Huron National Forest, Loon Lake Day Use Area: Island Lake Nature Trail (Blog Hike #650)

Trail: Island Lake Nature Trail

Hike Location: Huron National Forest, Loon Lake Day Use Area

Geographic Location: between Rose City, MI and Mio, MI (44.51398, -84.13626)

Length: 1.3 miles

Difficulty: 4/10 (Easy/Moderate)

Date Hiked: July 2017

Overview: A lollipop loop through kettle and kame topography.

Area Information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/hmnf/recarea/?recid=18834

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=940980
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From Mio, take SR 33 south 9.6 miles to South Loon Lake Loop Road.  From Rose City, reach this intersection by traveling north 6.5 miles on SR 33.  Go west on Loon Lake Loop Rd.  Drive paved Loon Lake Loop Rd. west 0.2 miles to the signed entrance for the Loon Lake Day Use Area.  Turn right to enter the area, drive the winding road downhill to the parking lot beside Loon Lake, and park here after paying the $5 day use fee.

The hike: Occupying large swaths of land in the northeastern quadrant of Michigan’s lower peninsula, Huron National Forest consists of 438,000 acres of previously overlogged land.  The forest was established in 1909, making it the oldest of Michigan’s four national forests.  The forest was administratively combined with Manistee National Forest in 1945 to put all of the lower peninsula’s national forest land under one roof.

            Lakes and ATV trails take center stage in Huron National Forest, so its hiking opportunities are somewhat limited.  One short but nice option is the lightly-used nature trail associated with the forest’s cozy 17-site Island Lake Campground.  The Island Lake Nature Trail gives a nice overview of glacier-created kettle and kame topography, and downloading an interpretive guide from the forest’s website will help you understand what you are seeing along the trail.  The nature trail forms only a short loop, but a spur trail connects to the adjacent Loon Lake Day Use Area.  Thus, you can lengthen your hike by starting at the day use area and hiking a lollipop loop with the spur trail as the “stick.”  Such is the route described here.

Kettle pond near parking area

Loon Lake Day Use Area trailhead

            At the Loon Lake Day Use Area, take note of the two small kettle ponds at the south side of the parking lot.  In particular, notice the steep hillside that leads down to the water, and file this look away for future use.  The trail starts between the two kettle ponds at a small sign stating that this trail is open only to hikers.

After dropping off a terrace created by the parking lot’s construction, the trail climbs steeply away from Loon Lake, gaining more than 150 feet in less than 0.2 miles.  Upon reaching a narrow ridge, the trail curves right to continue climbing at a more moderate rate.  Large plastic blue diamonds mark the way, and the forest is comprised mostly of maple and jack pine trees.  Some ferns live in the understory.

Climbing onto a kame

            At 0.2 miles, you reach the height of land where you cross paved Loon Lake Loop Road.  Just after crossing the road, the trail splits to form its loop.  For no particular reason, I chose to turn right to hike the loop counterclockwise.  Some old numbered wooden posts may correspond to an interpretive guide that is no longer available.

            The trail curves left as it undulates.  Throughout this part of the hike you pass several steep depressions in the surrounding ground, some large and some small.  These depressions are more kettles, and like the kettle ponds at the trailhead they mark places where large chunks of ice melted when the last round of glaciers retreated.  Unlike the ones near the trailhead, these kettles are not ponds because their bottoms lie above the water table.  A kame is simply a ridge between two kettles.  Fortunately, most of this trail stays on the kames or else the hiking would be much more difficult than it is.

A large kettle

            Several other unofficial and unmarked trails wind through this area, so watch for the blue diamonds and keep track of your location on the trail map to stay on the right route.  After a brief descent, you reach the paved Island Lake Campground access road at 0.5 miles.  Turn left, walk less than 50 feet along the road, and turn left again to continue the nature trail.  Again, watch for the blue diamonds.

            The trail climbs on a gradual to moderate grade before passing a large kettle on the left.  At 0.8 miles, the grade levels as it curves left to join an old logging road.  After passing a survey marker, the trail leaves the old logging road and passes over a final kame to close the loop.  A right turn and 0.2 miles of retracing your steps return you to Loon Lake Day Use Area to complete the hike.