north county trail

“I am a beginner hiker and am looking for a good place to get started in Michigan. I heard that the North County Trail was pretty good. Any advice?”

“Whatever you do...DON'T click on this link”

“as a beginner I would recommend hooking up with some folks from here - there is a very active and knowledgeable group that goes out hiking/backpacking every month in Michigan. Just do a search for Michigan and contact some of the folks that hike there.”

“LOL - just click on Buddur's link - it will do the search for you”

“Hi wrestlegirl10. I'm one of the Michiganiacs here, and yes, we do go hiking quite often. NExt weekend we're doing a trip at Hoist Lakes. Check the Michigan Mountaineers in April thread for more info. OTherwise, we generally try to do a dayhike on the second Saturday of every month.”

“Yes, join us at Hoist Lakes! It is a very good spot for a newbie; quality wilderness but yet never very far from the car.”

“I was going to ask about that, le Subtil. I'm not sure how my feet are going to do in the boots this time around. I plan on using duct tape from the start, though. I'll bring along my trail shoes just in case.”

“wrestlegirl10 - the thread is called MI Mountaineers: April Hike. I'll bring it back up to the top for ya.

We always have a great time when we hike as a group. You'll find us very easy to get along with!”

“HI Wrestlegirl10! Welcome. I'm another Michigan hiker, located in Livonia. Any questions about speciffic trails drop me an email anytime.

The nct is a pretty huge trail, did you have a specific portion in mind? Have hiked some of it but not all. Let us know exactly what section you're thinking of.

There's a book called "The Michigan Trail Atlas" that's pretty helpful. Some of the maps aren't the greatest but it has all the info on trails and phone numbers/addresses for park headquarters etc. A good investment for a hiker.”

“Where are you from in Michigan? The Michigan crowd is awesome. Welcome I think we are taking over”

“Oohh, that could be fun, the Michiganiacs taking over TT!!”

“The North Country Trail has a website: northcountrytrail.org

It's not a bad site and you get a good feel for the trail. Just so you know, the trail is still under construction south of Grand Rapids. There are some nice hikes below GR, but they are not contiguous.

Anyway, there is a whole lot more hiking in this state than people realize. You could hike every day and I think it would take decades and decades to hike it all. Better get started.

Oh, and welcome. We would love to have you come on a hike.

Mike/reformed lurker”

“My club goes backpacking there quite often!

And welcome!!!

8)”

“As a matter of fact my club is going to be backpacking in Manistee National Forest this weekend doing the 22 mile NCT into Manistee River Trail Loop.

If you would like to check out my club click on my name in green and the website address link is on there go check it out.

Happy Hiking.

8)”

“The manistee loop is great. Try to check it out.”