» chapel loop, pictured rocks national lakeshore, upper peninsula
for our main hike in pictured rocks, we decided to do the "chapel loop", a 9.8 mile hike which heads through unspoiled forest and lakeside cliffs, passing rivers, waterfalls, and sandy beaches along the way. about 7 miles into our hike we came to chapel beach where there is a backcountry campground and in an amazing coincidence, one of the guys i play hockey with was at the campground packing up just as we were arriving. some forest sections of the trail got slightly tedious but the cliffs, falls, beaches, and rivers were absolutely beautiful.

where the mosquito river meets lake superior.

mosquito beach.

along the shore of lake superior, near mosquito beach.

lovers leap.

cliffs, forest, and a large rock in lake superior.

mineral stained cliffs and the emerald green shallows of lake superior.

a couple of wildflowers.

a group of backpackers can be seen in the upper left.

megan on a cliff. i believe this is grand portal point...it was like a sandy beach hundreds of feet above the water.

the cliffs and us.

water carved coves.

the trail along the cliffs and stopping for lunch near chapel rock.

chapel beach, rock, and river along the shore of lake superior.

chapel rock and megan and i standing in chapel river, where it falls into lake superior.

woods.

chapel falls. this is a very big waterfall, only about 1/3 of it is shown in this picture.

the top of chapel falls.

» miners beach, pictured rocks national park, upper peninsula
by the time we got to the miners castle area, a dense fog was rolling in off the lake so only outlines of the cliffs were visible. we headed down to miners beach where miners river winds across the beach and into lake superior.

the top of miners castle (all that was visible in the fog), and miners beach, where miners river hits lake superior.

» miners falls, pictured rocks national park, upper peninsula
miners falls is a powerful 50 foot waterfall accessible by a 1.2 mile round trip hike.

me at the base of miners falls.

» munising falls, pictured rocks national park, upper peninsula
munising falls is a 50 foot waterfall that can be reached by a short hike, just inside the park.

munising falls.

» munising, upper peninsula
munising is situated in a beautiful area, reminiscent of ketchikan alaska, with misty green hills (much smaller of course), waterfalls and a bay. the town itself however, is nothing to write home about.

alger falls, munising bay, the misty hills of munising, and us at wagner falls.

wagner falls, located in the woods just outside of downtown.

a creek on the way to wagner falls.

» laughing whitefish falls state park, upper peninsula
laughing whitefish falls is a 100 foot cascading waterfall located about 30 miles east of munising.

the trail to laughing whitefish falls.

me on the falls.

the top of the falls.

 

< Back to Photos & Trip Reports

» all photo reports from michigan's upper peninsula

Thinking about traveling to Pictured Rocks yourself? You might want to read my guide to Pictured Rocks.

Ice Climbing, Michigan
March 4 - 5, 2011
Ice Climbing at Pictured Rocks with a side trip to Miners Castle.
Ice Climbing, Michigan
March 4 - 5, 2010
Ice climbing in the Sand Point area of Pictured Rocks.
The Upper Peninsula, Michigan
October 2 - 11, 2009
Enjoying fall in the Upper Peninsula from Pictured Rocks to the Porcupine Mountains to the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Mackinac Island, Michigan
October 3, 2009
Spending a short day on the island and enjoying the views, even without the influence of fudge.
Pictured Rocks, Michigan
March 7 - 9, 2008
Skiing & snowshoeing in the Miners Castle & Grand Sable Dunes areas. We also checked out the ice in Grand Marais & Mackinac Straits.
Pictured Rocks, Michigan
March 17, 2007
Hiking along the ice shelf from Twelvemile Beach to Spray Falls.
Pictured Rocks, Michigan
January 27, 2007
Skiing & hiking the Chapel Loop in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on a stormy day.
Pictured Rocks, Michigan
March 2 - 4, 2006
Ice climbing and skiing in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
Pictured Rocks, Michigan
January 7, 2006
A backcountry ski trip to the remote lakeshore cliffs of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
Pictured Rocks, Michigan
July 3 - 4, 2005
Hiking in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and checking out some of the other sights in the area.
 
Pictured Rocks, Michigan
February 25 - 26, 2011
Backpacking the Chapel Loop in winter, with a side trip to Spray Falls.
Bare Bluff, Michigan
October 8, 2009
A fall hike to Bare Bluff, one of the more scenic areas of the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Pictured Rocks, Michigan
October 4 - 11, 2009
Some stormy fall weather along the Pictured Rocks lakeshore.
Ice Climbing, Michigan
February 25 - 27, 2009
Ice climbing in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
Pictured Rocks, Michigan
August 30 - September 2, 2007
Back to the Great Lakes with a rare summer visit to Pictured Rocks to see what it all looks like when it's green.
Mackinac Straits & Pictured Rocks, Michigan
March 16 - 18, 2007
Skiing to Miners Castle, lingering in the Straits of Mackinac, and some other stuff.
Pictured Rocks in Fall, Michigan
October 7, 2006
Hiking the Chapel Loop & checking out other sights like Spray Falls, Miners Castle, Miners Beach, Munising Falls, Grand Sable Dunes, etc.
Pictured Rocks, Michigan
February 19 - 20, 2006
Skiing & snowshoeing the Pictured Rocks backcountry. Areas visited include: Miners Castle, Miners Beach, Twelvemile Beach, and Spray Falls.
The Upper Peninsula, Michigan
December 26 - 28, 2005
Winter pictures from Tahquamenon Falls State Park and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
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