Marathon Pundit: Upper Peninsula Upventure: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Upper Peninsula Upventure: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

In 1820, geologist and ethnographer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft described what is now known as Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore as possessing "some of the most sublime and commanding views in nature." That is true.

The park runs along 42 miles of Lake Superior coastline on Michigan's Upper Peninsula east of Munising.

To get the best look at the park's sandstone cliffs, you need to do so from the big lake--from Memorial Day weekend until Columbus Day weekend, Pictured Rocks Cruises offers tours. I took an 11:00am cruise on a perfectly clear day--but some of the rock formations--the pictured rocks with copper, manganese, and iron colorations--didn't turn out as well in photographs as I had hoped. For the most part, we faced the cliffs from the north and the rocks were on the south--where the sun was.

On the upper left is the Miner's Castle formation, one of the most photographed natural features in Michigan. It's on the cover of the 2009 official Michigan travel guide.

Click on any image to make it larger.

To its right is Indian Head Rock. Do you see the "nose?" Of course, it could easily be called White Guy Rock, too. Or Chinese Woman Stone.

Within the park, there are campgrounds, trails, sand dunes, and in spots where the rocks recede--there are sand beaches, where hardy souls can swim. Lake Superior is the biggest, deepest, most northerly and of course--the coldest of the Great Lakes.

Next: A few more Pictured Rocks photographs.

Earlier posts:

Munising Bay
Seney, Hemingway, and Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome
Hickey Creek