Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

      Lake Superior has always been one of our favorite playgrounds.  I can remember many camping trips to the "North Shore" with my parents, then with my friends, husband, children and grandchildren.  So how have I missed visiting Pictured Rocks?
      The southeast shore of Lake Superior is very different from the frigid, rocky shores of the north.  There are miles of beautiful, soft sand beaches and clear blue bays.   All along Highway 28 there are public Wayside parks which give access to these beaches.  On this sunny 75* day we saw dozens of swimmers and kayakers enjoying the water.
      As we stopped at a couple wayside beaches the clear green water really called my name, but this IS Lake Superior.  I've been lured into thinking a swim would be nice before and waded in only to have my feet go numb almost immediately.   I'm sure my boys remember swimming in the frigid waters at Temperance River and at Big Bay State Park on Madeline Island. Today I admired it from a distance.

Lighthouse on Grand Island

     Over forty miles of this lakeshore is protected by the National Park Service - Pictured Rocks.  Along the shoreline are about 15 miles of colorful sandstone cliffs, 12 miles of  beaches, and nearly five miles of enormous sand dunes. There are also multiple waterfalls, lighthouses, lakes, and campgrounds.
     The feature that gives the park its name are the colorful sandstone cliffs which can mostly be seen from the water.  The National Park Service runs tour boats - which we enjoyed today.  But we saw folks on kayaks, canoes, pontoons, paddle boards, and a glass bottom boat.  The colors on the sandstone are created by minerals leaching out into the soft cliffs and drying: Iron (red),  manganese (black-white),  limonite (yellow-brown), copper (pink-green), and other minerals.
    It was a perfect calm and sunny day for a boat ride.  Lots of other folks thought so too and the boat was fairly full for a weekday in September.  We left from the harbor at Munising past Grand Island and headed east along the shoreline. The cliffs are up to 200 feet high over the water.  Our shallow draft catamaran took us quite close to caves, waterfalls, and colorful rock formations.  The sun wasn't on the cliffs enough for great pictures, but the view from the boat was spectacular.  You should put this on your bucket list.  It's not really very far away.