Inner Loop Trail

Hiawatha Highlands Conservation Area on the north side of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario is one of my favorite close hikes just north of the border. It's not quite wilderness but it certainly lies on the edge of it! If you walked due north from here you wouldn't cross another paved road for over 100 miles! Interestingly, for all the times I had visited the waterfalls and the lake I had never taken any time to explore the trails wandering around the park. That's what I was setting out to do this day...

Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 46.589684, -84.275365

Route Type: Loop Difficulty: EASY (Petzoldt Rating: 1.76 )

Hike Length: 1.5 miles Hike Duration: 1:15

Trailhead Temp: 74'F Trail Traffic: 10-25 people

Min. Elevation: 920' Max. Elevation: 1,050'

Total Vertical Gain: 130' Avg. Elevation Gain / Mile: 87'

9-1-2009

Hiawatha Highlands (1.5 miles; d=1.76)

Kinsman Park Trailhead
Starting out in the middle of the loop. I'd pass the bridge to the right later on but for now I was heading left...
Crystal Creek Trail
This long, slightly tilted boardwalk leads to Crystal Falls...
Crystal Creek Trail
Beautiful Crystal Creek...
Goldenrod
The {sniff}bane of my late-summer {sniff}existence...Goldenrod >:{
Crystal Falls
Crystal Falls
Crystal Falls
Looking at the middle portion of Crystal Falls...
Crystal Creek Trail
There are some fun ledges to climb on the way to the top of Crystal Falls...
Crystal Falls
Looking downstream from the top of Crystal Falls...
Voyageur Trail
Taking a few steps along the Voyageur Trail which, when completed will run from Thunder Bay all the way to Sudbury, Ontario...
At this point, above Crystal Falls, I wasn't quite sure where I was headed but I was loving every minute...
Inner Loop Trail
I knew at some point I was going to have to cross the river to get back so I decided to cut across on this mountain bike trail...
Inner Loop Trail
Crystal Creek is quite placid here...
Inner Loop Trail
So, I'll be going right...
Large-leaved Aster
Large-leaved Aster was growing all over around here...
Inner Loop Trail
I was pleasantly surprised upon climbing a small, rocky knob when the trees broke for this nice view to the south...
Inner Loop Trail
A closer look from the top of my mysterious, unnamed knob. That's the St. Mary's River you see in the distance and if you look close you can see a freighter heading up river...
Inner Loop Trail
Was this an old ski hill or lodge? Who knows?
Inner Loop Trail
In an absence of wildflowers I've recently found mushrooms to be a nice substitute...I believe this to be Mycena leaiana in case anyone other than me cares;)
Inner Loop Trail
I was anxious to get back down to the river so I found myself off-trail again...big surprise, right?
Crystal Creek
I didn't find another trail down by Crystal Creek but this little spot was still nice for a short break...
Inner Loop Trail
Arriving back at a familiar spot...the bridge is where I got the shot from above Crystal Falls earlier in the album...
Inner Loop Trail
The trail down the east side of the falls was a bit less developed...
Inner Loop Trail
Pearly Everlasting
Just like when I was here this time last year I was being eyeballed by huge clusters of Pearly Everlasting...