Porcupine Mountains

Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains State Park turns 75 Years Old

Michigan is known far and wide as a mecca for hunters, fishermen, hikers, campers, boaters, as well as those interested in other outdoor activities. One of the principal reasons the state came by this reputation was the far-sighted views of early leaders in Michigan’s state government and those outdoor enthusiasts who encouraged the purchase of wild lands for public use. Because of many efforts to save the most beautiful areas, Michigan now boasts a state park system that owns and operates 103 wonderful state parks open to the public for myriad uses. The crown jewel of this state park system is the largest park in the system and one whose wilderness character has been carefully preserved, The Porcupine Wilderness State Park.

1941
Rangers Examine Virgin Timber

 The history of development of “the Porkies’ began in 1941 even as the nation began struggling with World War II. In October 1941, an article in the Detroit Free Press predicted a dire future for the timberlands in the extreme west end of the Upper Peninsula if they were not saved from the woodsman’s axe. The mountainous area at the state’s western border covered 250 miles and featured lakes, rivers, and uninterrupted forest cover. The forest contained a variety of forest stands including virgin timber of hemlock and a variety of hardwoods. The Free Press story  predicted that “At the present rate of cutting, the largest single stand of virgin hardwood in the United States …known as the Porcupine Mountains, will be reduced to a tree-less stump-covered waste in less than 10 years.”

 

Residents of the Upper Peninsula understood the value of the area with its beautiful lakes and rivers nestled in the mountains that are the highest in the Midwest between New York’s .Adirondacks and the Black Hills of Dakota. Calls for the state to acquire the private lands began as early as 1923, but it took public pressure resulting from a newspaper story for State officials to begin the process of purchasing the available land. In 1944, the state finally allocated $1 million for the purchase of 64,000 acres in the Porcupine Mountains to compete with a commercial proposal to mine and log the land. The sellers agreed to the state’s offer and the DNR immediately began planning the park to focus on public access to the most beautiful areas within the proposed park area.

Presque Isle River 

 

Designated as Michigan’s first wilderness state park, the majority of the park’s interior has been left undeveloped. However, by 1948 an extensive trail system had been created, including 10 trailside cabins designed to accommodate hikers.

The park gained the “wilderness” part of its title in 1972, after passage of the Wilderness and Natural Areas Act.

Perhaps the best known and most scenic area within the park is its Lake of the Clouds- a backcountry, 133-acre watershed that is surrounded by forest. As I recall, one of the most compelling views is on the hiking trail that approaches the lake from above. From here, the lake is completely visible with its surrounding forest stretching out in all directions. As you pan the distant edge of the lake; another view comes into focus – further below the lake’s edge and the forest that encircles it, the land falls away to expose a cream-colored shoreline as the :Lake Superior shoreline comes into focus some miles distant. The hiking trail that I took to the lake continued down to Lake Superior. It was inviting, but too long and too far away for me at that visit.

Lake of the Clouds Overlook

Many areas on the south shore of Lake Superior served as home base for numerous bands of Indians, most commonly Ojibwa and Odawa. The Indian history of the area prompted evocative place names lending credence to the rugged and deep forest mountain character of this area. Indian derived names include Miscowawbic Peak, Manabezho Falls, Mirror Lake, Lost Creek Outpost and Green Mountain Peak in addition to the aforementioned Lake of the Clouds.

If you are looking for a place to camp this summer, the Porcupine Wilderness State Park has much to offer as I learned many years ago.

(Information used in this blog was originally prepared by Michigan Department of Natural Resources employee JOHN PEPIN)