From M-26, opposite the Shoreline Resort in Eagle Harbor, head south on Eagle Harbor Shortcut Road and within a third of a mile pull into the trailhead parking area marked by a large Nature Conservancy sign. A two-track heads west from here and at Mile 0.2 you arrive at a sandpit at the base of a large sandy hill.

Let the climbing begin!

At the top of the sandy hill you resume following the two-track and at Mile 0.8 follow the left-hand fork at a junction. This two-track immediately descends to a bridgeless Cedar Creek. Cross it carefully and then resume climbing on the other side. The next 1.2 miles are uneventful; a steady ascent of more than 300 feet that remains in the woods. Halfway along it you enter the preserve and at this point the path is officially known as Nicole Bloom Memorial Trail, named for a Michigan Tech student and avid environmentalist who died in a mountain climbing accident the summer she graduated.

At Mile 2 you again follow the left-hand fork at a junction to remain on a rutted two-track that ascends steeply up the ridge another 160 feet. Suddenly you break out of the trees at what is commonly referred to as False Top. Some people occasionally mistaken the 1,266-foot highpoint for Mt. Baldy, but not often. Along with your first views of Lake Superior, you can clearly see Mt. Baldy rising above you to the east.

You descend back into the trees briefly and then make your final assault on the mountain. The hike ends as a stroll along a rocky ridge to the rounded dome that is Mt. Baldy's 1,335-foot peak, reached at Mile 3.4. On the south side the ridge drops as a precipitous 230-foot cliff; on the north side Mt. Baldy descend more gently as a forested slope towards Lake Bailey.

On a clear day the views are simply stunning, more than rivaling the famed Lake of the Clouds overlook in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. What makes Mt. Baldy so spectacular is that the view is 360 degrees, a vantage point that allows you to see practically the entire tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

The great view at the top is the result of a habitat rarely found in Michigan; an alpine bald community where the plant life is sparse and low to the ground. What few oak trees survive up here are stunted and barely knee high, looking all the world like bonsai trees.

On Mt. Baldy you can sit on the edge of a sheer-sided bluff or lay in a grassy slope and spend hours gazing at the world below you. To the south you can see Mt. Bohemia and Mt. Houghton rising from the shores of Lake Superior. To the west you can spot the ribbon that is the Brockway Mountain Drive. To the north there is Lake Bailey right below you and the rugged shoreline of Lake Superior. To the east you can view the entire town of Eagle Harbor and if the day is clear Isle Royale floating above a sea of blue on the horizon.

Everywhere you turn there is a wide expanse to ponder.

Might as well plop down and spend the afternoon here, secure in the knowledge that the return hike is all downhill.