Hiking

Presque Isle River Waterfalls – Porcupine Mountains – Three Falls in One Hike

/ Liza / 3 Comments

Last time I began to recap our adventure in Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains. This weeklong adventure was full of hiking, camping, and appreciation of nature’s beauty in Michigan’s largest state park. In case you missed it, check out the recap of a must do trail and must see scenic overlook, Lake of the Clouds and the Escarpment Trail.

Part of that appreciation for nature’s beauty I mentioned came in the form of waterfall viewing. This area has an abundance of waterfalls. In fact, the entire upper peninsula is rich with waterfalls, clocking in at 300+ falls of all sizes across the region, with the largest being the beautiful Tahquamenon Falls in the northeastern part of the peninsula. The Porcupine Mountains themselves have 50+ falls of all sizes. Today we will focus on three of them, including the largest one in the park, Manabezho Falls

Where in the world are we? This post focuses on the Presque Isle River Waterfalls, which are near the Presque Isle Campground on the western side of the park. (At the end of County Rd. 519)

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Lake of the Clouds and Hiking the Escarpment Trail – Porcupine Mountains – Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

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Last summer I was lucky enough to spend a week hiking, camping, and exploring in the Porcupine Mountains. Located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park as it’s officially known is Michigan’s largest state park with a whopping size of 60,000 acres. If you love hiking, this destination is for you. With over 90 miles of trails in the park, there is a trail for everyone to explore.

Having covered a lot of ground (quite literally,) I’m going to spend the next few posts recapping and looking back on the hikes I did and how we camped in this stunning and massive park.

I start the adventure recap with my personal favorite hike in the park, the Escarpment Trail.

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Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine State Forest – Pike Lake – Northern Unit – Springtime Windy Hiking

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I’ll be honest, the Kettle Moraine forest is kind of overwhelming to me. It’s so large and has so many different campgrounds and trail systems, I never feel like I know where I’m going or what I’m doing. When I make the choice to explore it, I just pick a place, do minimal research, and try it out. That’s how I ended up here, at Pike Lake!

The Kettle Moraine State Forest, or “the kettles,” is broken up into two units; the northern unit and the southern unit. The focal point of this trip, Pike Lake, is located in the northern unit, just outside the town of Hartford, WI. Covering more than 30,000 acres, the northern unit is the larger of the two and has some form of recreation for just about anyone. The Pike Lake Unit is only 678 acres of that 30,000 acres. See? Overwhelming!

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Geese Galore! Hiking in the Horicon Marsh, Largest Freshwater Cattail Marsh in the US — Horicon, Wisconsin

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Once upon a time I worked in the city of Beaver Dam, WI. Living in Madison, I didn’t love my 50 minute commute each way, but I did love my work. Part of my job allowed me to work in several of the local rural schools. While this meant even more driving on top of my commute, it also meant I could explore an area of the state I wouldn’t otherwise find myself in. It was these drives to the schools that brought me by and introduced me to the Horicon Marsh.

At 33,000 acres, the Horicon Marsh is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States. This area was formed by glaciers and is known for its high volume of drumlins, or elongated small hills. (Fun fact, if you look up drumlins on Wikipedia, the first photo is of the Horicon Marsh.)

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Wisconsin’s Big Foot Beach State Park — Campsite Review, A Low Cost Option to Explore Lake Geneva

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Sometimes a camping trip takes you way off grid and out of cell service. Sometimes a camping trip brings you closer to civilization. The latter seems to be especially true around tourist hot spots. Think Peninsula State Park in Door County, Rocky Arbor State Park in the Dells, and, the campground we’re talking about today, Big Foot Beach in Lake Geneva.

While it’s definitely nice to get away, disconnect, and forget the problems of the world for awhile, sometimes it’s nice to have a low cost lodging option near the hustle and bustle of restaurants, shows, beaches, and other summer fun.

If you’re planning a trip to Lake Geneva in the summer and are a fan of camping, I encourage you to check out Big Foot Beach State Park as a low cost lodging option while you explore the area.

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Lake Geneva, Wisconsin’s Shore Path — A Unique Shore Walk Full of Mansions!

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Hikes come in all shapes and sizes. From that Colorado 14er to a boardwalk trail through a marsh, hiking can be whatever you make it. Which is why I present a unique form of hiking today: hiking through rich people’s backyards, legally, of course. If this sounds interesting to you, Lake Geneva’s Shore Path is your next hiking destination.

Wisconsin’s Lake Geneva is a popular tourist town that comes alive in the summer. After seeing the lake, the beauty and popularity of the area is apparent. Why this small Wisconsin town is filled with multimillion dollar mansions was less immediately apparent to me. The reason for this is the close proximity to Chicago. Beginning in the 1800’s, wealthy Chicago residents flocked to the lake to build stately homes after the Great Chicago Fire to escape the period of rebuilding. These homes became summer homes and the idea of Lake Geneva as a summer destination was born. So much so that Lake Geneva earned the nickname, “Newport of the West.”

So now we know why Lake Geneva is full of mansions, but why do we get the opportunity to walk on their lawns? Well, to keep history alive and to keep the lake accessible. Dating back to 2500 BCE, Native American groups used the lakeshore path as a way to travel between villages. Later, the lake shore path was used by workmen to travel to their site of work. Today, the lake shore path stays alive thanks to a local ordinance that requires property owners to maintain and keep the portion of the path that runs through their property open.

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