Located near the dolomite and limestone mine just east of Cedarville, MI lies a very secluded trail called Bush Bay Trail. From what I understand, this is not a super popular trail as there is not any major signage leading up to the trailhead. This trail runs along the south shoreline of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula along Lake Huron and offers beautiful scenery throughout the entire trail. This hike is a very easy hike with very little elevation gain, so besides it potentially being a longer hike I would say this is very family friendly for basically all ages.

There are technically two ways you can access this trail and just do an out-and-back hike and walk the whole trail from one starting point to the other starting point, and then back but that is about 4.5 miles. I usually just start at the Bush Bay Scenic Overlook and then walk about 1.5 miles out and then come back. You will know when you have roughly walked that far when you start seeing massive boulders along the trail and then the thing that draws everyone into going to the trail. What is that special thing that everyone wants to see? Well if you look at the cover picture, you will notice a wooden lamp post next to some of these big rocks. The combination of these rocks, the white cedars, the pines, and the lamp post almost make you feel like you are walking through one of the Narnia movies.

On top of all of the boulders and trees, there are many other things you can see while on this trail. If you look along the surfaces of many of the rocks, you may see colored spots that can range anywhere from green, to orange, to even black. These spots are actually living organisms called lichen. Lichens do not have roots, so their nutrients come from the air around them. This actually makes them bioindicators because when they turn different colors, it means they are reacting to the air quality, which can help determine if the air quality within a certain area is good or poor. While you are walking, you may possibly come across chipmunks, squirrels, possibly some mink, and many different songbirds.

So far, this has been one of my favorite hikes that I have done in Michigan and everyone that I have been with during this hike has really enjoyed it. Since it is not very far from the Mackinac Bridge, I would highly recommend checking it out if you have the time.