Kitch-iti-kipi / North Shore of Lake Michigan

Driving Across the Northern Shore of Lake Michigan | Sand Point Lighthouse, Escanaba, MI | Kitch-iti-kipi | Seul Choix Pointe Lighthouse | August 2023

Our night in Wisconsin was a stormy one, with the rain and dreariness carrying on into the morning. Because of this, we got a late start to our day. The day would continue to be like this — colder, wet, and cloudy — but if it had to be any day, today was the best day for it because we didn’t have much planned. Our main goal was to drive East through Wisconsin, grabbing two more counties on our way, then re-enter Michigan and continue our drive East. 

Since it didn’t look like the weather would clear up, we decided that for our one activity, we would go for a walk near Sand Point in Escanaba, MI. We made a long loop around the memorial park, out on the point to see a bit of Lake Michigan’s rough waters, stopped to enjoy the lighthouse, and walked passed the marina. After our walk, we had lunch, topped off the water tank, and relaxed for a bit before continuing on. We spent that night camping in Ottawa National Forest, only about 30 miles South of where we had camped a few nights prior. 

The next morning was much more pleasant weather-wise, so we got an early start and drove to our first stop of the day. The park is best known as “Kitch-iti-kipi,” or “Blue Spring,” but its official state park name is Palm Book State Park. The land owners who donated the land in the 1920’s stipulated that it was to become a state park, no camping was to be allowed, and the state park HAD to be named after their land company. When I saved it, I knew it was a pretty popular place and was hesitant as I directed us there, but when we arrived there were only two other cars in the lot, and the rangers looked to be just setting up for the day. We learned later that it does in fact get much busier than this — they were already talking about the crowds they were expecting with Labor Day weekend coming up. We paid the day fee for the state park, then made our way over to the park’s main attraction: the bright blue lake. 

Curtis: The ‘lake’ is actually a natural spring coming up from under ground. It just happens that this spring is massive, pumping out thousands upon thousands of gallons an hour. The porous ground through which the spring water flows filters and purifies the water, leaving it crystalline clear, at a constant temperature, and with a bit of sulphur, all of which keep aquatic algae from growing. The best way to see everything is from above on the free to ride human powered raft. When we got there, there were maybe 10 people standing on the raft waiting for something to happen, or someone to give them the go ahead, so one of the rangers jumped on board, invited us AND Charlotte, and did the heavy lifting, but anyone can run the raft.

The raft goes out over the main spring wells, and as the water percolates up through the ground it forms eddies and spirals in the sand and silt that are fun to watch. There’s also a family of large fish that just add to the spectacle. The raft also has information signs explaining all the features and science of the spring…but of course when there’s a ranger on board, some people think it’s just easier to ask him than to read the signs. This lead to the question: Where does all the water come from? The answer is the surrounding hills as rainfall, similar to any artesian well or any other natural spring, and this was the answer provided by the signs and infographics. But the ranger had his own opinions: The water comes from Lake Michigan obviously. Now, I’m not a geologist, but I know physics, and this answer is literally impossible except maybe under a very strange and highly improbable weather phenomena. But being the polite visitor I said nothing, though I had fake conversations and debates with the ranger in my head for the better part of the weekend.

Jess: At the end of the ride, we both agreed that this was very worth the stop and the day pass fee that we paid – though if we sprung for a recreation passport (Michigan’s state park pass) it would be free. To top it all off, we saw more sandhill cranes flying overhead. The rangers said they arrive in the late summer and hang around for about a month.

After leaving the park, we drove down to US-2, and stopped along Lake Michigan at a roadside park. We walked around and relaxed on the “beach” for a while here, enjoying the sunshine after yesterday’s dreary and cold.

Our next stop brought us to Seul Choix Pointe Lighthouse. This was at the end of a long dirt road, but worth the extra effort. We had lunch here, enjoyed walking around the lighthouse, and then wandered down to the rocky shore to enjoy more views of Lake Michigan, and Beaver Island in the distance. It was a great spot to end our week of slow travel and laid back adventures on the Upper Peninsula. 

We spent that evening camping in one more dispersed spot in Ottawa National Forest, once again right on the North Country Trail.