Top Things To Do In Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan, USA

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore on the shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. It is famous for multicolored unusual sandstone rocks cliffs northeast of Munising. Unusual sandstone formations like Miners Castle and Chapel Rock define the park’s headlands. The cliffs reach up to 60 m above lake level.

They have been naturally sculptured into a variety of shallow caves, arches, and formations resembling castle turrets and human profiles. The colors in the cliffs are created by the large amounts of minerals in the rock. The cliffs are composed of the Munishing Formation of 500 million year old Cambrian Period Sandstone.

Sandstone cliffs, beaches, sand dunes, waterfalls, inland lakes, deep forest, and wild shoreline encourage you to visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Pictured Rocks offers the opportunity to explore miles of pristine beaches, hike nearly 100 miles of trails, view towering sandstone cliffs, and experience the serenity of northern woodlands.

Pictured Rocks cliffs offers many things to do depending upon the season. In spring, you can photograph beautiful wildflowers and colorful birds. You can do hiking, picnicking, boating, camping in summer. Autumn displays vibrant colors. Enjoy cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing in winter

Scenic Sites at Pictured Rocks

Colorful and bold, the Pictured Rocks cliffs tower 50 to 200 feet above Lake Superior. These sandstone cliffs stretch for about 15 miles along the lake from Sand Point on the west to just after Spray Falls on the east. The most colorful portion of the cliffs begins east of Miners Beach.

The best view of the cliffs is from the water. A National Park Service authorized concessionaire operates a boat tour of the Pictured Rocks cliffs from mid-May through mid-October.

Kayaking in the Great Lakes can be a magnificent experience. Kayaking along the Pictured Rocks cliffs has become a very popular summer sport.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore offers 100 miles of hiking trails leading to waterfalls, beaches, forest wilderness, cultural sites, and breathtaking cliff-top views of Lake Superior.

Miners Castle is one of the most famous landmarks along the Pictured Rocks shoreline, and is the only cliff area in the park accessible by vehicle. It is located about 5 miles east of Munising on Alger County Road H-58. This interesting rock formations created due to erosion over long periods of time. View of Lake Superior & Grand Island is attraction here.

Chapel Rock and Beach

Chapel Rock and Beach is one of the major attraction of the area. Chapel Rock is a remnant of Cambrian age sandstone that was carved by Lake Nipissing high water some 3800 years ago. The lone white pine on Chapel Rock is estimated to be about 250 years old. It is popular backcountry camping site.

Trail, hiking and camping in White Birch Forest along the entrance road to Twelvemile Beach Campground is one of awesome experience. This is a picturesque stand of white birch features 2 miles of nature trail.

Beautiful Views arch created in rock cliffs at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Colorful rock cliffs at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Majestic towering sandstone cliffs at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan, USA

Some Precautions at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore: Stay away from cliff edge Be cautious while doing kayaking because conditions can change rapidly. Be cautious in the rock fall areas.

Credits flickr.com More To Explore