Since the COVID pandemic began in 2020 more and more people have taken to the outdoors in lieu of the larger tourist traps. This has caused many formerly hidden gems to become major destinations today. It’s great to see more people opting for outdoor adventures but this trend has an unintended, negative effect. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is just one of the many areas currently suffering from these effects but we as visitors can help!!

PICTURED ROCKS NATIONAL LAKESHORE

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the Southern edge of Lake Superior. The Lakeshore boasts many rock formations, forests, beaches and roughly 100 miles of hiking trails. Additionally the State of Michigan has protected areas of underwater shipwrecks to preserve the historical aspects for future generations.

The many activities available to visitors along with amazing weather have been a draw for many years but more recently these numbers have skyrocketed! Just a couple years ago the National Lakeshore was seeing roughly 400,000 visitors annually but today those numbers have well surpassed the 1 MILLION mark! This influx has created substantial strain on this park, and many others like it. The increase in visitors brings more traffic, more litter, more graffiti and more damage to protected areas. All of these things must be addressed quickly to ensure our public lands are here for generations to come.

To help address some of these issues Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, along with the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and others, began charging an entrance fee this year. 80% of this fee remains with the park to help with staffing and infrastructure needs.

OUR VISIT

On our recent trip we had the privilege of spending a day at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Immediately upon entering the park in Munising we could see the draw for the crowds. The area is BEAUTIFUL!! We also quickly noticed the massive amount of vehicles and people. Everywhere we looked in this small town we saw people and cars.

Our first stop was the visitor center at Munising Falls to pick up a map and hike the short trail to the falls. As we pulled in, pulling our camper, it became painfully obvious that we had a problem. What was that problem??? PARKING!!!! There was literally nowhere to park. Every space was taken and every RV space was filled with cars! Fortunately we were able to find an area in the back of the lot where we could park without obstructing anyone.

After parking we walked toward the visitor center only to find a portable building where rangers were collecting entrance fees. The visitor center was closed with a sign stating it needed renovations. Another main issue we saw here was there was nothing directing people to pay their entrance fees.

After spending some time in the Munising area, and grabbing Muldoon’s Pasties for lunch, we set off for Chapel Rock. This was the one site I really wanted to see during our visit but little did I know we were in for a surprise!

CHAPEL ROCK / FALLS / BEACH

Chapel Rock is arguably one of the most visited and photographed sites in the park but getting there proved to be extremely difficult! Chapel Road is a dirt road and is the only way to access the trailhead for the hike. The county portion of the road is well maintained but once the county maintenance ends the road may as well end. Continuing to the trailhead was quite literally being willing to sacrifice your vehicle. There were major holes, mud and even a water filled ditch that we had to cross before making it to the parking area for the trailhead. Once we made it close to the area we noticed cars lining both sides of the road roughly 1/2 mile out. Many of these were illegally parked in no parking zones and no large emergency vehicle would have been able to access the trailhead should it have been needed.

We found a parking spot in a safe area (again the RV/Trailer spaces were taken by inconsiderate people) and walked back to the trailhead to begin our hike along with what seemed like hundreds of others.

The first mile or so of the trail to the falls was in relatively good condition and there were two nice wooden overlooks at the falls. From that point on to Chapel Beach / Chapel Rock the trail got progressively worse. Many areas of the trail were muddy and impassible on the established trail. This meant people did exactly what most do…..create a new path around and continue on. While this method works on a temporary basis repeated use permanently damages the natural areas meant to be protected.

HOW CAN WE HELP?

Let me start here by saying NONE of the negative remarks I’ve made are directed at the park. It was very apparent to me that the park staff love the area and have done everything within their power to create a safe, protected environment for visitors. The problem here is the influx of visitors. As I said previously these numbers bring problems and the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, like others, is understaffed and WAY underfunded! My hope is that by instituting the fee based system the park will be able to quickly address some of these issues. In the meantime it’s up to us, the park visitors, to help. Here are some areas to keep in mind.

1. Pay the entrance fee! This park is spread out so there isn’t one entrance where a booth collects your money. This is largely on the honor system. Yes if a ranger sees you without a parking permit they can issue a citation but they only see so much. It’s up to us to be responsible and help OUR park!

2. Leave No Trace! This is a phrase many hear often but do you really understand the meaning? Look at it like this…….if you bring it in, take it out. This includes your apple core, orange peels or banana peels. These things aren’t natural to the area and the wildlife don’t need them! Take only memories and leave only footprints. Let’s even take this a step further because we all know everyone that visits the park aren’t model citizens. Let’s everyone follow the concept I teach my children which is to leave it better than we found it. This means grab that water bottle or wrapper you see along the trail and take it out to a garbage can. If we all grab just one extra item along our adventures the park will stay SO much cleaner!

3. Obey the signage and parking! RV/Trailer/Bus spaces are for those vehicles. Just because all the normal parking spaces are taken doesn’t mean you’re entitled to the long spot that’s open. It’s much easier for a car to find a LEGAL parking spot along the roadway than it is for an RV or camper.

4. Get involved! Volunteer in the parks or even just pick up some litter during your visit. This doesn’t have to be a big event………..although I’m certain any ranger would LOVE to help you get set up as a longer term volunteer.

5. Finally……and the biggie………If you see something SAY SOMETHING!!!! This is a pet peeve of mine. Too many people in our society have taken the position of “not my problem.” These are public lands meaning they belong to us! We are ALL public land owners. If you see someone vandalizing property, littering, writing graffiti or any other illegal activity notify a ranger. We all have cell phones these days. Even if you don’t have service those phones have cameras. Take a picture, get a description and/or license plate number and report it. As I stated previously the parks are vastly understaffed and underfunded. It it up to us as visitors and lovers of the parks to help preserve them.

Overall our experience at Pictured Rocks was positive and we all agreed that we want to return when we have more time. There’s SO much to do from more hiking to kayaking the sea caves. Make sure this is on your list as well but by all mean make sure you visit responsibly.

Check out our feature from the park on media page MLive.com.

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel as well. We post new videos weekly and the video on Pictured Rocks will be coming soon. Until next time……….