Pictured Rocks - Day 2

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What will likely be one of the highlights of this whole trip was the full day we spent visiting Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The plan was to get a fairly early start. Not "set the alarm" early, but definitely don't roll back over for another snooze. It was close to a 90 minute drive from our campgrounds with the last few miles being over rough dirt roads.

The parking area looked huge to me given the road we took to get here and there were many spots open. We donned our CamelBacks so we had plenty of water and packed our sandwiches for a lunch. We knew the hike we planned was a 10 to 11 miles long so we wanted to be prepared.

Our first stop was Mosquito Falls. It was a pleasant 1.5 mile walk in the woods and we didn't see anybody until we got to the backcountry campsite there. We explored some of the areas along the shore. It had turned overcast and the winds were whipping which in turn made for some pretty impressive waves crashing the shore.

Waves Crashing at Mosquito Beach

Serious Erosion of the Rocks

The next part of the hike would be right about 4.5 miles right along the edge of the bluff overlooking the lake. Since the bluffs are between 50 and 200 feet above the water, each overlook had an impressive view. At no point during the hike did we see any kayakers enjoying the view from the water. Which was a good thing because at some point the waves crashing into the rock and cave formations along the shore line were making a very load booming sound.

The Bear Warning Had Us on the Lookout

Lover's Leap Arch

Us with Arch in Background

Another Arch in the Distance

Waves Crashing

Our final destination along the shore was at Chapel Rock. This is an amazing rock formation that is hard to describe. The lone pine tree perched on top of the "chapel" had some large roots over to the actual land for it's water. Apparently there used to be a rock arch that connected the chapel to the land but had broken off many years ago.

Chapel Rock from the Shore

Roots from Pine on Chapel Rock

Since Chapel Rock is a major tourist attraction here, there were many more people, plus by then, the sun had started to peak thru the clouds and was looking like a nice day. The 3 mile hike back to the car was along a much more substantial trail - good thing since we saw gobs of people heading out many asking how much further was it.

After getting turned around a bit at Chapel Falls, we eventually made our way back into the parking lot which was now completely full. In fact as we drove out the dirt road, cars were parked along the one side stretching nearly 3/4  of a mile from the lot! Our total hike was 11.25 miles in about 5.5 hours with a numerous number of photo stops along the way.

Tree Tenaciously Hanging On near Chapel Falls

With some tired feet and legs, we decided to head into Munising and relax a while since we had a couple hours to kill before we were scheduled to leave on our sunset cruise along the same coast. We wandered through town, had dinner and then waited in line. By being early, we were able to snag seats on the dozen or so benches placed on the pier.

By the time we boarded, the line of people was at least a 1/4 mile long and we ended up filling two of the boats. This worked out well since we were able to pick the second boat and get the prime viewing location for the ride. Our captain was in his mid 20's but seemed to know what he was doing. He did point out that the sees were a little rough and allowed people to reconsider the trip if motion sickness was likely. I think 3 or 4 people got off our boat.

The ride was not that bad and other than some clouds had rolled back in so the sun light might not be ideal on the face of the cliffs, it was a pleasant trip. We got a good lesson about Lake Superior and the rock formations all along the shore. It was interesting to have done our hike earlier in the day and then get to see the same areas from a different perspective.

Light House on Grand Island

Miners Castle

Bridalveil Falls No Longer Flow Year Round

Incredible Colors from Various Minerals Leaching Out

Lovers Leap from Boat

More Colors

Another Arch

Sun Starting to Set Over Arch

Chapel Rock from Water

Chapel Rock with Roots back to Shore

The Sun Sets Over Grand Island as We Head Back

Being a 2.5 hour sunset cruise and having a 90 minute drive back to camp, it was a long day. We pulled into camp just after 11 PM. It was definitely one of the better and more scenic days we have had in quite some time.