Long Weekend in Pictured Rocks

Sandstone cliffs that set you 200 feet above Lake Superior. Cascading waterfalls to refresh your spirit. Frothy river mouths, deserted beaches and dune vistas. We show you how to tuck a trip to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore into three glorious days.

Jun 23, 2008 By Elizabeth Edwards

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Potato Patch Falls empties into Lake Superior

Potato Patch Falls empties into Lake Superior

Steve Brimm

Lollygag on a Lake Superior beach deep in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore long enough and you'll be conjuring up marooned-on-a-deserted-island stories. The phenomenon is particularly strong in September, when the beaches are empty of other people (and even better, empty of stable flies, those evil little biters that stalk the Upper Peninsula in summer). The craggy cliffs, eerie caves and dark skeletons of shipwrecks lying just offshore bring to mind classics like Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island. By the time you're peeling off your clothes to sneak a skinny dip in a rock-lined pool of crystal-green water (bracing though it may be), you'll be fast-forwarding to Blue Lagoon.

The isolation of Pictured Rocks does lend an island feel--look north and you're almost never without a Lake Superior view on this splendid 42-mile stretch of earth. Along the park's southern hem, forest-covered cliffs are as effective an isolator as any open-water passage. But the same land-and-lake barriers that keep out the masses also make it tricky for you to reach the heart of the park.

You may think you've arrived when you roll into one of the lakeshore's two gateway towns--Munising on the west and Grand Marais on the east--but you haven't. You must still buck and bounce down the park's main artery, Highway 58, a (mostly) dirt washboard that only vaguely approaches your chosen stretch of shore.

Still, the backcountry navigation only sweetens the rewards--bidding summer a September farewell from a cliff above an aquamarine freshwater sea, rolling up your pant legs to walk up a waterfall or letting your hair down in the crystalline air swept in from Canada. You'll need at least three days and a smart itinerary to pull off this magical feat. We might not be able to get you that Friday off, but we've made sure you have what you need to make the most of your getaway. Here are four trips, each designed to get you intimate with a section of the lakeshore. We've given you miles of awesome trails but kept the backpacking to a minimum and mixed the primitive camping experience with the not-so primitive--all geared to make sure you come away rejuvenated.

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