Wilderness State Park is a 10,000 acre pristine forest in the tip of the Michigan mitt, just 10 miles west of Mackinaw City. The park boasts 26 miles of undeveloped shoreline, 20 miles of trails for hiking, biking, and cross country skiing, 250 modern campsites, 6 rustic cabins and 3 rustic bunkhouses.
A great place to head out for a hike, bike, or in my case cross country skiing, is on Nebo Trail. The trailhead parking is off of Wilderness Park Drive, 2.5 miles past the Cecil Bay Trading Post.
There are many miles of groomed and ungroomed trail which in my experience are very lightly used. On my Wednesday visit, it appeared there had been no skiers there in several days, giving me a fresh dusting of snow topping off the groomed trail. Coincidentally another skier showed up just as I was starting my trek.
Heading in on Nebo Trail, I took the groomed Wiikenhs Trail west towards the Canada Goose Pond and Swamp Line Trail. The terrain was pretty easy, mostly flat and straight.
I would have expected a groomed return loop on the Red Pine Trail, however it was untouched, likely because the terrain wouldn’t permit the equipment. Initially I went past, continuing toward Swamp Line Trail.
On my way back I noticed that the skier behind me had decided to take the Red Pine. Feeling adventurous I decided to give it a shot, rather than returning on my same path. It makes for a nice 4 mile loop as it cuts back to the Nebo Trail.
This took quite a bit of effort and I had to deal with more technical difficulty with it’s rolling hills and turns – and it was a total blast doing so! I did have to clip out of my skis a few times as I didn’t have the confidence for a few downhill sections. But if you like to get “out of the tracks” once in a while, this was a great place to do so.
Depending on your goals, you can make Wilderness into an easy/moderate route or raise the bar and turn it into a more difficult and challenging trek by adding the Red Pine Trail.
While I only covered about 4 miles in 90 minutes, the groomed path clearly covered a much greater territory. If you’re up for multiple hours of adventure, this is the place to do it. I’ll have to explore more trails next time.
As a Michigan State Park, you do need a recreation passport for parking.
