Rugged Beauty on the Edge of Superior: A Hike Through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Beyond.
Last July, in the thick of a Michigan summer, I set out (alongside my favorite hiking partner) to explore one of the most awe-inspiring slices of the Midwest: the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula. What awaited us was six miles of rugged, breathtaking shoreline where sandstone cliffs meet the endless clear blue of Lake Superior.
It had rained a few nights before, and the trail was thick with mud, rather slick in some places, clinging to our boots in others. But somehow, the messiness only added to the sense of adventure. Each squishy step felt like a rite of passage into the wild.
From the sculpted majesty of Miners Castle, where centuries of erosion have carved towers into the cliffside, to the almost mythical Chapel Rock, standing tall with its lone pine rooted miraculously on a pedestal of stone, this land felt alive. It told stories in wind and rock, in the ripples of lake waves, and in the stillness of the forest shade.
The trail wound through dense green woods, past waterfalls, and finally out to Mosquito Beach, where slabs of sandstone dipped into crystal-clear Superior waters. The lake danced from steel gray to a turquoise beneath the summer sun. We paused often, not just to catch our breath but to soak it all in. We felt Lake Superiors vastness, its silence, and its raw wild beauty.
But the adventure didn’t end on foot. Before heading south, we climbed into kayaks and took to the water, paddling the same coastline we had just hiked. From the lake, the cliffs rose like towering, multicolored citadels and were even more dramatic from below. Waves lapping gently against the rock, and with every paddle stroke, we found stunning new perspectives on familiar sights. It was like watching the land breathe from a different rhythm much calmer, and deeper.
As our journey continued we departed the wild magic of Lake Superior, and followed the shoreline south, making our way to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore known as the Riviera of the Midwest. Rolling sand dunes, sun-warmed trails, and sweeping lake vistas reminded us once again that Michigan is full of quiet, breath-taking surprises.
Mud on our legs, salt on our skin, and wonder in our hearts. This wasn’t just a hike, it was a celebration of summer, of wild places, and of walking (and paddling) them together.
Don’t sleep on Michigan. Its coastline hikes and water trails are some of the most beautiful in the country. From sandstone cliffs to golden dunes, it’s a wild, water-wrapped wonderland just waiting to be explored.
