The Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness is a wilderness area within the Manistee National Forest. It is located north ofLudington, Michigan, and is best known for its 4 miles (6.4 km) of undeveloped Lake Michigan shoreline. It is the only Federally designated wilderness in Michigan's lower peninsula. There are approximately 10-miles of trail that can be accessed from 2 developed trailheads at the end of Nurnberg Road and Lake Michigan Recreation Area. Ludington State park borders to the South.
For more information please see here: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5151641.pdf
We did a short weekend trip starting from the Nurnberg Trailhead. We hiked west, not completely sure which trail we were on, but it was less than 2 miles.
We quickly reached Lake Michigan and set up camp off the dune.
Brought some Michigan cherries. Well worth their weight!
Dad enjoying the view!
The next day we day hiked south to Big Sable lighthouse along the beach.
View from the lighthouse
Looking North
From the lighthouse, we hiked on one of the Ludington State Park trails for a short distance. If interested in a longer hike, you could start in Ludington State Park and hike down to Nordhouse Dunes using the Ludington trails and the beach. The park also has walk-in campsites and inland lakes.
After exploring the Ludington State Park Trails we walked back down the beach to our campsite.
A beautiful sunset
The next morning we packed up and had a short hike back to the trailhead. This was a great weekend adventure, one of the finest in lower Michigan!
A future trip is necessary to explore the the remaining northern regions of this special wilderness area.
After returning to our vehicle we headed to Ludington for some food and ice cream from House of Flavors!
You should have hiked East of 116 and Witness the sheer destruction of Ludington's Critical Dunes thanks to Sargent Sand mining operation! 400 acres of a National treasure.
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