Lake of the Clouds is the most photographed section of the Porkies. We were really looking forward to it because of this. The reality was not a phenomenal as the pictures make it out to be. I am not sure why this is. It may be the mob of people who drive up to overlook, or it may be that compared to Presque Isle, it just wasn’t as interesting.
We had planed on hiking the Escarpment Trail, which departs from the overlook. The trail was in the trees, however, and spoiled Coloradans as we are; we were in the mood for the wide-open spaces after, oh horror, being in the trees for half a day! So instead of lingering and hiking, we decided to head down to the lake shore and revel in Lake Superior. My Visions of Lake Superior post have the photos from our drive along the shoreline.
If you go, the Lake of the Clouds is 10 miles up M-107 from the entrance to the park. The road dead ends at the overlook, which is a very broad chunk of uneven rock that some people had trouble navigating. I overheard two older gentlemen comment after walking the 100 yards to the view that it was well worth the effort. Everything is relative and for those who cannot get out into the woods, viewing the Lake of the Clouds will be a memorable experience.
1 comment:
I grew up nearby this area of Upper Michigan. I worked an entire summer in Yellowstone, haved skied in COs Summit County, camped in Rocky Mountain Natl Park, built pipelines in Montana, now live in New Mexico and recreate all over from ShoLow, AZ to Ruidoso, NM, did the AngelFire and Taos, NM fall tour, and live in Silver City with a view of the Kneeling Nun out my office window. I'll be retiring in Upper Michigan - You just need to know where all the open spaces are - lots of views of Great Lakes but the inland lakes too, and several areas exist where farms and ranches open up interesting vistas - and the moose, elk, bear, wolves, big eastern whitetails, cougars, bobcats, turkeys, and ruffed grouse all get just as annoyed with the coyotes as the rest of us. Horses exist too, but rattlers and scorpions can't be found anywhere, and I'll take grass over cactus anytime.
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