Hiking
Five trails from camp
Showing 5 trails of 5.
-
Bunchberry Bog Boardwalk
Blue blazes · starts behind site E3
- Distance
- 0.8 mi
- Climb
- 2 ft
- Level
- Easy
A level boardwalk loop through a tamarack bog, with benches, two viewing decks and signs about the pitcher plants and sundews. Wheelchair and stroller friendly; the best place on the property to see a moose track.
Boardwalk, level and wheelchair-friendly
-
Thimbleberry Creek Loop
Green blazes · starts by Balsam Cabin
- Distance
- 1.6 mi
- Climb
- 34 ft
- Level
- Easy
Up one side of the creek and back down the other, over two footbridges and past the little falls. In late July the trail is lined with the thimbleberries it’s named for; pick a handful, leave plenty for the bears.
Packed dirt and two footbridges
-
Loon Point Trail
Orange blazes · starts at the beach stairs
- Distance
- 2.7 mi
- Climb
- 94 ft
- Level
- Moderate
West along the bluff, down to a sand cove and out onto the rocky point where a pair of loons nests most summers. Roots and a few scrambles; give the nesting area the space the signs ask for.
Roots, sand and a rocky point
-
Old Tote Road
Brown blazes · starts at the office
- Distance
- 5.2 mi
- Climb
- 170 ft
- Level
- Moderate
The road lumber crews used to haul supplies into camp in the 1890s, now a grassy lane through second-growth maple and hemlock. Rolling and wide enough to walk side by side; good for trail running and fall color.
Old logging road, grassy and rolling
-
Juneberry Ridge Climb
Purple blazes · starts on Old Tote Road
- Distance
- 3.9 mi
- Climb
- 394 ft
- Level
- Hard
Steep granite to a bald ridge 400 feet above the lake, with two short hand-over-hand pitches near the top. The view runs from the Huron Mountains to Granite Island. Allow three hours and bring water.
Steep granite, with two hand-over-hand pitches
No trails at that level.
Paddling
When the big lake lies down, go
Lake Superior can be glass at dawn and whitecaps by lunch. Teemu posts the morning’s paddling call on the board outside the store by 7 am: green, yellow or stay on shore. The creek mouth is sheltered on all but the windiest days.
- Single kayak
- $35 a day
- Tandem kayak
- $55 a day
Sheltered · 1 mi round trip
Thimbleberry Creek mouth
Paddle up the creek as far as the first riffle, watching for otters and kingfishers. The calmest water we have, and the right first trip for kids.
Open shore · 3 mi round trip
Loon Point and the sea caves
West along the beach to the point and the little sandstone caves beyond it. Only on a green-flag morning, staying within 200 yards of shore.
Guided only · 5 mi round trip
Agate Bay crossing
A morning crossing of the bay with Teemu for confident paddlers, with a beach stop for agates and lunch. Book at the store the day before.
Safety first: the water stays in the 50s°F well into August. Life jackets are worn, not stowed; children under 14 paddle with an adult; and if the flag by the stairs is red, the boats stay on the rack.
Guided programs
What’s on at Tamarack Pines
Free for campers unless it says otherwise. Sign up on the board by the store, or just turn up.
Nothing of that type in the next few weeks.
Josie Pelto
Naturalist. Leads the bog walks and Junior Rangers, and can name any bird by its first two notes.
Teemu Saari
Kayak guide and amateur astronomer. Calls the paddling flag every morning and runs the star parties.
Arvid & Marjatta Koskela
Opened Tamarack Pines in 1987. Arvid hunts agates; Marjatta tells the stories at the Friday campfire.