Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan

As soon as we got to Munising, we bought three tickets for the 5:00 pm Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise. A boat is the only way to see the spectacular cliffs that give the park its name. We had time to check into our motel and be the first in line for the cruise.

The ride took almost three hours. We headed through Munising Bay past our motel.

We passed the East Channel Lighthouse on Grand Island. It operated from 1868 to 1908. It is now owned and maintained by the few summer residents of Grand Island.

We passed a sandbar in the center of the channel. A family had pulled up next to it in a pontoon boat and were lounging about on deck. A young boy — he looked to be about 10 — was on the sandbar all by himself and having a riot. You can just make him out along the shore on the left.

Our seats were in the front row on the right side of the upper deck. I took about 100 photos on our way east along the shore, then went down to the back deck and took another 100 or so on the way back. Don’t worry. I won’t post them all.  I don’t remember where I took all of them. I’ll label those I recognize.

This is Miner’s Castle, the only formation you can drive to.

Which we did the next morning … Here’s what it looks like from the land side.

Lovers’ Leap — because every place with cliffs has to have one called Lovers’ Leap.

Grand Portal

I don’t know what they call these cliffs, or if they have a name, but I thought the black and white stripes were the most spectacular part of the entire shoreline.

Battleship Row — because these five formations look something like a row of old wooden battleships lined up.

Not so long ago, there was a bridge from Chapel Rock to the main shoreline. It broke off, but the root of the large pine on the rock still crosses the gap and provides the tree with almost all of it’s water.

Spray Falls. We saw many falls along the cliffs, but this is the only one that runs no matter how dry the season. This was the easternmost point of our trip.

We took this same cruise back in 1982. At that time, the boat crews would throw pieces of bread to the gulls during the return journey. As the boat went east, the gulls ignored it. But as soon as the boat turned around, the boat would be mobbed. The crews don’t feed the bread any longer, but there are still a few gulls that retain hope.

This cliff is part of a section known as Painted Coves. The colors are created by various minerals seeping through the rock.

Rainbow Cave

Bridalveil Falls

Three more random photos.

As we approached the dock at the end of our voyage, I took this shot of the Munising Front Range Light (about which I will post more at a future time).

This entry was posted in Scenery. Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan

  1. karen says:

    wow. Nate and I now have another “must-see” on our list. :-)

Comments are closed.