Tahquamenon Falls State Park - Upper and Lower Tahquamenon Falls Trail

No matter how many times a Michiganian has seen the Tahquamenon Falls, they never lose their awesomeness. 

It had rained three inches the night before, but by 2 pm the next day, the skies had cleared, and the rain moved eastward but left the trail full of puddles.

The start of my day. Gypsy and I slept in the van that night.

Starting at the Upper Falls, the trial followed closely along the river. It is a five-mile hike to the Lower Falls.

 

Wet, muddy trail or not, I was going to do this hike.

A nice view of the Tahquamenon River.

The copper color is from iron that's in the water.

We crossed over numerous creeks, and here is one almost overflowing its banks.

Some of the Lower Falls

Altogether from the parking lot at the Upper Falls to the parking lot at the Lower Falls was a 5.4-mile hike. There are hundreds of people at each waterfall, but hardly anyone on the trail between the falls.

Seney National Wildlife Refuge - Northern Hardwoods Trails

Northern Hardwoods are a series of loop trails that are groomed in the winter for cross country skiing. Each loop is given a specific trail name and is of various lengths and difficulties. There is the Cub Hollow, Bear Hollow. Skunk Ridge, Smith Farm, Manistique River Run, Otter Run, Goose Pen Bend. Northern Hardwoods is easy to find; going South on M-77, you turn right on Robinson Road and follow it till it dead-ends. There is a gate across the road and a parking area.

The Upper Goose Pen is a beautiful little lake created by a dam. 

 

By looking in the mud, you can get an idea by tracks left behind of what creatures are lurking in the woods.

Also, poop animals leave on the trails. The trails are not heavily used by humans, and the diamond markers on the trees were helpful at times to let you know you were still on the trail. This was Black bear country, and I had my can of bear spray with me.

Not much of a view of the Manistique River.

Looking down at the Gray's Creek.

 Gypsy and I followed Robinson Road back to where the van was parked. The map shows this road winding throughout the wildlife refuge and must be only used by National Seney Wildlife Refuge Service as only a service road. 

I did Cub, and Bear Hollow, then took the two-track to Manistique River Run. After looping around, I crossed the small bridge and looped around the backside of the Upper Goose Pen Pool. From there, I followed the two-track back to the parking area. Altogether it was a 4.6-mile hike.

Point Beach State Forest - Ice Age Trail

 What makes the Point Beach Segment of the Ice Age Trail so incredible is the 3 1/2 miles of isolated  Lake Michigan shoreline.  

 At the entrance of the park, just before where you check in to the campground, my journey began.

The trail runs parallel inland from the lake for about a mile, then takes a sharp easterly turn and brings you to the beach. This is what makes the shoreline portion of the hike so isolated.

In this picture, what don't you notice? People would be the correct answer. I hiked the trail coming from the north 1.7 miles knowing I would have to walk that same distance back; I spotted this bench perched up on the dune and thought this would be an excellent place to rest and turn around.

The bench gave a panoramic view. This hike was done in the morning, and I was finished around lunchtime; then, I took a trip into the town of Two Rivers and had lunch at Connie's Diner. After lunch, I found where the trail began from the town's end off of Park Road, where it deadends.

Gypsy met a friend.

A creek emptying out into Lake Michigan. The water is flowing quite swiftly.

 

The creek's water is a cooper color, probably because of the iron in the water, and it turned the shoreline this dark copper color. 

Someone had made a teepee out of driftwood.

The two issues we had to deal with at this time of year were the dead Alewives' fish and biting black flies.

We made it to the same bench we came to in the morning. But instead of only a 3.4-mile hike (there and back), it was a 6-mile hike total. That day, we hiked 9.4-miles, and we slept very well that night.

I can't say enough good about this campground managed by the Forest Service. I would come again but not in June. 

Big Woods Lake Loop

 Big Woods Lake Loop is near North Cedar, Iowa. On my visit to the Cedar Falls area, it's another walk around a lake. 

The asphalt makes it popular with bike riders.

There is a series of lakes, and this is a bridge that crosses over a connection between Big Woods Lake and another body of water.

Not all of the asphalt loop follows the shore of the lake. You have some views of the prairie and some off-shoot foot trails. I stayed on the main path today.

A view of Big Woods Lake.

Hartman Reserve Nature Center - Shirey Lake

 Alltrails uses the name "Shirey Lake and Lost Lake via Shirley, Osprey, and Harman Sandbar West Trails." I'll just title it Shirey Lake Trail. This trail is just outside Cedar Fall, Iowa, near the George Wyth State Park.

I accessed the trail via the dead-end off of Cooley St. I began my time here fishing from this sandy spot on the shore.

What the trail looked like most of the hike.

On the northeast side, you come to a sandy beach area.

Hartman Reserve's a pretty area between the two cities of Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Iowa.