Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Michigan / Western Upper Peninsula

Craig Lake State Park Backcountry

Craig Lake State Park (near Michigamme)

Craig Lake State Park, west of Michigamme, is a tract of lakes, hardwood hills, and wetlands at the end of a rough dirt road. The Michigan DNR has called it the state’s most remote state park, and a DNR deputy director described its creation as “the first move the DNR ever has made to manage a park area for wilderness values.”

Wikipedia and CopperCountry.com describe an 8-mile loop around Craig Lake, part of which follows the North Country Trail. Backpackers camp at reserved backcountry sites.

The hike

Getting there is the first obstacle. The DNR says the park is a mile west of Michigamme, then 8 miles on Craig Lake Road, which it calls a challenging, rocky road where high clearance and four-wheel drive are strongly recommended. Cell coverage is limited to nonexistent.

The land was once the private preserve of Frederick Miller, president of Miller Brewing, who built cabins still in use and named Teddy, Craig, and Claire Lakes for his children, according to Wikipedia. The state bought more of his estate in 1956, and the park was established in 1967. The DNR’s page lists six lakes in the park; Craig Lake itself is 374 acres (DNR, 2019).

The DNR says the 2-mile Main Trail leads to the rustic cabins. Wikipedia and CopperCountry.com describe an 8-mile loop around Craig Lake, and CopperCountry.com says it covers part of the North Country Trail, which runs about 7 miles through the park (7.5 by CopperCountry’s count) over rough terrain. CopperCountry.com mentions views of wildlife, plants, and the lakeshore.

Wildlife is the draw. The DNR says moose spend spring, summer, and fall in the park, though they are elusive, along with deer, bears, beavers, and loons. A DNR writer who visited in late November found fresh moose tracks along an old logging road and near a creek bridge. Outdoor writer Howard Meyerson, who paddled the park in 2012, called it “moose country — wet and wild” and reported coyote and wolf signs on the trail, and beaver dams on the West Branch of the Peshekee River.

Published hiking detail for the loop itself is thin, so get a current map from the DNR before you go. For a Lake Superior trip farther west, see the Porcupine Mountains Lake Superior Trail.

Tips

Camping

The DNR lists 22 designated backcountry sites (not counting paddle-in sites 3 and 4), with hikes from 0.2 miles to 6 or 7 miles. Reservations are required, by phone at 906-339-4461 or online, and campers check in at the Van Riper State Park campground office. Sites hold up to six campers and have fire rings. Hang bear bags at least 12 feet up and away from the tree. The DNR says lake water must be filtered, boiled, or treated. Pets must be on a 6-foot leash. The DNR also rents a lodge, a cabin, and two yurts in the park, with canoes provided at those from mid-May to mid-October.

Inside Intel: No camper accounts recommending a specific Craig Lake backcountry site were found. Meyerson mentions camping on a rocky, elevated site but doesn’t say which one.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Trail meals for a park at the end of a rocky road:

Craig Lake sits miles down a high-clearance road with little or no cell service, so every meal comes in on your back. See the camp meals reviewers like.

Read the full guide →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.