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Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA

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PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS STATE PARK
POINTS
OF INTEREST

Park Visitor Center and nature center. Reccommended first stop at the Porkies in season for tips from helpful staff, audio-visual and pamphlet background on natural and human history, detailed hiking and topo maps, guided nature hikes ... more

Lake of the Clouds Overlook. One of Michigan's most famous views looks down from a dramatic Porcupine Mountain ridge onto the lake and Big Carp Valley. Glorious fall color. Now accessible to all. ... more

Union Bay. The most popular and easily reached Lake Superior beach in the Porkies, it's accessible by car and even has a concession stand by the large modern campground. ... more

Summit Peak Observation Tower. It feels like you're floating above an undulating sea of green here at the park's highest spot ... more

Presque Isle River Waterfalls. Swinging footbridge leads across the river to Lake Superior river mouth known for steelhead run. Warm wading at the beach. Waterfall aficianados consider the three falls here among the most U.P.'s most beautiful for the water patterns and the old-growth forest setting. ... more

Overlooked and Greenstone Falls. Two fine waterfalls, reached by fairly short hikes through old-growth hemlocks and past a gorge, are well worth the walk ... more

Explorers Falls. For those up to a long hike into the Porkies, the reward is experiencing the finest waterfall on the park's Carp River. ... more

Hike to Trap Falls. A 3 to 4 hour hike though hemlocks, hardwoods and big pines to a remote and picturesque waterfall ... more

Along the North Country Trail. Not the Porkies' most scenic trail, but its most remote. Connects to Black River waterfalls, Trap Hills, and Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness Area beyond the state park. ... more

Long trek deep into the Porkies. A recommended 3- to 4-day backpacking hike deep into the Porkies, through old-growth forest, past waterfalls, along the Little Carp River. ... more

Abinodja Falls, Ogimawke Falls & Ogima Falls. Just south of the state park, a marvelous series of waterfalls for those willing to take the trouble to find them ... more

PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS STATE PARK

Union Bay

Lake Superior's Union Bay. The sand beach here is one of the few in the park and the only one accessible by car. Water temperatures vary in summer, depending on wind direction. It can be quite pleasant in late July, August, and September, disproving the myth that Lake Superior is too cold for swimming.

Dan Urbanski

Union Bay gives kayakers easy access to Lake Superior. The nearby staff of The Outpost is a handy source of perspective on weather conditions. The Outpost is a camp store with kayak and bike rentals.

The Outpost (906-885-5612), a concession stand with generally the same hours as the Visitor Center, sells ice cream, sundries and souvenirs, and rents open-pit kayaks, canoes, and mountain bikes. In winter the Outpost runs the ski concession and answers the same phone.

The large, modern campground at Union Bay gives the area a very developed look quite different from the park's trails, cabins, and rustic Presque Isle River campground under the pines by Lake Superior at the park's western end.

Along M-107 for 2 1/2 miles west, from the main park entrance by Silver City to the Union Bay Campground and beach. The Outpost is open from mid-May through fall color season. State park sticker required.

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