Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Michigan / Eastern Upper Peninsula

Grand Island Perimeter Loop

Grand Island National Recreation Area, Hiawatha National Forest (Munising)

Grand Island sits in Lake Superior less than a mile off Munising. Wikipedia describes the national recreation area as about 13,500 acres of woods with roughly 35 miles of shoreline and sandstone cliffs up to 300 feet tall, and says a 23-mile perimeter trail follows much of the shore. Congress designated it a national recreation area in 1990, after the Forest Service bought the island.

No public vehicles are allowed on the island. Backpackers ride a short ferry across and camp at one of 17 reserved campsites.

The hike

The ferry lands at Williams Landing, where the Forest Service has a visitor contact point and drinking water. Bikepacking.com’s guide describes the island as low on the south end and rising to cliffs on the north, with the highest cliffs, about 300 feet above the lake, in the northwest corner. Its contributor rode the loop clockwise on the trails closest to the lake.

Heading north along the east side, the trail passes Murray Bay, where the Forest Service lists a day-use area with water and the Bermuda campsite about 1.5 miles from Williams Landing. Trout Bay comes next; the Forest Service puts the Little Duck campsite about 2.5 miles from Williams Landing, near Trout Bay Beach. Bikepacking.com’s writer swam near the “Little Dunes” there, and a July 2026 Reddit trip writer said the Trout Bay sites are about the only ones on the island with direct beach access.

The north end has the cliffs, North Light Creek (a water source, per Bikepacking.com), and more campsites. The route then returns down the west side toward Williams Landing.

The Reddit writer, who backpacked the island over three days, described the trail as mostly old carriage roads through the woods with few hills, found the hiking easy and the views more limited than expected, and saw only about ten other backpackers. Bikes share many of the roads; Bikepacking.com notes that some trails are hiker-only and marked.

Bugs are the main complaint. The Forest Service says mosquitoes and black flies are heavy from mid-May to mid-July, and Bikepacking.com adds gnats and deer flies and recommends a head net.

Pictured Rocks begins just east of Munising; see the Pictured Rocks Lakeshore Trail.

Tips

Camping

During the season (May 24 to Oct. 14), the Forest Service requires reservations through Recreation.gov or 877-444-6777. Recreation.gov says sites can be reserved “for up to 4 consecutive days,” that reservations can be made up to the day of arrival, and that the site must be occupied by 7 p.m. that day; Cobble Cove, Flat Rock, and Muskrat Point stay first come, first served. Check-in is at 2 p.m. and check-out at 11 a.m. Sites hold four to six people in two tents, depending on the site, and come with a latrine, a food storage pole and locker, a fire ring, and benches. Black bears live on the island: store all food, trash, and scented items on the pole or in the locker. Bikepacking.com says dispersed camping is not allowed. Wash dishes and bathe at least 100 feet from water.

Inside Intel: The July 2026 Reddit writer called Little Dunes 1 a “Great site right on the water,” with good swimming at Trout Bay, and skipped Shelter Ridge because of flies at North Beach and sites set back in the woods. Bikepacking.com’s contributor favors the north end, especially Freighter View, with a stream about 50 feet from the site.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Supper at Freighter View on Grand Island:

Away from the south-end spigots, most Grand Island meals start with filtered stream or lake water. See the camp stoves testers rate.

See what testers chose →

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.