Manistique, Michigan: Downtown, Recreation, Indian Lake State Park

May 2021, 3-days

Following is information about some of the places we visited during our stay at Manistique Lakeshore Campground.

Looking toward Manistique Lakeshore Campground from boardwalk

Recreation and landmarks

Manistique Boardwalk starts/ends on the opposite side of the channel (Manistique River) from the campground, near the municipal marina. There is room to walk alongside the road over the river, so we were able to walk to the boardwalk from the campground. The boardwalk was an easy walk of about 4 miles roundtrip from our campsite. Bikes are prohibited on the boardwalk. 

Damage on the trail along Manistique Boardwalk

Part of the boardwalk trail was damaged from the high water in 2019 - 2020; however, the trail was still navigable. There are several parking lots along the boardwalk, and there is a porta-potty in the east end parking lot on Manistique Avenue.

View from picnic table at Indian Lake State Park

We visited Indian Lake State Park one day, as it was extremely windy at our campsite. This park has a nice picnic area with several benches, picnic tables, and pavilions for rent. There is a small beach for swimming behind one of the pavilions, and there is a boat ramp at the west end of the picnic area. We observed people fishing from small motorboats, and we saw a few kayaks out on the lake. The campground is quite large, and most of the campers seemed pretty close together except for a few along the lakefront.

Hiking trail at Indian Lake State Park

We hiked the trail, which was less than 2 miles. The portion along the lake, from the campground to the boat ramp, is tar. The rest of the trail is dirt through the woods, which was quite wet in spots. There were several areas where logs had been placed to walk on. The trail was mostly flat and easy to navigate, other than the areas with water.

Bishop Baraga Shrine at The Indian Lake Catholic Mission Chapel is located on the northeast side of Indian Lake just north of Cope Bridge across Indian River. This is a well maintained and beautiful site with a church, benches, cemetery, and more.

 

Big Springs Kitch-iti-kipi

We visited Big Springs Kitch-iti-kipi, which is the largest natural freshwater spring in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We have been to this park before, so we did not take the boat ride this time. The parking lot was nearly full, and there were many people waiting in line for the free ride. We had hoped to find some hiking trails at the park, however, there are none. In addition to the boat ride, there is a gift shop and playground.

Old Manistique Water Tower

Old Manistique Water Tower in downtown Manistique was easy to walk to.  It is located on River Street on the northwest side of Manistique River. 

Ceiling and woodwork at Tap 21 in Manistique

Misc. dining, etc.

We picked up a pizza downtown Manistique at Main Street Pizza, and we had a beverage at Tap 21 while we waited for it. The pizza was a good size, and the flavor was good. We had received a coupon in our packet from the campground when we checked in; however it was expired. I asked about it (just in case the expiration date was a typo). Unfortunately, we were unable to use it. The pizza was still delicious!  😊 Main Street Pizza accepts cash only. Tap 21 charges a small fee if you use a credit card.

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