Indian Lake State Park
Address: 8970 Co Rd 442, Manistique, MI 49854
Phone:(906) 341-2355

Useful links for this area:
Indian Lake State Park
Thompson State Fish Hatchery
Palms Book State Park
Fayette Historic State Park
This fall, we ventured north late in the season for some fall color. I knew it was late October, but was still optimistic about seeing some color on the trees. We were happily surprised at the beauty we came upon.
Indian Lake State Park is a gem. This campground is just outside of Manistique, MI in the beautiful upper peninsula of Michigan. It’s about an hour past the Mackinaw bridge heading west.

 

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We arrived late in the dark and went straight to sleep. When we awoke, we were greeted by beauty all around. Great color on the trees, and Indian Lake right behind us! It was just beautiful. This is the morning view from just down the steps to the water:
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We ventured around the campground, which was fun, as there were only 3 other people camping at the time so we had it pretty much to ourselves. But first, coffee.

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This is a trail we found just behind some of the campsites:

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We had some fun exploring the woods here.
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After exploring the woods, we ventured outside of the campground. We’ve explored the Big Spring Kitch-iti-kipi once before, last year, but thought we’d check it out again since it was so close to our campground.
On the way to the spring, we found the Thompson State Fish Hatchery. It started down pouring while there, but it was still fun to duck inside the building, check out the videos, and then walk around and look for fish.

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If you’ve never checked out the Big Spring Kitch-iti-kipi, it’s a really unique stop in the UP. I’ve never seen anything like it. The route to the spring is not well marked, so watch out for signs that are small, and use your GPS wisely. The spring is located within Palms Book State Park.

 

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The view here was pretty spectacular this particular day when the skies cleared up and the sun was shining. The water was clear and we could see hundreds of thousands of tiny fish. This was a treat, as the last time we visited we only saw large fish in the water. It was pretty amazing to see.

The boys enjoyed rowing the boat out:

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The colors made for a breathtaking view as well.

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While out exploring, we headed south to Fayette Historic State Park. This is one of those places that just transports you to another time. I didnt know this place even existed. What an interesting place. Fayette Historic State Park is just what it says, a historic park, which represents the town as it once was as an industrial community. There is a nice rocky beach front and beautiful rock formations here as well to check out.
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At the entrance to the park we even met a new friend:

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Last but not least, there are a lot of roadside scenes on the drive between Mackinaw and Manistique. Plenty of places to waste hours just driving and taking in the beauty of the UP.

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Cut River Bridge is a must stop on the way home.

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We sure did have fun exploring here.

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