Wandering Goats - Manistee River Trail 2008

Manistee National Forest
3 days and 21 miles along the Manistee River Trail / North Country Trail loop in the Manistee National Forest of Michigan.

GPS Log and Trail Map
>> Download GPS Coordinates from this trip (right-click to save file)
>> US Forest Service Manistee River Trail / North Country Trail Loop Campsite and Trail Map (pdf file)

Useful Information
>> Manistee National Forest Primitive Camping Rules & Regulations
>> Manistee River Trail Association

GPS Trail Map To help prepare for an upcoming trip to Isle Royale National Park we decided to tackle the 20 mile loop created by joining the Manistee River Trail with a 10 mile stretch of the North Country Trail that runs from Coates Highway to just north of Eddington Creek.

This was our second time on the Manistee River Trail. Several years ago we attempted to complete a similar loop and didn't make it nearly as far as we planned. In all fairness it was our first backpacking trip in many years and none of us had the right gear, but who am I kidding, we were also hopelessly out of shape.

The weather forecast for the weekend looked pretty dreary so we decided not to drive up and camp Thursday after work and instead left around 6 am Friday morning. The drive up was pretty overcast and after a quick pit stop at Dunham's to pick up rain pants, we arrived at the Upper River trail head around 11:30 am.

We parked at the Upper River trail head and began an immediate climb to the bluffs above the Manistee River. Even though the bluffs don't look far from the river on the map, you actually don't get your first glimpse of the river until well past Eddington Creek.

After 7.6 miles we came to a great campsite right along the southern bank of Eddington Creek. Since this would be the last reliable water until we actually reached the Manistee we decided to stop and camp for the night. The site was located in a large stand of CCC planted pines. There was plenty of room for the tents and the broken off lower branches of the pines made it easy to dry out wet gear. The rain tapered off while we set up camp but started back up shortly after. After several creative attempts including sheltering the fire with a trash bag, we were able to get a nice fire going.

The next morning we woke up to the unexpected site of sunshine. The nice thing about camping on the southern bank of the creek (there is also a very nice site on the northern bank) is that the sun reached our site quite early and allowed us to dry off our tents and gear before packing up. During the night we experienced a torrential downpour and experienced a minor flood in our tent (on my side of course). Luckily the only casualties were wet sleeping pads. Thankfully our down bags (and camera) stayed dry.

As we left the campsite we crossed Eddington Creek on a small wooden bridge and passed several other campsites that were full of hikers. All spots seemed to offer nice views and easy access to the creek. The connector stretch between the North Country and Manistee River trails was practically a paved highway. The trail was wide enough in most spots to easily accommodate 3 hikers walking side by side. I later learned that this portion of the trail followed an old logging road. Along this stretch of the trail we came across a blue racer snake sunning itself.

We were treated to our first glimpse of the Manistee River shortly before arriving at the Little Mac suspension bridge that crosses over the river and connects the North Country Trail with the Manistee River Trail. Once on the Manistee River Trail we enjoyed great views of the river on a frequent basis. The trail is primarily in the bluffs above the river, but occasionally dips down and reaches floodplains alongside it.

After 9.1 miles we found what is probably the best campsite on the trail. On the US Forest Service Campsite and Trail map I believe it's listed as site 8. Located on a bluff that juts out towards the river, it enjoys panoramic views of a horseshow bend in the river. Thanks to a relatively dry day we were able to get quite the blazing fire going.

The next morning we had a little over 4 miles to go to reach the car at the Upper River trail head. This was a portion of the trail we had hiked back in 2004 and which had seemed so challenging at the time. This time around it was like a walk in the park and we made good time back to the trail head and car.

One of my favorite things about Manistee National Forest is that you can feel like you're in the middle of the wilderness yet it's less than 4 hours from Ann Arbor and there are many good sized cities relatively close by. We did run into a few groups of hikers, but never did we feel like the trail was crowded and the majority of the time there was no one else in site.

Upper River Trail Head