A year ago, we took a cruise to see Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore by boat. I thought there could be no better way to see these cliffs! Then some friends of ours invited us to crash their camping party, and we made plans to complete a goal that got added to my list last year: hike the Chapel Rock loop. Which had better views, the land or the sea? You’ll have to see both posts and judge for yourself!

On our way north, we stopped to eat lunch at Headlands International Dark Sky Park, partially because it was a good place to stop and partially because I wanted to vet it before we show up in the dark for astrophotography. Actually, there was a third reason, I wanted to fly the drone over the shoreline because the waves were crashing! However, it was too windy and I decided not to risk the drone.

We also planned on stopping at Michigan’s largest freshwater spring, which was bound to be overrun with people, but we waffled and eventually didn’t have enough cell service to reroute there, so instead we went to Munising and made two stops that we also went to last year, Sand Point and Munising Falls.

It was late afternoon by the time we made it to the campsite, part of a primitive campground within Pictured Rocks. Also, the bus is torn apart right now, wet paint and whatnot, so we opted to throw a mattress in the back of the truck and truck camp! It worked great, it feels like there’s nothing this truck can’t do. The shelves along the side of the topper made it really easy to stay organized!

First thing in the morning, we headed to some of the more heavily trafficked areas so we could beat the tourist crowd. I got some really great shots at Miners Falls, and learned that I don’t have any shoes with adequate tread for that kind of hiking. I didn’t fall in the mud, but I’m definitely buying new shoes!

And since we were in the area, we had to stop at Miners Castle!

Later that day, Kyle and I did a quick hike to Lake Superior, which was 1.5 miles away from the campground. It was a nice hike! The following morning, we did it again with most of our camping crew, which involved many tiny children so we definitely took the scenic route! The views of Lake Superior were awesome, and when on the lakeshore, stones must be skipped! We all sacrificed a few rocks back to the lake.

The wind picked up that afternoon and we heard a thunderous crack as a tree fell nearby. Someone said they hoped it didn’t fall across the road, and I thought “that’s ridiculous, there’s no way!” Ten minutes later a guy in a truck asked if anyone had a chainsaw, as there was a big tree fallen across the only road out.

I expected we’d wait for the Pictured Rocks park service to take care of the tree, but I forgot I was camping with a crew of (essentially) eagle scouts, who eagerly grabbed axes and saws and headed down the road.

They pulled the biggest branches out of the way until the road was passable again. Our heroes!

It was so wonderful to sit by a campfire in our first chilly weekend of the summer. One night we looked up and could clearly see the Milky Way. I was too lazy to actually set up my tripod, but I threw my camera on the picnic table facing the sky and still managed to get some great shots! We could see an incredible number of stars since we were in such a remote area.

On Labor Day everyone headed home, while Kyle and I headed to our big hike. We’d already put in almost ten miles that weekend and my legs were sore, but I was so excited about the Chapel Rock loop that I gladly signed up for another ten miles. We’d see Chapel Falls, Chapel Rock, then four miles of Pictured Rocks shoreline, then back towards the parking lot via Mosquito Falls.

As soon as we got to Chapel Rock we put our rain coats on – the spray coming off the water was intense! Also it was chilly and we didn’t want to get wet, especially so early in a long hike. The rain coats helped block the wind as well, Lake Superior was a mess of crashing waves and saltless spray!

We moved along the shoreline and I couldn’t believe how much of the cliffs were visible, the views were incredible. It seemed like every ten minutes we took another little finger trail out to the views of the cliffs.

There were a few big open areas, typical photo ops that I’ve seen posted online, but given the weather it seemed prudent to stay away from the edge. Not only was the wind high and gusting, but these cliffs are prone to cave-ins. Even though we were 100 ft up, we could feel the waves crashing into the cliffs. If there was ever a day that something was going to shake loose, it’d be on a day like this!

The whole thing was so beautiful. We stopped for lunch at a sheltered ledge overlooking the water. The trail wasn’t too crowded, we’d hoped Monday would be a good day for hiking. We were never alone for very long, but we had plenty of space to enjoy the views on our own.

By the time we turned away from shore and headed back inland, my legs were starting to give up. Our last couple miles of hike were very slow, but we made it. Back at the parking lot, Kyle’s phone told us that it had taken us almost 13 miles to complete this 10.4 mile hike. Did we take too many side trails? Or is the park mileage inaccurate? Who knows. It definitely felt like 13! So we were well over 20 miles for the whole weekend.

Since we were about ready to give out, we decided to drive home rather than stay another night. I requested one more stop, a scenic overlook that required almost no walking. I took this exact same photo last year, you’ll have to click over to last year’s post to compare the wild waves from this year to the calm serenity of last year at 12 Mile Beach!

On our way home, we stopped to enjoy some giant burgers and fries, along with a delicious cold beer. We’d earned it! I’m so glad we were able to hike Chapel Rock, and I’m still reeling from how beautifully scenic it was!