Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Michigan / Northern Lower Peninsula

Hoist Lakes Foot Travel Area

Huron National Forest, Huron-Manistee National Forests

The Hoist Lakes Foot Travel Area is a non-motorized tract of the Huron National Forest that the Forest Service describes as almost 10,000 acres of pine, aspen, and hardwood forest with 19 miles of looped trail. Michigan Trail Maps says it was set aside in 1976 as a quiet retreat and calls it “the ideal destination for a weekend backpack.”

Bikes, horses, and motor vehicles are prohibited, and there’s no potable water, so plan to filter from the lakes.

The hike

Two trailheads, east and west, each have parking for about 17 vehicles, according to the Forest Service. Michigan Trail Maps describes two main loops: the 5.4-mile Hoist Lakes Loop from the eastern trailhead and the Byron Lake Loop from the western one.

The Byron Lake Loop follows blue diamond blazes. From the western trailhead, with a vault toilet and information board, the first junction (post No. 6) comes at about half a mile. Past Carp Lake, post No. 8 marks the site of a former hand pump. At mile 1.7, post No. 9 sits near the north end of Byron Lake and its three official walk-in campsites. The trail tops out at 1,140 feet around mile 2.3, at a former clearing where trees now block the view much of the year, then reaches post No. 12 at mile 3.7, a junction with routes toward No-Name Lake and the Hoist Lakes. Post No. 11 follows at mile 4.3, and a cutoff returns to the Byron Lake campsites. Michigan Trail Maps puts the loop at 6.5 miles, or 7.6 miles if you return to the trailhead by way of post No. 5.

Michigan Trail Maps counts seven named lakes in the tract, along with ponds, marshes, and beaver-flooded streams, and hills topping 1,200 feet. It singles out the maple stand along the route for fall color and lists wild turkeys, ruffed grouse, white-tailed deer, beavers, and waterfowl as common sightings; black bears live here but are rarely seen.

A Backpacking Light trip report from February 2011 describes a winter overnight: two miles to South Hoist Lake in about an hour, a loop past No-Name, Penoyer, and North Hoist lakes, and camp at the South Hoist site under about 18 inches of snow. A later commenter called the site very solitary.

Michigan Trail Maps lists the Huron Shores and Mio ranger stations as contacts, and the Forest Service says a March 2026 winter storm left many downed and damaged trees across both districts. Check conditions before you go.

Tips

Camping

Michigan Trail Maps says backcountry camping and campfires are allowed throughout the tract at least 200 feet from open water, swamps, or foot trails, and describes three official walk-in campsites near Byron Lake plus many unofficial sites and two wilderness privies. The Forest Service’s occupancy order (R904-18-02) bans camping or fires within 200 feet of any body of water except at designated sites and limits a stay at one spot to 16 days in 30. No special use permit is needed for individuals or small groups, according to the Forest Service; a separate forest order covers camping, bike, and pack-animal restrictions in the Hoist and Reid Lake areas, so confirm details with the district.

Inside Intel: Michigan Trail Maps points to a Byron Lake site on the bluff above the lake with a fire ring, a bench, and a stairway down to the water. The Backpacking Light writer camped at the South Hoist Lake site, which “contains a log bench and forest service fire pit on a small hill overlooking the lake.”

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Storm-downed trees around the Hoist Lakes:

The Forest Service says a March 2026 winter storm left many downed trees here, and one trip camped at South Hoist in deep snow. We compared three rain shells, including the Arc'teryx Beta SL.

Read the comparison →

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.