The 6.5 miles of trails on Power Island are composed of short segments that can be combined for a nearly endless variety of loops from the park’s dock. But for all practical purposes, the trail network is composed of a perimeter loop that follows the shoreline and has very little climbing, and the trails that climb up and over the ridge that dominates the island’s interior.

Perimeter Loop

This 3.1-mile route follows the shoreline, provides plenty of views and access to beaches on West Grand Traverse Bay, and includes historic Bassett Island. From the park dock, you begin at Post 1 and follow the trail in a clockwise direction. At Mile 0.6, you arrive at Post 6, marking the junction to scenic South Point Loop. A long series of steps descends towards the shoreline along this loop, and another set allows you to reach the water itself and the sweeping views at the southeast corner of the island. South Point continues to skirt the shoreline just above the bay and at Mile 1 merges into the West Beach Trail.

Parts of this wide trail follow a 1903 logging road, providing for scenic and easy hiking. Post 10 at Mile 1.3 is where you head west to reach beautiful West Beach. North Shore Trail continues from here as a foot path that remains close to the shore, weaving in and out of the forest to views of the bay until reaching Post 13 at Mile 2.

A side trip to Bassett Island is highly recommended, even if you’re not planning to camp there. When water levels are high, Bassett is a true island, but in recent years, a narrow isthmus has allowed hikers to reach it and still keep their boots dry.  It’s a quarter mile to the island, and the views along this narrow strip of sand are excellent, with wetlands on one side and a beach on the other.

At the turn of the century, Bassett Island was the site of a two-story dance pavilion that revelers from Traverse City reached by steamships. They flocked up the bay for raucous dances that went late into the night as well as movie screenings, picnics, and social gatherings. And legend has it that Henry Ford kicked baseball slugger Babe Ruth off the island following a drunken escapade one night. Today, the island is a quiet spot with five campsites, a vault toilet, and nice views, but no dance hall.

Bassett Island Trail heads south from Post 13 to the park dock that is reached within a mile. At Post 14, you can add a half-mile side trip to climb North Bluff to Eagle Nest Lookout, passing some nice views along the way. Ironically, there are now views at Eagle Nest as the foliage has long since filled in.

Ridge Loop

There are four bluff trails that skirt the island\'s interior ridge, and this 2.2-mile loop from the park dock includes three of them. You pick up the first, South Bluff Trail at Post 5 and follow the foot path to the south end of the West Bluff Trail at Post 9, a walk of less than a mile. To many hikers, the rugged West Bluff Trail is the most interesting route in the park. The trail is a series of climbs and descents over undulating terrain, often the steep edge of a bluff, with views of the bay. It ends at Post 22.  You can bypass this challenging section by following Center Trail instead to the post.

Continue north for Eagle Nest Lookout at Post 20, where, to the dismay of many, there is neither breathtaking scenery nor a nest in sight. But the post marks the junction to the North Bluff Trail, which quickly passes sweeping views of the island’s north end and Bowers Harbor in the distance. The loop is completed by descending to the Short Loop, a wide path that was once part of an interpretive trail.