Friday, October 16, 2009

Lower Tahquamenon Falls

The Upper Falls get all the attention, but I am big fan of the Lower Falls. You can get much closer to them, and it seems more impressive to me. The Lower Falls also has a gift store and a sells ice cream, there are restrooms here also. The coolest thing about the Lower Falls is that for $12 you can rent a row boat and row over to the island that is in the middle of the falls. Once on the island you can walk around it and see the falls close up and from a different perspective. We really enjoyed doing this and I *highly* recommend it.
The Lower Falls and Upper Falls are connected by a walking path that is 4 miles (one way). Just follow the boardwalk at the Lower Falls and keep going. After a while it is just a trail. It is rough in places and wet being near the river, but it is very cool. We did not go all the way to the Upper Falls, but it is nice to walk around the river, there are many smaller falls and rapids and you can go right along the river. The banks and river bed are all solid rock, so you can step to the edge of the river and it is sooo cool! Each morning we were here I took a long walk along the river and I think it was the highlight of the trip.

Tahquamenon Rivermouth Campground

 
As you head up M-123 you will first come along Lake Superior and you will pass the Rivermouth campground. This is about 15 miles from the falls. This has a modern and rustic campgrounds right on the river. We stopped here and did some fishing. The river is nearly as wide as a lake here, and in fact we say a powerboat go by. We went through the rustic side and it looks nice, large open campsites right on the river, it is beautiful. Although, unless you really wanted to be here, I will go the extra 15 miles and stay at the falls campground.
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Upper Taquamenon Falls

 
This is the second largest waterfall East of the Mississippi and it is a site to see. Set deep in the woods. From ther parking lot it is about a 5 minute walk to the edge of the river and you can see the falls in the distance. I walk down to them gives you a great view over looking te 50' drop. There are a lot of steps here.. you can walk down about 100 steps to the brink of the fall and stand over looking the waterfall. You can also go the opposite way and walk down even more steps and walk along the river. There is a long wooden walkway that seems to go on forever. It was getting toward dusk when we go to hear so didnt stay long, but woud like to explore this further in future trips.

As you come into the parking lot there is a gift store and brewery/resturant here. This site was originally a lumber camp and the resturant is named for that. As you walk down toward the falls there is a new outdoor center with a case with a mounted wolf and coyote and some information on native animals and plants in the area. There is also a modern restroom next to it.
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Tahquamenon Lower Falls State Park Riversbend Campground Sept 25 - 27

 
I have made a few trips to Tahquamenon State Park and really enjoyed it, but I have always wanted to camp there. After several years of talking about if we finally made it happen. It is no a small undertaking as it is a 6+ hour trip there, we took off Friday at 9am and arrive about 3:30pm to the campground. We got lucky and got a site that backed up to the river, and there are several access to walk down to the river and get in for fishing. It is also just a short walk up to the Lower Falls. Because this is a huge park I am going to break this into several different posts, each dealing with a different features. Basically there are 4 parts: The Rivermouth Campground where the river empties into Lake Superior. Lower Falls viewing area, Lower Falls Campground, and Upper Falls.

As for this campground there are lots of trees as you would expect in the U.P. The roads are paved and there is a modern playground for the kids. There is a sanatation station by the road, which is about a mile from the campground. Over all it was very quiet. There is also the Overlook campground, which was closed when we were there. While this is not within view of the river, you can hear the falls on some of the sites (169) near the end. It is a hike from here to the campground, either through the woods or by the road. I think you are much better off staying at the Riversbend campground if you can.
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Brevoort Lake Aug 7 ~ 10

 
We took off from Reedsburg Dam a little before noon and headed North. Last year we got to the campground before noon and it seemed the prime spots were taken. This year we got there later, after we filled up the fresh water tank we headed in, and the sign at the entrance said No Vacancy. Oh, oh! But we had to wait behind a camper dumping when we got there, so we found an open spot.. the only open spot.
 
It worked out well, it was right on the lake, so we could walk down to go swimming, fishing or to put the kayak in the water. Or to sit in the sun for the few minutes it was out. The weather was less than ideal, it rained hard the second day but it let up in the late morning and we got out and enjoyed the area
 
The campground is within the Hiawatha National Forest so there are lots of things to do. On Sat we took a hike thorugh the North Country trail deep into the woods, and around the lake by Brevort River. There are also lots of small roads to explore and we put the truck into 4 and did just that. This is the 4th year we have come up here, and the 3rd year we camped here, it is one of my favorite spots.
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Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Reedsburg Dam

 
Heading up North on a Thursday night for our now annual 'Guys weekend' I had hoped to get an early start and get up to Grayling, but had to take the truck in during the week and it was not done until late that afternoon, so finally had the trailer hitched up and heading North about 7pm. Our navagitor picked Reedsburg Dam State Forest Campground just West of Houghton Lake. It is just 5 miles from US 127, and we got there about dust. It is a nice campground and we found a decent sized site and got backed in before it became too dark.
 
The next day we walked around in the daylight, there is a dam (go figure) and there were people fishing on the low side. Saw a guy in a kayak. Not sure about swimming in this lake. While I would not want to make this a destination, it was a great stopping point on the way North. Only $15, first come first server, sites big enough for large trailer. Hand pump water, and outhouses. Over all it was exactly what we needed.. The next day we were off to the UP.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Higgins Lake June 19 ~ 21

 
For our first big trip of 2009 we returned to North Higgins Lake State Park. This has become one of our favorite campgrouds as it has the 'Up North' feel, yet is suprisingly close to home, we can be there within 3 hours. The campground is set in a mature forest a trail leads down to the large lake that has trees up to the shore line and sanday beach. The water was cold, but still nice to get out swimming. Across the road from the campground is the CCC museum, and also has hiking/biking trails. We brought our bikes this time and I did the middle course, which was harder than I anticipated.
There is a lot of good fishing within 30 minute drive. The AuSable runs all through the area, and you can go West toward Roscommon, or North toward Grayling to find numberous spots to fish from.
This campground is in the the upper tier for cost for the State Parks, but I think it is wortwhile as it is a beautiful park that we enjoy going to each year.
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Proud Lake 4/11/09

 
We kicked off the 2009 camping season with a quick trip to Proud Lake North of Wixom. We went to Taylor Beach on Friday and I got the water system up and running, then Saturday we were off on the 45 minute trip to Proud Lake. It is in a more residential area that I expected, but it is a nice park. It is actually a State Rec Are so there is a lot of land, the campground is off to one side. The lake is down a steep hill, there is a boat launch, and it looks like there is a swimming area a ways down from there. We saw a swan on the lake when we walked down to check out the lake. The park is nice, it is a ways off the road and you forget you are in Metro Detroit. Nice pine trees all around. We had site 35 on the lake side. The sites near the lake are narrow, I did a parallel parking job which was easy as nobody else was around. The power set up was odd, as some sites share a box... our was in the middle of our site and it servered 2 sites... so power for the other site would string across your site and by the fire pit. The do have walking trails, which are more like 2 track roads through the woods, we did a walk on Saturday and enjoyed the nice spring day.
 
There were maybe a dozen sites filled, with a few tents... not for me as the temp was in the low 30's. On Sunday morning the campground host (yes there was one there in April) had an easter egg hunt that the kids all enjoyed, we were not expecting that to it was a nice bonus for the kids. My son wants to go back, probably because they had a nice basketball court there (and he forgot his basketball). I liked it because it was close by and the water was on early in the season. Over all it was a nice trip and a nice park.
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