The GaiaGPS routes for Day 1-4 can be accessed here. Day 1 is blue, Day 2 is green, Day 3 is orange, and Day 4 is red. The Day 2 and Day 3 missing GPS data at the beginning of the route (clockwise) is where I forgot to turn on GaiaGPS for a few minutes at the start of the new day.
Jim Jones, Kyle Thede, and I left my residence in Big Rapids. We used back roads and two tracks and completed a loop around Cadillac, the north and east of Higgins & Houghton Lake, and eventually worked our way back my home in Big Rapids.
Day 1 – A gorgeous morning and day of sunshine with nice warm temperatures. We worked our way up to US-10 and had lunch at Chase Creek Smokehouse. After lunch, we worked our way over to the power lines west of Chase and headed north. Continued until we reached our destination for the day at Coyote Crossings. Stayed in one of their nice cabins. Had a great dinner at their restaurant. Total time = 6 hours 52 minutes. Moving time = 3 hours 21 minutes. Distance = 64.0 miles.
Day 2 – Initially was nice, though overcast. After a home cooked hearty breakfast casserole, we worked our way north around Cadillac to hook-up with the trail system north of Manton, specifically, the North Missaukee Trail. It started to rain later in the afternoon and gradually became heavier as the evening approached. The more we drove east, the 50″ trails made many elevation changes. A fun ride if it were not for the weather turning. We worked our way to Moorsetown and fueled up at the general store. Our second night was at Rustic Rafters Cabins & Camping. Specifically, we stayed in the Snowshoe cabin pictured to the right. Leftover breakfast casserole fit the bill for dinner. Total time = 6 hours 34 minutes. Moving time = 5 hours 25 minutes. Distance = 77.6 miles.
Day 3 – After a crockpot breakfast that cooked all night, we enjoyed the start of a new pleasant day and took some back roads until we entered the West Higgins Trail. We worked our way up and around Higgins Lake and then back down south between Houghton Lake and Lake Saint Helen. After fueling up in Saint Helen, we ate lunch at the Firehouse Bar & Grill. After lunch, we used the trails leading away from Saint Helen that started west down the road from the restaurant. These were nice trails. We worked our way south of Houghton Lake, into the Leota Trail system, and eventually the Leota Lodge Motel. It started to rain some early in the evening. We had some Mountain House dinners, spent some time reflecting on the trip, and turned in for the night. Total time = 8 hours 40 minutes. Moving time = 6 hours 41 minutes. Distance = 94.9 miles.
Day 4 – A cloudy and wet morning after the overnight rain showers. After some Mountain House breakfasts, we braved some colder temperatures with some of our warmer gear and at 10am, proceeded to make the long trek home. We thought this was going to take most of the day, but surprisingly, it did not. Perhaps we were motivated by the colder temperatures to make short work out of the remainder of the trip. We followed some gas pipeline roads following the Muskegon River route on the east side to M-61. We crossed it and into Temple and from here, we used mainly back roads. In Hersey, we fueled up and continued the journey home. After crossing 13 Mile Road, we entered the Manistee National Forest trails. until we approached Big Rapids. We arrived at my home at about 3pm. Total time = 5 hours 4 minutes. Moving time = 4 hours 1 minutes. Distance = 89.8 miles.
Trip Summary: Total Time = 4 Days & 3 Nights. Moving Time = 19 hours 28 minutes. Distance = 326.3 miles.
I had no idea you could two track it from here to Higgins Lake via ATV trails.
We used lots of dirt roads and two-tracks. For bridges across rivers, we had to touch pavement occasionally.