Old-growth trees, roaming wolves, and Lake Superior at your back — this is Michigan’s best park

They Call It the Porkies

Somewhere in the far northwest corner of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, 60,000 acres of old-growth forest, waterfalls, and Lake Superior shoreline sit waiting for you.

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is Michigan’s largest state park, and the federal government thought enough of it to name it a National Natural Landmark in 1984.

Hikers, skiers, campers, and families come through all four seasons. But the best stuff sits deep in the interior, and you have to earn it.

The Ojibwa saw a crouching porcupine in the ridgeline

The mountains got their name from the Ojibwa people, who looked at the silhouette of the ridgeline and saw a crouching porcupine.

Copper miners tore through here in the 1800s, and the park now serves as a cooperating unit of Keweenaw National Historical Park.

Back in the late 1930s, someone proposed turning the whole area into a national park, but World War II killed the plan.

Citizens and the state stepped up instead, and in 1945, they established the park to save the old-growth forest. Michigan gave it a formal wilderness designation in 1972.

Walk through virgin hardwoods older than your family tree

About 35,000 acres of old-growth northern hardwood and hemlock forest fill the park’s interior. That makes it the largest tract of virgin northern hardwoods in North America west of the Adirondack Mountains.

Sugar maple, eastern hemlock, yellow birch, and American basswood make up most of the canopy, and some of those hemlocks have been standing for hundreds of years.

You walk beneath them and the light filters down through layers of green. The scale of it hits you a few minutes in and never really lets up.

Lake of the Clouds sits hundreds of feet below you

Lake of the Clouds is the most photographed spot in the park, and probably the entire Upper Peninsula.

A short paved trail and boardwalk take you to an overlook hundreds of feet above the water, and the whole thing is wheelchair accessible.

On a clear day, you can see the Big Carp River Valley and 25 miles into the western Upper Peninsula. Old-growth forest wraps around the lake and turns fiery orange and red in autumn.

From here, you can pick up the Big Carp River Trail or the Escarpment Trail and keep going.

The Escarpment Trail might be Michigan’s best hike

The Escarpment Trail runs 4.3 miles one way along the rocky bluff above Lake of the Clouds. Most people call it the most scenic hike in Michigan, and some say the entire Midwest.

You get views of the lake from several angles, the Upper Carp River Valley stretched out below, and Lake Superior in the distance. Three trailheads give you access for shorter sections if you don’t want the full route.

Bring sturdy boots, because loose rocks and steep cliff edges keep you paying attention.

Three waterfalls crash along the Presque Isle River

On the park’s western edge, the Presque Isle River drops over three main waterfalls: Manabezho, Manido, and Nawadaha. Manabezho is the big one, falling about 25 feet across a span up to 150 feet wide.

A 2.3-mile loop trail follows the river with boardwalks, stairs, and viewing platforms the whole way. A suspension bridge crosses the river and connects trails on both sides.

Spring is when you want to go, because snowmelt swells the river and the falls hit full force.

Climb Summit Peak and see all the way to Isle Royale

Summit Peak tops out at 1,958 feet, the tallest point in the park and the third highest in Michigan. A short trail takes you to an observation tower at the top, and from there you get a full 360-degree view.

On clear days, you can look out over the forest canopy, across Lake Superior, and all the way to Isle Royale.

In autumn, the tower turns into one of the best spots in the park for fall colors, with the canopy below you shifting from green to gold to deep red.

Ninety miles of trails run from easy loops to multi-day routes

More than 90 miles of hiking trails cut through the park.

The Visitor Center Nature Trail is a relaxed 1.4-mile loop with interpretive signs, good for families with younger kids.

If you want a challenge, the Lake Superior Trail stretches about 17 miles along the shoreline and will test your legs. Portions of the North Country Trail and the Iron Belle Trail pass through here too.

For something quick and historical, the 1.1-mile Union Mine Trail loops past interpretive plaques about the area’s copper mining days.

Sleep in a backcountry cabin with a woodstove and a rowboat

The park scatters rustic cabins along trails and beside lakes deep in the interior. Each one comes with bunks, mattresses, a woodstove, and basic utensils, but no electricity or running water.

If your cabin sits on an inland lake, you get a rowboat to use during your stay. The park also has backcountry yurts and 63 designated backcountry campsites for lighter setups.

If you’d rather have a hot shower, Union Bay Campground on the Lake Superior shore has modern sites with electric hookups.

Two hundred inches of snow and a ski hill with Lake Superior views

The Porcupine Mountains Winter Sports Complex runs 20 downhill runs, a triple chairlift, and 670 feet of vertical drop. From the slopes, you look right out over Lake Superior.

The park also grooms more than 20 miles of trails for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and fat-tire biking. Lake-effect snow piles up here, and some winters bring over 200 inches.

You can rent downhill skis, snowboards, cross-country skis, snowshoes, and adaptive ski equipment on site.

Colorblind viewers and disc golf at a wilderness park

The Lake of the Clouds overlook is fully accessible by paved path and boardwalk.

A recently renovated Visitor Center has updated exhibits on geology and ecology, accessible restrooms, and parking.

At Lake of the Clouds, Summit Peak, and Nawadaha Falls, the park installed EnChroma colorblind viewers so everyone can take in the colors. An 18-hole disc golf course at the Winter Sports Complex is free to play.

In fall, chairlift rides carry you to the top of the ski hill for wide views of autumn foliage across the ridgeline.

Wolves, moose, and brook trout still call these woods home

Black bears, gray wolves, moose, white-tailed deer, bobcats, and yes, porcupines all live in this park. Smaller animals fill the gaps: river otters, beavers, fishers, martens, mink, and red foxes.

Look up and you might spot bald eagles, peregrine falcons, or merlins. Natural brook trout habitat runs through the park’s watershed.

The old-growth forest and the sheer distance from everything else make the Porkies one of the best places in the Midwest to see wildlife that still lives the way it always has.

Explore the Porkies in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

If you want to see the Porkies for yourself, the park sits about 15 miles west of Ontonagon in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Visitor Center is open daily from mid-May to mid-October, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

You’ll need a Michigan Recreation Passport for vehicle entry, which you can add when you register your car. Overnight options include camping, cabins, yurts, and a ski lodge.

Check the official website for current rates and cabin availability before you book.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Michigan’s biggest state park has waterfalls, old-growth forest, and almost no one in it
• You can snorkel over shipwrecks in Lake Superior at this end-of-the-road Michigan town
• Michigan’s wildest island has no roads, 30 wolves, and skies dark enough to see forever