Grand Island Backpacking Trip

Grand Island lies just north of Munising, Michigan, off the south shore of Lake Superior. While the area is famous for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (https://www.nps.gov/piro/), I discovered a fantastic alternative: backpacking around Grand Island National Recreation Area.

Originally planning a Pictured Rocks backpacking trip, I soon learned about the year-in-advance booking requirement. Luckily, Grand Island offered a great alternative, and it turned out to be an awesome adventure.

My wife and I decided to go in early August. Planning my trip, I used the Recreation.gov website (https://www.recreation.gov/) and searched for Grand Island National Recreation Area. This site allows you to build your trip and reserve campsites around the island. The perimeter trail, according to AllTrails, is roughly 20 miles long (https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/michigan/grand-island-loop). I hiked the perimeter clockwise over three nights, allowing time for exploration off the trail each day.

Reaching the island requires taking a ferry through the Grand Island Ferry Service (http://grandislandup.com/). This website provides the schedule and ticket prices. We purchased tickets the morning before departure, keeping in mind the limited ferry schedule. While the ferry resembles a large pontoon boat, the ride offers interesting views.

We arrived after a delicious lunch from a fantastic bagel shop in Munising, only to be greeted by pouring rain. After securing our tickets, we scrambled with our packs to catch the ferry with a brief rain break. Our route took us along the west coast of the island, which would have been beautiful with clear skies. We reached our first campsite about three miles in, set up our tent, and hunkered down for the night.

Day 2 was going to be an adventurous seven miles to our next campsite. Before hiking out, we decided to back track and explore the cliffs we missed in the downpour from the previous day. These cliffs are a hidden gem, strikingly similar to those found around Pictured Rocks on the mainland. Here are a few pictures showcasing these beautiful rock formations.

Side Note:  Lake Superior was a force to be reckoned with on this day, with gale force winds and waves reaching 25 to 30 feet. This served as a powerful reminder that we were on an island and the "glorified pontoon" ferry wouldn't handle such conditions. Planning tip: Consider the possibility of getting stuck due to weather when planning your trip.

After lunch, we packed up and began our trek to the second campsite at the island's north end. The trail continued along the west coast, offering stunning views of cliffs and Lake Superior. We took our time, enjoying the scenery and exploring side trails, before reaching the campsite in time for dinner and a beautiful sunset.

Always be bear aware on Grand Island. They'll typically stay away from you as long as you don't quietly happen upon them. The Michigan DNR report only about 20 bears on Grand Island but the island is only about 22 square miles. Whistling, singing, chatting, or wearing bells are a great way to keep the bears away. Be sure to bring bear spray, just in case.

Luckily, our heavy footing and chatting coming upon our campsite helped move the bears along as while setting up camp, my wife exclaimed multiple times she could smell something bad, her best guess of fresh bear piss. Ultimately we guessed it came from this log we inadvertently sat on in front of the fire we built. See the picture below of the log as we realized the smell to must have come from. Unfortunately, it left my sweatshirt smelling of bear which is really not pleasant and

buried that one in the bottom of my backpack.

Bear log see the fur

Day 3 presented us with another 7-mile hike to the next campsite. The trail now followed the island's east coast, again boasting breathtaking views of the cliffs and Lake Superior.

On Day 4, we rose early to catch the noon ferry. After hiking the entire island, which I presumed to be mostly deserted, we stumbled upon a surprising little village with houses and even cars – apparently shipped over by residents! As we walked thru the small village we found a small cemetery. What made this cemetery interesting was that a lot of headstones were from the late 1800's. We made the noon ferry and got back to our car.

There's a south section of the island we didn't explore. It's mostly wooded with just a small trail around the perimeter of the peninsula, but it also boasts a cool old lighthouse (pictured below) that I would have loved to see. Perhaps next time! There are many more pictures in the pictures section on the Beardedadventures.net