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Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.  April, 2014
MichiganTrailMaps.com

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Cheboygan State Park:  Lakeshore Trail MapLighthouse Adventure

Lighthouse history, lighthouse ruins and lighthouses on display are the focus of this month's Trail Mix newsletter as Jim DuFresne explores the Ligthouse Ruins Trail in Cheboygan State Park, an often overlooked unit on the northern end of Lake Huron. We're also proud to announce this month that our newest map covering the beautiful Lakeshore Trail in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is back from the printers and available through our eshop. Just in time for spring we're offering a dayhike and a backpacking adventure in this issue. For more ideas about where the find a new trail head to the newly redesigned MichiganTrailMaps.com website.


History Along the Lighthouse Ruins Trail  

By Jim DuFresne
The start of our weekend at Cheboygan State Park was a little rough...wet actually. We had just begun hiking when suddenly the dry forested trail disappeared into a huge cedar swamp, forcing us to jump from logs to tree roots to anything that was sticking above the stagnant water. When we underestimated the final leap we found ourselves ankle deep in black ooze with 20 million mosquitoes and one deer fly trying to make lunch out of us.

The end was spectacular.14-Foot Shoals Lighthouse

By late Sunday afternoon we were sitting on the edge of Lighthouse Point, enjoying the coastal scenery of islands, lighthouses and a sailboat on the horizon while the breeze off Lake Huron kept those pesky bugs away and the sun dried out our socks. Best of all, this was Memorial Weekend but we had the beach to ourselves.

In between the beginning and the end, we discovered this state park to be 1,250 acres of cedar swamps and Lake Huron shoreline, where soggy trails lead to spectacular sand. Acre for acre, Cheboygan State Park might be one of most underused units in the Lower Peninsula, a park that contains almost five miles of Great Lakes shoreline yet attracted only 46,000 visitors a year.

The park has 6 miles of trails and a popular hike is the perimeter of the system, a 5.5-mile trek that begins and ends at the campground and includes what was once known as the Lighthouse Ruins Trail. Today the various trails are color-coded and labeled on park maps by their colors but Lighthouse Ruins Trail remains a much more descriptive name for this walk.

The highlight of any hike in the park is the excellent coastal scenery that includes several offshore lighthouses, miles of beachcombing, and the ruins of an 1859 lighthouse. The Red and Yellow Trails through the interior of the park are the wettest. If you begin at a trailhead along the park road, you can bypass these sections and combine the rest of the trails for a relatively dry 4-mile hike to Cheboygan Point. 

Trail Guide 
Click on the map to the right to view a larger version or print.

Lighthouse Ruins TrailIn the campground the Yellow Trail departs site No. 54 and by staying right at every junction, you will follow the most interesting section of this loop: the long boardwalk. Reached Mile 0.5, the planked trail leads a quarter mile through a cedar swamp that can be buggy in midsummer but beautiful in the spring and fall.

Head north (right) at post No. 11 and at Mile 1.2 you break out at Seffern Road and cross it to post No. 12, marking the Blue Trail. This short segment returns to the woods and quickly crosses the dirt two-track that serves as the cabin access road to post No. 3. Head east (right) at the junction to quickly reach post No. 1 and then north (left) to pick up the start of the Green Trail. At Mile 1.5 you finally emerge at Lake Huron at post No. 2 just down the shore from the Poe’s Reef Cabin. A bench is located here and you can take a break while viewing Poe Reef Light almost 3 miles offshore.

Boardwalk through a cedar swamp.Head west (left) and follow the green-tipped posts for one of the most scenic hikes on the east side of the state. For almost 2 miles, the trail is literally a walk along the beach in an area of the park that is open only to hikers and the handful of people who are renting the cabins. At Mile 2.3 you pass 14-Foot Shoals Cabin and then come to a sign and spur to the lighthouse ruins. Nearby is a bench with a fine view of 14-Foot Shoals Light less than a mile offshore.

You continue west along on a wide, sandy beach, and at Mile 2.7 come to Lighthouse Point Cabin. This is newest park rental cabin and also the most spectacular. The two-room cabin sleeps eight and includes a screened-in porch and is within view of the lapping waters of the Lake Huron beach.

Within a quarter mile the Green Trail cuts across the base of Lighthouse Point and then reaches post No. 6 near Cheboygan Point at Mile 3.3. Another bench is located here with a view of 14-Foot Shoals Light while the Green Trail swings south to become the Black Trail.

Lighthouse CabinThe return on the Black Trail begins in open and grassy dunes before moving into the woods just before crossing the dirt road leading to Lighthouse Point Cabin at Mile 3.8. Within a 0.3 mile you reach the old stone foundation and partial rock walls that are the lighthouse ruins. Cheboygan Point Light was first built on a pier in Lake Huron in 1851 but lasted only a few years due to rough water and winter ice. In 1859, it was rebuilt on shore and was operated by the U.S. Lighthouse Service until 1930. The crumbling rocks that remain were the foundation of the lightkeeper’s house that was attached to the tower.

Just beyond the ruins you arrive at post No. 5, indicating the start of the Blue Trail which begins by paralleling the cabin access road. At times it’s easier just to hike the two-track than to hunt for the foot path. At Mile 4.7 you arrive at the post No. 4, marking the junction with the Red Trail that heads south (right) for the campground. This 0.7-mile segment can be wet when it passes through some cedar swamps in the middle. The Red Trail then ends just up the road from the campground contact station.

Facilities 

Scattered along the trails are three rustic cabins that can be rented in advance. All three state park cabins are situated just inland from Lake Huron in the restricted portion of the park; only those who rent them are allowed to drive the rutted two-track along the north shore. Amenities include eight bunks, a hand pump, outhouse, your own stretch of beach, and quick access to the trail system. For $65 a night many people think this is the best summer rental in Michigan.

Getting There 

Cheboygan State Park is 3 miles east of the city of Cheboygan with a posted entrance off US-23. Once inside follow the Seffern Road to the campground. Two posted trailheads with display maps will be passed along the road before reaching the campground where the third trailhead is located next to site No. 54.               

Additional Information 

A state park pass or daily vehicle entry fee is required to hike at Cheboygan. Cabins and campsites can be reserved in advance (800-44-PARKS; www.midnrreservations.com). For more information or trail conditions contact Cheboygan State Park (231-627-2811).

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