Yankee Springs Recreation Area: Hall Lake Trail and Devil's Soup Bowl (Blog Hike #970)

Trails: Hall Lake Trail and spur trails
Hike Location: Yankee Springs Recreation Area
Geographic Location: west of Hastings, MI (42.61306, -85.49046)
Length: 2.5 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: October 2023
Overview: A semiloop featuring Hall Lake and 2 overgrown overlooks.
Park Information: https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=511&type=SPRK
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=949092
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: Between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, take US 131 to SR 179 (exit 61).  Exit and go east on SR 179.  Drive SR 179 east 7.6 miles to Briggs Road and turn right on Briggs Rd.  Briggs Rd. becomes Gun Lake Road in 1 mile.  Drive a total of 2.2 miles from SR 179 to the entrance for the Long Lake Outdoor Center on your left.  Turn left, then immediately park in the dirt parking lot for the Hall Lake Trailhead on either side of the road.

The hike: Located between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids in southwest Michigan, Yankee Springs Recreation Area consists of 5200 acres of reverting farmland.  Most of this land was opened up to homesteading in the 1830's, and 100 years of farming depleted the soil and left much erosion.  In the 1930's, the federal government bought the land, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked here to reforest the worn out farm fields and build park infrastructure such as roads and trails.  The land was turned over to the State of Michigan in 1943 and added to its state park system.

            The area today features many amenities including a 200-site developed campground, 120 primitive campsites, fishing, boating, and swimming on 2680-acre Gun Lake, bridle trails, mountain bike trails, and 30 miles of trails open to hiking.  The route described here takes you to Hall Lake, one of the park's many scenic lakes, and tours some of the park's most famous geological sites, thus allowing you to sample the best scenery this park has to offer.

Start of Hall Lake Trail

            From the trailhead parking area, start on the trail that goes east directly away from the park entrance road.  A sign states "Hall Lake Foot Trail, Foot Traffic Only."  Marked with red blazes, the Hall Lake Trail is a wide single-track sandy dirt trail; it forms a loop that you are hiking counterclockwise when going this direction.  This part of the forest is dominated by young maple trees, and this part of the hike was very pleasant when I came here on a damp and chilly Sunday afternoon in mid-October.

Trail intersection near Hall Lake

            After descending imperceptibly for 0.4 miles, you reach the shore of Hall Lake and a trail intersection.  The North Country Trail, a 4800 mile backpacking trail that stretches from Vermont to North Dakota, enters from the right here.  To continue the Hall Lake Trail, turn left to start hiking north with Hall Lake on your right.  Whereas maple trees dominated the higher forest, pine trees dominate the area near the lake.  Some nice views of the lake emerge.  The red blazes of the Hall Lake Trail and the powder blue blazes of the North Country Trail run conjointly here.

Hall Lake

            Where the North Country Trail exits left, angle right to stay on the Hall Lake Trail.  At 0.6 miles, the trail curves north to exit the lake area and begin the hardest climb of this hike.  The elevation gain on this hike is only about 200 feet, so the moderate climb is over rather quickly.  Just shy of 1 mile, you reach another trail intersection.  The Hall Lake Trail turns left here, and we will go that way eventually.  To also see some of this park's geological points of interest, continue straight to begin hiking an unblazed connector trail.

Graves Hill "overlook"

            Only a few feet later, angle left to hike the short spur trail to the Graves Hill Overlook.  While there is a hill and an unusual-shaped rock up here, this "overlook" is completely overgrown and offers absolutely no view.  Back on the connector trail, continue north, following signs for Devil's Soup Bowl.  The connector trail descends slightly, passes a jeep trail parking lot, and climbs slightly through steeper terrain than you have encountered thus far.

Devil's Soup Bowl Overlook

            At 1.25 miles, you reach the Devil's Soup Bowl overlook.  Like the previous overlook, there is not much of an "overlook" here, but you are standing on the rim of Devil's Soup Bowl.  Devil's Soup Bowl is a steep-sided depression that is almost 100 feet deep; no creeks flow into or out of the depression.  A wild trail going left leads steeply to the bottom of the depression, and the Deep Lake Trail heads right to its namesake lake.

Peering into Devil's Soup Bowl

            After viewing Devil's Soup Bowl, retrace your steps back to the Hall Lake Trail and turn right to begin the final segment of this hike.  The trail descends moderately as dirt Graves Hill Road comes in view on the right.  Ignore trails that exit first left and then right, and stay on the red-blazed Hall Lake Trail.  After passing a wetland area, you cross one final low ridge before closing the loop.  A right turn quickly returns you to the parking area to complete the hike.