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Isle Royale: Do You Mind If I Camp With you?

Posted on April 8th, 2022
Isle Royale National Park officially opens up next week after setting an attendance record last year. Now the Lake Superior wilderness is struggling with how to solve the problem of overcrowded campsites in its backcountry. Jim DuFresne, author of Isle Royale National Park: Foot Trails & Watread more

Supporting Your Trails Voluntarily

Posted on November 27th, 2020
November has been nice to us with a surplus of mild days to continue enjoying hikes in the woods and bike rides on paved paths. In this pandemic era of COVID-19 that has been a welcomed gift. Whatever else you say about this year, the popularity of trails has been undisputable. In the latest Trail Talk bl… read more

Here’s To Bob Gore & All He Gave Us

Posted on September 24th, 2020
Sure it might rain next weekend but we’re still going hiking or camping or maybe a canoe float down the AuSable. Thanks to Bob Gore, inclement weather rarely slows us down. In the latest Trail Talk for MichiganTrailMaps.com, Jim DuFresne writes about Gore’s amazing discovery that mad… read more

We’re Not in Kansas Any More Toto

Posted on July 1st, 2020
Jim DuFresne is a lifelong Michigander and loves his home state. But his son and daughter-in-law live in Colorado and during a recent trip to the Rocky Mountain State, he tries to figure out if they will ever return to the Great Lakes State. You can read the answer in his latest Trail Talk blog for Mich… read more

Freeze-Dried Is Forever!

Posted on May 12th, 2020
We’re all longing not to just get outdoors but to resume adventuring again. Hang in there; we’re almost free from our stay-home, stay safe edicts. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore opens July 1, Pictured Rocks June 25, Isle Royale National Park June 15. Check our eshop if you need guideboo… read more

In Times Like These; Go Outdoors & Go Solo

Posted on March 20th, 2020
Joining other park systems, the Michigan DNR just announced that entry fees for state parks and trails will be suspended during the coronavirus pandemic. And to be totally safe from getting CODIV-19 the DNR recommended going solo. In the latest MichiganTrailMaps.com Trail Talk blog, Jim DuFresn… read more

Drive-in or Walk-in? In Michigan We Need Both

Posted on February 14th, 2020
Walk-in or drive-in? In Michigan there is a need for both types of access but not on the same lake. That’s the debate they’re having in the Upper Peninsula over the future of Silver Lake Basin. The latest Trail Talk blog looks at the issue and how a proposal to change access to walk-in would alter the… read more

The High Cost of a Backcountry Rescue – Who Pays?

Posted on July 12th, 2019
High water levels on Lake Michigan have doubled the cost of retrieving injured visitors along the shoreline dunes of Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore this summer. In this Trail Talk blog, Jim DuFresne wonders why are the rescued so shocked at the cost with many refusing to pay the $2,800 tab. If they… read more

Georeferencing, Smartphones and the Future of Trail Maps

Posted on June 10th, 2019
MichiganTrailMaps.com is proud to announce the addition of georeferenced maps for smartphones to its stable of trail maps. Following is a Trail Talk blog by Jim DuFresne on why we did it and how to download the new maps. But DuFresne also wondered if hikers and backpackers need or even want all this te… read more

Hard to Delete a Trail Like Valley View

Posted on March 14th, 2019
In a park known for great beaches, spectacular views and towering sand dunes, the Valley View Trail in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore had none of those. Yet when the decision was made not to reopen this short, obscure trail after the 2015 wind storms, we lost a lot.  Read the latest Michiga… read more
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