Exploring Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness
And Orchard Beach State Park in Michigan
In the posted video above we had just got done traveling north to Heart of the Forest RV park in Michigan after spending time at Hidden Ridge RV Resort near Yankee Springs Recreation Area. We decided we really wanted to get on some trails heading towards Lake Michigan along the sandy shores.
Our first attempt of this was at Orchard Beach State Park.
–> Orchard Beach State Park Trail Map <–
Orchard Beach State Park
INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL!
This state park was incredibly beautiful, with only one issue. We were not able to get down to the beach due to the stairs being closed off. We did end up walk along the hillside hoping that we would find some more access, but alas, no success.
TURNED OUT TO BE A HOT DAY
Blaze was already starting to dislike the fact that the day was starting to heat up. So we were kind of left with two options. 1) Either hiking around the woodsy part of this state park NOT by the beach. 2) Or find some other place with dog friendly beach access.
NICE FIRST STOP
After admiring the view for just a TAD longer, we decided to head south to a place called Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area. I still am not sure what Nordhouse means to this day, but either way…turns out it was a great choice.
NORDHOUSE DUNES WILDERNESS AREA
–> Nordhouse Dunes Trail Map<–
Getting to Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area is kind of an adventure of its own. It is a fairly secluded area. So much that you have to drive down about 6-7 miles of dirt roads to get to the official parking area. They do allow parking along the sides of the road in case it fills up, but I’d recommend on getting there early in the day.
BRING THE MAP.
However, after you do get down the road the trails are pretty sweet. Just be careful because we did get confused a couple times on where the main trail was when it branched off to multiple directions. I recommend keeping a trail map handy just to make sure the turns you make do in fact make sense.
CHILLIN AT THE BEACH
CHILLIN AT THE BEACHSorry I don’t have a lot of photos of this area! I think we were mostly distracted that Blaze was starting to overheat again a bit so we focused on cooling him down with some handy Lake Michigan water. Definitely check out the video if you want to see this area a bit more though (located at the top of the post).
The rolling dunes are pretty awesome and you could hike for miles along this shoreline if you really wanted to. There are plenty of places to escape to and have a strip of the shoreline to yourself on a bright sunny day.
RELAXING HUGE BEACH
After we got Blaze to cool down a bit, we both relaxed and started to enjoy the view and the sounds of the incoming waves. The water was a beautiful turquoise color which reminded me more of an exotic beach than a great lake in the Midwest. Either way, we were very happy to have gotten this spot along the beach.
STORM A COMIN’
With some storm clouds brewing in the distance, we decided to say goodbye to Lake Michigan for now…but don’t you worry, we will eventually be back in a future adventure!
OTHER MICHIGAN ADVENTURES
7 Places to Visit near Munising, Michigan
Exploring Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
5 Cool Things to See at Mackinac Island
Hiking Yankee Springs Recreation Area
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Adventure On!
