North Country Trail in Manistee National Forest, Michigan (Advice needed)

I looked over the maps a little more and I doubt I’ll find a convenient bus exit near the forest. I expect to take a Greyhound to Traverse City and walk back to Grand Rapids, possibly with shuttles in and out of town on either end.

Good luck.

You’re in for a fun and scenic hike! The easiest way to the NCT from Traverse City is to take the Traverse City to Kalkaska Trail to the NCT in the Sand Lakes Quiet Area.

http://www.northcountrytrail.org/gtr/TC%20to%20Kalkaska%20Brochure%20map.pdf

http://www.northcountrytrail.org/gtr/TC%20to%20Kalkaska%20Brochure%20front.pdf

Heading south, it’s about 200 miles to Croton Dam where the trail mainly hits the roads. You’d still get quite a bit more than just the Manistee National Forest with additional highlights including the area surrounding the Boardman River, fantastic new trail by Fife Lake, some of the finest hiking on the Manistee River with Highbanks Rollway, and Hodenpyl Dam Pond.

A couple worthwhile alternates: take the Manistee River Trail on the east side of the river crossing the mini-mac bridge, and also Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary and the NCTA schoolhouse.

From Croton you may be able to arrange a ride or get a good idea for options by contacting the Western Michigan Chapter of the NCTA: http://www.northcountrytrail.org/wmi/index.php

I recently purchased a book that I highly recommend: http://www.amazon.com/Hikes-Michigan-Wisconsins-Country-Explorers/dp/1581572255/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=51aDQ4f7VRL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL480_SR318%2C480_&refRID=0SBAR9Z71E6B2YV9KKMX

Here is a data sheet that is still quite accurate for the Manistee National Forest:

http://hereinthewoodsalso.weebly.com/uploads/1/5/5/9/15591998/water_available_w_mi_spw.pdf

I found the ArcGIS map on the NCTA website to be a great resource and also the individual chapter pages.

You may also find some trip reports helpful. Here’s a link to my NCT page: http://ericshikes.blogspot.com/p/north-country-trail.html

Hopefully that’s a good start :) Let me know if you have any other questions.

Excellent, Eric! Thanks for the post, I’ll use it to do a bunch of research tonight.

Thanks again, Eric, I emailed one of the trail chapters and got another helpful response.

<span style=”line-height: 1.8;”>I think I’ll need to extend the duration and shorten the mileage. I plan to check out Loda Wildflower Sanctuary and make a side trip to Nordhouse Dunes to spend a day or so by Lake Michigan. I have some questions that I’ll post and pm when I’m a little more composed later today.</span>

Hmm,I could take a ferry across Lake Michigan and wind up right on the Ice Age Trail in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

That’s an interesting idea.  I’ve never taken the ferry or hiked on the Ice Age Trail, but worth looking into.  It looks like there’s some road walking on the Ice Age Trail and figuring out camping may take some work, but there’s probably some nice sections. Let me know what you figure out!

http://www.iceagetrail.org/trail-maps-guidebooks/

I’ve been on the trail in Kettle Moraine SF a few times, never so far north though. I think you’re right, I have the IAT guidebook at home and I’m pretty sure it says 40 miles of road walking in that section, too much.

Oddly enough if I take the ferry to Mantiwok and two buses to get home, it might be convenient and cheap compared to my other options. It’s less than $100 and would let me shorten the mileage and miss the big stretch of road past Croton Dam. Traveling in a loop might be pretty nice too, compared to back and forth on the same path through Grand Rapids.

Hey, Eric.
I sent some questions by PM and I’ll post here too so someone else may see, please respond wherever you’d like.

Will I likely have to pay to camp anywhere between Traverse City and Nordhouse? (camping in SFs in Wisconsin is around $30 a night with reservation fee!) Are there long stretches where I can’t camp in the woods?

Does the trail ever get ‘crowded’ in Manistee NF or any other spot? People say the Manistee River Loop draws a lot of hikers. I’m a novice so don’t know what to expect. The first time I hiked on the Ice Age Trail I thought the shelters would have a bunch of other hikers hanging out like the Appalachian Trail….not the case, at all :)

Thanks
Duke

Just wondering do you mean camping on the NCT between Traverse City and Nordhouse?

For the NCT portion you should be fine if you disperse camp. In state forests you’re supposed to fill out a self permit and post it at the place you camp and then I believe leave it there. Kind of silly, but you you can decide if you want to follow it. In National forests it’s all dispersed except for on some of the short road walks.  There are state and national forest campgrounds near the trail that charge a fee but I haven’t used them.

Not sure where you’re planning to leave the NCT to get to Nordhouse but one of the closest spots would be to leave the NCT near Baldwin. From there, it’s about 30 miles by road to Ludington and Ludington State park is just north of there with beautiful beach all the way to Nordhouse Dunes.

Probably the MRT loop is the only place on the NCT that may feel crowded. Depending on the weekend Sand Lakes Quiet Area can have quite a few people as well. Nordhouse can also get quite crowded.

Another option to consider: Sleeping Bear Dunes and the Manitou Islands arguably have the most scenic hiking in the lower peninsula.

Yes, camping along the NCT only, I saw all the campgrounds along the trail and was worried those were my only options.

Thanks, I’ll look into Sleeping Bear Dunes and Manitou Islands for sure, there’s no reason I shouldn’t bounce around and take some time off trail. This might turn out to be longer than two weeks :)

It’s very helpful to get my plans listed here.