Sophie Wildemann
The hike itself is good, mostly flat but some up and downs on both the Manistee River side and the north country trail. The river barely makes an appearance on the north country trail side but definitely comes into view for the Manistee River side, altho it comes and goes with woods in between. We hiked the loop counter clockwise, parking at Woodpecker Creek access on upper river road and starting our hike on the north country trail towards red river bridge. We then camped at one of the campsites (7B is recommended if you want to be on the river, or some of the earlier ones (10A-7B) if you want to be at higher elevation). The trail ended at the suspension bridge for us, which conveniently led us right back to where we parked! I do recommend the loop, our mileage was about 21 miles total. Make sure to bring plenty of water as there are only two places to fill up on the trail - one at the red river bridge access, and one at the seton creek campground (the campground isn’t right on the trail though).
4.0
My friend and I did a one night trip here and it was a lot of fun. The entire walk is through the woods so plan for shade but also bugs. They’re pretty bad if you’re not moving, so for the majority of the hike we didn’t use bug spray but at camp we definitely did. We hiked to blind lake campground, which is 7 miles WITH the shortcut and 11 without, so be mindful of how long you want to walk day 1. Camp had a vault toilet with toilet paper, water, and a fire pit! Day 2 is about 6 ish miles if you take the full potowatomi trail and complete the about 17-18 mile round trip. There are a number of paths you can take to make the trip shorter, branching off from a marker. The entire way consisted of woods, boardwalks, and road crossings there wasn’t much other terrain besides a few rock features embedded in the trail.
4.0
Short hike to get to the dune, beautiful
5.0
We got to see a few gators really close to the walkway which was cool and scary, but overall we saw a lot of birds, a couple snakes, and a few gators. We didn’t get to see any bison or wild horses. Overall mostly loose gravel but an easy walk.
4.0
Many exposed spots on the mountain, with rail.
5.0
This was my first backpacking trip and I went with a friend and an experienced adult. We stayed for two nights, the first on a bluff between Donner’s Point and Fredrickson’s past cat hole. Beautiful sunset. The second night we spent right by Bournique’s, which is past the cemetery and got up to see the sunrise. Overall great experience, would recommend. Pretty easy hike.
5.0
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