Monocle Lake sits just inland from Lake Superior about a half hours' drive west of Sault Ste. Marie. Along its south shore is a nice National Forest campground which serves as the trailhead for the days adventure. The Monocle Lake Trail heads east from the swimming area at the south end of the lake for little more than a quarter mile where it splits north and south in to the North Country Trail and the Mission Hill Trail respectively. I'd be heading up Mission Hill first with its commanding views of Lake Superior and the Canadian highlands beyond and then descending to explore the west side of the lake along the NCT. About 4-miles in all...
Mileage Hiked: 4.0 miles
Trailhead Temp: 75'F
Min. Elevation: 640'
Max Elevation: 835'
Mileage Hiked: 4.0 miles
Trailhead Temp: 75'F
Min. Elevation: 640'
Max Elevation: 835'
The Approximate Route - The overlook, which I visited first, is to the south while my brief jaunt along the NCT and the lakeshore is to the north...
Monocle Lake only sits partially within Hiawatha National Forest. As you can just barely see the unprotected northern shore is lined with summer cottages...
The beach was noticeably empty...a tell-tale sign that the temp this day, like many others this summer, was below normal...
Heading out along the south shore of the lake...
Partridgeberry along the trail...
Walking through the woods south of Monocle Lake...
Mission Hill, which I'd be climbing shortly, rises above a marshy field to my left (south)...
After crossing a short boardwalk I turned left at the trail junction for Mission Hill. The trail looks to be getting an upgrade...
The ridge that is Mission Hill rose from the right side of the trail...this picture doesn't really show how steep it is at times...
Beginning the climb up Mission Hill via a very strange feature on Michigan trails...a switchback!
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