Anyone who knows me or has seen this blog knows what I am doing here. I am using my very first summer as a college graduate to reconnect with my natural surroundings and to make new connections with people who share my interests. I am hoping to inspire others through humorous stories, enlightening narratives, and majestic photos. Today nature inspired me and I feel like I saw familiar places through a new perspective. It happened as I made my way up and down the hills and dunes of Muskegon State Park.
Muskegon State Park is a large park that spans quite a few miles of Memorial Drive, leading to Scenic Drive and along Lake Michigan. The park includes beaches on Muskegon Lake and Lake Michigan as well as multiple hiking trails on diverse terrain, a campground, picnic area, boat launch, and fish cleaning area.
I have been to Muskegon State Park many times. I have family in Muskegon and we regularly visit the bay area (what the local people have called Snug Harbor and the Devil’s Kitchen for as long as we can remember). The relatively flat section of the main hiking trail is an area where I have walked since I was small enough to be carried and I remember ice skating on Lost Lake the year that I got skates for Christmas. This is all true, but I have not actually hiked the trails. I have seen a section or two here or there, but these trails go over the dunes, cross from one side of the street to the other, and snake between the lakes, even wrapping around the small and untouched Lost Lake, so I decided to explore them today.
One of the best things about the hiking trails is that it is almost impossible to get lost. The area is between a few roads, the lakes, and park buildings. You may wander around for a few miles before you hit one of those, but you are not going to end up lost in the forest, eating ants and wintergreen berries, rubbing sticks together. I set off with this in mind and it made it easy for me to enter the forest ready to explore with no worries. I was prepared with the map that I got from the DNR website and was pleased to see that the trails are clearly marked. The map is available here.
The trailhead is at the end of the parking area in the state park. I did not find maps anywhere at the park, but they are available online and I suggest printing one off, unless you just plan to do all of the trails (which would take a long time). I walked for a few minutes and decided to head toward the Blockhouse (a very cool Muskegon landmark). I had only been on the B trail for about ten minutes when I entered a darker area between some dense trees. I looked through the shrubs ahead and stopped dead in my tracks. There was a large deer about twenty feet away from me. It just stood there, looking at me. I just stood there, too. I had no idea that I could get so close to a deer! I was especially surprised because I had my whole pack on, which included a few tinkling karabiners and two water bottles with clicking ice; this certainly was not a stealthy set-up. I did not want to move because I knew that I would scare the deer away, but I only had a few brief seconds to stand there before it bounded away.
That set the tone for the whole rest of the hike. I came upon four deer total and they all looked happy and healthy. One of them was drinking water and playing in the reeds on the opposite side of Lost Lake. I came down a ridge and looked across the lake to see the deer standing there, completely unaware of my presence. I stood there for about ten minutes before rounding the bay and getting in a little closer for a picture. It eventually noticed that something was near, but it seemed unthreatened and walked away, unhurried.
The last deer was in the small strip of trees between Memorial Drive and the state park parking area. I was walking down the street to the park entrance and I just happened to look between the trees toward Muskegon Lake when I noticed that something was looking back. I had my camera ready that time and got a few pictures before the deer bounded off.
I will have to finish my expedition and see all of the trails because this was the best hiking experience that I have had since I have become more serious about hiking. It was absolutely wonderful to see deer, the lakes, ridges, valleys, and forest. I did probably five miles in all, which was an invigorating mix of flat forest and somewhat steep hills, but there are miles and miles more that lead from the Blockhouse to Lake Michigan and back to Muskegon Lake.
If you are looking for a shorter hike, do the Lost Lake loop. It is under a mile and leads from a trail near the park headquarters to the lake and back. There are deer, frogs, herons, other birds, and wetland flowers all along the lake (well, in the summer at least). Be careful on the trail out! The Y trail area is pretty wet and can get really muddy, though the park has added some nice footbridges and boards to make the path easier.
I don’t know what else to say about this expedition, so I will let the photos do it for me. They will be uploaded to the Photobucket soon (there is a link on the main page). Have fun and be careful out there!
