Section Hikes of 2016: Great Lakes Road Trip - Nordhouse Dunes

Tuesday, September 13, 2016:

My Great Lakes trip continued on with a six-hour drive out of Northwest Ohio and through Michigan. At the place where Michigan's "thumb" meets the rest of the "mitten," I cut westward across the state and arrived at Lake Michigan on a chilly and cloudy evening. The Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area in Manistee National Forest would be my home for the next few days.

Having read that this is a very popular spot among Michiganders, I was happy that I would be visiting after Labor Day in the middle of the week. As it turned out, I did not see many other people and at times felt that I had the place to myself. It's a relatively small wilderness area with a limited trail system. But it butts up against Ludington State Park to the south, adding a bit more territory to explore.

With just a couple hours of daylight left, I decided to hike the trails on the park's interior, away from the shoreline. After a couple miles, I arrived at my destination, Nordhouse Lake, where I would set up camp.

Entering the wilderness area from the trail head

Sweet spot next to Nordhouse Lake

It was a pleasant and quiet evening. I had a nice dinner and was accompanied by a tiny field mouse. In the morning, a large flock of honking Canada geese took over the lake for a break from their southward journey.

I decided to spend the day hiking to the shore and then following the coast to the Big Sable Point Lighthouse.

First view of Lake Michigan beyond the dunes

Hiking south in the sand

These dunes look like a potential campsite for later on.

Spotted the lighthouse after a few hours of beach walk.

Big Sable Point

History!

Never release foil helium balloons because
they all end up in Lake Michigan.

On the way back, I spent some time exploring the massive dunes that extend as far as the eye can see.

I set up camp pretty early to make sure I was settled and fed before the sunset.

Just relaxing

Not bad, right?

This sunset? Wow!

Beautiful evening sky!

Rather than hiking back to the car, I decided to spend another day in the dunes and another night of incredible stargazing. No hurry here, just killing some time and taking it all in.

Another glorious sunset!

Moonrise over the dunes

The start of another amazing day!

Picture perfect!

From here, my adventure would take me to the Upper Peninsula. I'd made arrangements to hike a few days with my friend Alex "Money Shot" Maier, one of my mates from the Pacific Northwest Trail. But I have a few days to waste along the shores of Lake Superior.

Nordhouse Dunes, paired with Ludington State Park, was a great place to explore and camp. Hiking opportunities are limited, but the views are amazing! There is a fee to camp in Nordhouse Dunes, $5 per night or $15 for up to seven nights. The designated campsites fill up quickly, so it's best to plan ahead.

Next stop: Mackinaw City