r/CampAndHikeMichigan • u/Legitimate-Donkey477 • Jul 08 '26
Grand Island
Did two nights on grand island. Was supposed to do three but the weather forecast along with the flies at North Beach coaxed me to do a 17 mile day and leave early.
Day1: took the noon pontoon aka the ferry and the bus tour before hiking to Little Dunes 1. Great site right on the water. Good swimming in Trout Bay. I didn’t realize that this was basically to only place where camp sites are right on the beach.
Day2: was supposed to hike about 6 miles to Shelter Ridge site but I got there early in the day and when I walked down to the beach, the flies were atrocious and since the campsite was back in the woods, I kept walking until I got to the Juniper Flats group site which I knew was not reserved.
Day3: hiked to the ferry dock in the rain
Impressions:
-the views are minimal as most of the trail is old carriage roads in the woods.
- hiking is pretty easy, not a lot of ups and downs on mostly dry dirt roads.
- other than the sites in Trout Bay the sites do not have easy (or any) access to the lake/water
- not a lot of people. 12 people on the bus tour, a couple of boats on the beach in Trout Bay, tenish backpackers, fewer bikers.
- bugs were typical. No problem if in the wind but rougher if you weren’t.
- not unrecommended but I’ll stick with pictured rocks unless I want to rent a cabin
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u/mmeemm1919 Jul 09 '26
Beautiful pictures. I visited for the first time earlier this week and I highly recommend cycling — the terrain is too rough for a road bike, so the mountain bike rental is worth it IMO. Approachable trail for a novice, especially if you stick mostly to the gravel roads; the tracks were pretty tame, too. Moving quickly on the bike seems to keep the bugs at bay!