient, hard volcanic basalt was uplifted. The mountains' distinctive shape, seen from distant shorelines, led local Ojibwa to call the area kaugabissing, "the place of the porcupines."

Dominant tree types in the Porkies are hardwoods and eastern hemlock. Lots of sugar maple makes for spectacular fall color. Most of the Porcupine Mountains have been spared the catastrophic natural fires that can make some old-growth forests little different in general appearance from logged forests. Windstorms here, while common near Lake Superior's shore, are usually relatively mild. Events like the mighty 1953 blowdown are thought to occur at intervals of 500 years or more on a given site.

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Dan Urbanski

The profile of the ridges of these once-towering mountains, seen here after a fall storm, led to the Ojibwa name "the place of the porcupines."

Longtime park ranger/naturalist Robert Sprague, now park manager, points out that mature forests of eastern hemlock "capture the essence of what people expect to see in old-growth forests." Dark and mysterious, free of underbrush because of the dense canopy, hemlocksare the Midwestern forests most like the old-growth rain forests of the West Coast. They were the "forests primeval" described in Longfellow's "Evangeline," where "the murmuring pines and the hemlocks stood like Druids of eld."

The trunks of hemlocks here are up to three feet across. A very large sugar maple, by comparison, is only two feet in diameter. In comparison, old-growth forests of white pine or hardwood have an irregular, shaggy look. Hemlock's wood splinters easily, so at first loggers often passed it over. A moist, shady microclimate perfect for hemlocks is created by the Porcupine Mountains' north-facing slopes. Hemlocks also benefit from increased lake-effect precipitation from Lake Superior. Temperatures are more uniform than in nearby inland areas.

Dan Urbanski

These old-growth hemlocks are near the Mirror Lake eight-bunk cabin. Like all the Porkies’ rustic cabins, it’s in demand in all four seasons, less so in spring.

By the 1930s conservationists had recognized the Porcupine Mountains' rarity and value as a wilderness area. To protect them from logging, Michigan created the Porcupine Mountains State Park in 1945. It remains the state's largest park by far. The Porkies qualified for national park status, but state park designation protected the forests sooner.

Only the 25-mile South Boundary Road connects the park's eastern end near Ontonagon with the western end around the Presque Isle River, reached from Wakefield near Ironwood. The Wilderness Natural Areas Act of 1972 quashed controversial proposals for more development and a through road along the lakeshore. Development threats have remained dormant ever since.

Hiking trails lead into old-growth forests more extensive than anywhere else east of the Mississippi.

Dan Urbanski

Hiking is the best way to experience the essence of the Porkies. The dramatic Escarpment Trail, here overlooking Loke of the Clouds, goes along a high ridge, revealing interesting rock formations

These trails and forests are the most unusual highlight at Michigan's largest state park. Often trails lead to some of the park's waterfalls, over 30 in all. On the Porkies section of the Michigan.gov and DNR website, trails are not only listed but helpfully annotated as a start in planning.

The Porcupine Mountains are one of the Midwest's premiere backpacking destinations. To really experience the Porkies, try to plan spending a day, or better yet, at least two days and a night, hiking and camping in the wilderness, away from the busy visitor spots and modern campgrounds.

The essence of the Porcupine Mountains goes beyond seeing the celebrated scenic views. Hiking is the way to experience the heart of the magnificent, old-growth forests. Here are a few options for visitors with varying amounts of time and energy, recommended by park manager Robert Sprague. Each trail includes a waterfall, river, or lake. For a wider range of hikes, consult one of the two guidebooks on the park (see below) or stop at the visitor center

Our thanks go to Patty Urbanski, widow of photographer and Porkies enthusiast Dan Urbanski, for the use of Dan's photos. Prints can be purchased at the Silver Image Studio in Silver City on weekends or by appointment. E-mail durbanski@quietlywild.com.

Planning your trip
Free telephone planning help is available year-round from the park's extremely helpful staff. For a visitor packet including camping at the park, area lodgings, and handouts customized to your interests, call (906) 885-5275 or write Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, 412 S. Boundary Rd., Ontonagon, MI 49953.

As of June, 2008, two small groceries are closed, the Silver City General Store and the one by the Silver Sands Motel, also closed, and for sale. The nearest groceries and gas are in White Pine and Ontonagon. The park staff is working with concessionaires of The Outpost near the Union Bay campground to provide those services.

For advance planning, there are two recommended book-length guides, each excellent in its way. Veteran Michigan outdoor writer Jim Du Fresne's Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (Thunder Bay Press, 159 pp., $11.95) provides a quick, convenient overview from someone with lots of hands-on visitor experience. Michael Rafferty and Robert Sprague's fascinating, much longer Porcupine Mountains companion (367 pp., $18.95) conveys a vast knowledge of all aspects of the Porkies, compiled by naturalists who have worked here year-round since the mid 1970s. It's available at the visitor center or from Nequaket Natural History Assn., Box 103, White Pine, MI 49971. This book details trails, cabins, waterfalls, local history of Ojibwa, mining (35 pp.), geology (25 pp.), botany, wildlife (22 pp.), day trips as far as Copper Harbor, and even a quick constellation guide. No need to carry additional field guides! Richly illustrated with the late Dan Urbanski's color photographs, it's the perfect book for a long backpacking trip or for repeat visitors.

Campers must be prepared to deal with hungry, clever black bears.

Dan Urbanski

Drawn by the chance of high-calorie handouts from humans, bears are common visitors at Porkies campgrounds and Silver City back yards (here). Do not feed bears! Feeding by humans leads to a host of bear problems.

Some two dozen or more bears live in the park. A detailed pamphlet, "Preventing Black Bear Problems in Michigan," is given out at the Visitor Center or headquarters. It makes fascinating reading. The pamphlet is also on the DNR web site online, along with general information about black bears. Visit www.michigandnr.com, then go to "Wildlife and habitat," then "Wildlife species," then "Mammals," then "Black bear." In brief, campers should keep any trace of food away from their campsite, in tight containers in a vehicle (and roll the windows up tight so they don't reach in and rip out the window). Away from a vehicle, suspend food in a backpack from trees, 12 feet above ground, 10 feet from the trunk, 5 feet from the nearest branch.

Bears should never be fed. That teaches them to associate humans with food and lose their fear of people. (Bird food can attract them to urban areas.) Unfortunately one Silver City business continues to feed bears as an attraction. Some years bears have come into the big, open Union Bay Campground in daytime, hoping for handouts.

The park has 16 frontier cabins, one wheelchair-accessible, the others on trails at least a mile from parking. They are arranged so they can be used for a three- or four-day backpack trip. Their popularity means they must be reserved well ahead in peak seasons in summer, fall color season, and ski season.

This huge park can seem crowded due to clustering of visitors at certain times (summer, fall color season, winter weekends and Christmas week in the ski areas) and in certain places like scenic overlooks and campgrounds.

To experience wilderness solitude, consider coming at off-season times. In mid to late May wildflowers are out. Warblers fly through in mid-May, just when black flies are getting bad. Mid-May through mid-June are generally the worst times for black flies. These nasty pests remain longer when heavy snows cause lots of moisture. A net bug suit would be a good investment for anyone planning to spend time outdoors in spring in many Upper Peninsula locations. In early October most leaves have fallen but some are left ? for a sparer kind of fall color beauty. A snowmobile trail goes across roads in parts of the park, so winter guests at area resorts are a mix of snowmobilers and skiers.

Serious backpackers can plan many different several-day adventures along the Porkies' 90 miles of trails. Trails in this rugged wilderness commonly have steep grades and unbridged stream crossings. For more complicated day trips and for overnights, it's a good idea to have a compass or GPS. Be sure you understand and plan for all the precautions mentioned in the "Backcountry information" handout: campfires permitted in metal rings only; take fire starter, first aid, and high-energy food; boil drinking water 5 minutes or filter or chemically treat it; learn to hang your food so bears can't get it.

Backcountry camping is permitted anywhere in the park provided it's not within 1/4 mile of a cabin or road. See Porkies Camping section (the column just to the right) for details.

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