Miners Falls / Pictured Rocks
Day 3 in Marquette, MI | Hiking to Miners Falls and Miners Castle | Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore | Munising, MI | May 2024
On our third day in Marquette, we decided to go for a short road trip over to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Since we were bringing the dogs, we were a bit limited on where we could hike, but we were able to find a dog-friendly trail that we hadn’t done before. So we packed a picnic lunch and drove East to Munising. As we drove, we noted that the roadside stops that had been closed for the winter a couple days ago were now open — I guess it was officially spring now that May had arrived!
We made our way to the trailhead for Miners Falls. The trail is only 1.5 miles long and easy, so we grabbed some water and umbrellas just in case, then set off on the trail. When we began, the forest was covered by a thick fog which made it look cool with PNW vibes. I also loved the color palette of browns and greens. It still definitely felt cool, but we saw signs of spring starting to emerge in the form of wildflowers that looked so close to being ready to bloom.
The trail was mostly flat and easy; a wide path going through the woods, following a ridge out to the lookout for the falls. When we arrived at the end, Curtis’ parents watched Charlotte for us so we could walk down the steps together to get to the best lookout over the waterfalls. The falls were very full today thanks to all the recent rain! After enjoying the view, we made our way back to the car, noting how quickly the fog had now lifted and the sun was starting to think about coming out.
After our hike, we drove a little further down the road to Miners Castle and had lunch at the picnic area. Then we set out on one more hike, taking us to different viewpoints of the lake, Bridal Veil Falls in the distance, and of course, the Miners Castle. The trail even briefly joined with the North Country Trail — which dogs are unfortunately not allowed on through most of the park. We enjoyed looking out over the lake and seeing the bright turquoise water contrasted against the tan, tall bluffs. The lake looked almost calm enough to want to put out a kayak and paddle along the base of the cliffs….almost. Maybe someday.
We returned back to Marquette, but not before getting our national park cancellation stamps in Munising and a letterboxing stop at the Christmas forge, both locations we had stopped at during our drive through in 2019.
