Experience the Nordhouse Dunes Exploring the Dunes Camping in the Dunes Wildlife in the Dunes
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Experience the Nordhouse Dunes Exploring the Dunes Camping in the Dunes Wildlife in the Dunes Camping is permitted throughout the This wilderness is a birdwatcher’s paradise, wilderness with a few restrictions. To with bald eagles soaring overhead, and protect the fragile environment and to songbirds and waterfowl flocking to the maintain solitude and wilderness character, area. Many mammals occupy the Nordhouse Dunes, including raccoon, coyote, beaver, campsites must be more than 100 feet from fox, white-tailed deer and black bear. A trails, 200 feet from Nordhouse Lake and small lake provides habitat for amphibians. 400 feet from Lake Michigan. Developed These residents adapt for survival in this camping is available at the nearby Lake harsh environment, with intense sun, little Michigan Recreation Area. Group size in the water or nutrients, and unstable terrain. wilderness is limitedFire Safetyto 10 or fewer. In the wilderness are 10 miles of trail that take you through hemlock and hardwoods. ◊ Dense forests cover rolling hills and give way to open stretches of sandy beach and ◊ Minimize Campfire Impacts. Use camp towering dunes carved by wind, water and ◊stoves and keep fires small. time. Lake Michigan’s blue-green waters lap ◊ Never leave a campfire unattended. gently at the shore during the summer and ◊ Campfires are prohibited on the beach. Do not burn driftwood. violently reshape the dunes each winter. Piping Plover Small evergreens and flowering plants Be sure that fires are cold to the touch sprout from the sand where the wind is before leaving. calm, their roots holding the sand in place. Here, rain, high water and snowmelt collect Two species found in this wilderness are in pools of wetlands, providing an oasis for iconic to this area, and are found only in the dune’s many residents. Many plants and the coastal dune ecosystem of Michigan. animals from north and south exist here in a The piping plover, a small shorebird, nests diverse habitat found nowhere else on earth. in cobbled, sandy beaches. It is federally endangered due to habitat loss and human The 3-mile walk along the shoreline to disturbance. Pitcher’s thistle, a federally Ludington State Park may offer a glimpse of threatened plant, takes five or more years a shipwreck in the lake. Visitors may find a to reproduce, requires mostly open areas Petoskey stone, fossilized six-sided coral, to grow, and is easily outcompeted by non- lying on the shore. native invasive plants. History of the Dunes Contact Information The Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area Website: www.fs.usda.gov/hmnf United States Department of Agriculture encompasses 3,450 acres of National [email protected] Forest Service Forest Email: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ System lands designated by huronmanisteenfs/ Nordhouse CongressAs recently in as 1987. 16,000 years ago glaciers covered the shoreline along what is now Toll Free: 1-800-821-6263 Dunes Lake Michigan. hen the glaciers, melted, Manistee Ranger Station they left behind a mess of boulders, sand, Phone: 231-723-2211/TTY: 711+phone # Wilderness Area clay, gravel and W . Over time the rocks and boulders were Supervisor’s Office eroded, leaving behindother materials sand. Phone: 231-775-2421/TTY: 711+phone # The sand was moved around by wind, creating small mounds, called hummocks. As the wind pushed more sand around the mounds grew until dunes were formed. The dunes along the Lake Michigan, shoreline are the largest collection of freshwater dunes in the world. Dunes Lake Nipissing, one of the early stages of what is now Lake Michigan, was 25 to 30 National Forests feet higher than Lake Michigan. When the water level dropped it left behind several remnants of ancient bays that are now coastal lakes, including, nearby Fees Hamlin Lake. Recreation fees are required The Nordhouse Dunes are part of the at most day-use sites and campgrounds. Check Ludington Dune ecosystem, a series bulletin boards for fees and Wilderness Trail of U shaped, or parabolic, depressions in information. a sand dune created when wind destabilizes- the dune. The Ludington You do not need a permit or reservation to Dune Ecosystem also includes Lake visit the wilderness. Rservations for Lake Michigan Recreation Area and Ludington Michigan Recreation Area can be made State Park. through www.recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777 (International 518-885-3639, TDD 1-877-833-6777) Huron-Manistee USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer Nordhouse Lake . Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area This is a small wilderness with something for everyone, and the continued existence of this area depends on protecting and preserving the area’s uniqueWhat You resources, Can Do geologicTo Help: features, and wildlife. To help protect the dunes visitors are asked to follow Leave No Trace (lnt.org) principles. ◊Plan Ahead and Prepare. ◊ Dispose of Waste Properly. Pack It In ◊ Respect Wildlife. Pack It Out. Don’t leave trash or food. To ensure biodegradable; Do not follow or approach solitude for your group and others, and soap and don’t wash dishes or people nearTo wildlife. Observe from a distance. Never feed to minimize impact on the resource, sourcesprotect waterof wat sources,er. use animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, travel in small groups. Group size is alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to ◊Travellimited anto d10 Camp people. on Bring Durable a map, ◊ Leave What You Bury Find. human waste 6 to 8 predators and other dangers. Protect wildlife. and Surfaces.compass and GPS. Bring a water filter. inches deep. Bring a trowel to dig a cat hole. ◊your Be Considerate food by storing of rations Other and Visitors trash securely.. Leave rocks, plants, Keep pets on a leash or leave them at home Stay on established trails. driftwood and other natural objects as you Respect Camp at established campsites; keep find them. Avoid introducing or other visitors and protect the quality of camps small. Camp at least 400 feet transporting non-native species. Do not their experiences. Let nature's sounds from Lake Michigan and 200 feet from build structures or furniture, or dig prevail; leave radios and stereos at home. Nordhouse Lake and nearby streams. Camp away from trails and other visitors. trenches. Nurnberg Trailhead - From Manistee ◊ Travel south on US-31 for 7 miles. ◊ Turn right and travel west on W. Forest Trail Rd. for 2.5 miles. Latitude Longitude ◊ Turn left and travel south on Quarterline Rd. for 1.5 miles. ◊ Turn right and travel west on Nurnberg Rd. Trailheads for 6.5 miles. Fee Area Water Drinking Restrooms Tables Picnic Shelter Picnic Grills Pedestal Rings Fire Playground Deck Observation Swimming Lake Michigan Recreation Area 44.087500 86.244444 Nurnberg Trailhead • • • ◊ Travel south on US-31 for 7 miles. ◊ Turn right and travel west on W. Forest Trail • 44.120833 86.391111 Lake MI Rec Area - Day Use • • • • • • • • Rd. for 8 miles. 44.119167 86.427500 ◊ W. Forest Trail Rd. becomes FR 5629. Lake MI Rec Area - Beach Access • • • • • Continue west on FR 5629. WILDERNESS REGULATIONS NORDHOUSE DUNES WILDERNESS AREA These regulations meet wilderness management objectives and will be enforced. • Group size is limited to ten people or fewer. 14 13 18 • Campsites and fires must be more than 400 feet from Lake Michigan and 400 feet inside the wilderness boundary, 200 feet from Nordhouse Lake, and 100 feet from trails. ![ • Mechanical and motorized vehicles and equipment are not permitted; this includes Lake Michigan !i !: drones and all wheeled devices. Wheeled coolers, bikes, snowmobiles,wagons, and Recreation Area Lake Michigan !5 Rec Area Trails carts are prohibited. ! Beach fires are prohibited. Driftwood, dune-wood, pine knots, and shipwreck timbers 0.2 24 w np 19 must not be burned or removed from the ilderness. ! W 23 e standing 0.3 s Cutting trees or other vegetation live or dead is prohibited, use only dead ! np 5972 t 0.2 F Arrowhead Trail o and down wood for campfires. re s • Possession of glass containers is prohibited. t 0.8 T 0.3 np r • o Lake Michigan a Pack ut trash. Do not burn trash. i 5356 il ! l • to eight ra Bury human waste six inches deep. e T dl 5629 • Use of horses or other pack animals is prohibited in the Nordhouse Dunes. ! Mid 0.7 • Fireworks are illegal on National Forest System lands and in the wilderness. ! 0.1 l i a • Pets must be on a leash. Lake Michigan Trail r T prohibited and 0.4 g • Public nudity is illegal. n 1.2 i ! s Nordhouse Trails Parking is 26 i ip 25 0.6 5356 30 ! Trail Junction N e 5 Picnic Site 0.5 g Roads d 27 E Observation Platform s [ l Wilderness Boundary i ! e d a R 0.4 n r Ludington State Park T en 9 Developed Campground E N u re o D e G 1.4 Private Property rd g h : Developed Group Camping d o ! i Intermittent Streams u R s a Legend e 0 0.25 0.5 1 D m Nordh Nordhouse o u o ! ! Miles n g u l 0.2 Lake e s Bicycle 1.1 A g e s n i L T s a r s k a 0.6 5 i . e i Cross Country Skiing ouse p l 0 h i ht T 0.5 ig r N t L m y) a in o r 34 i o fr da l 35 Hiking P s n 36 le ile ou 33 31 ub m B .1 ss (2 ne Horseback Riding Big Sa er !i Wild Nurnberg Nurnberg Rd Horseback Riding and Hiking !o 32 Trailhead 5707 Rivers & Streams 5705 5706 5248 5704 5708 WildernessBoundary 05 04 03 USFSownership 02 01 06 Ludington State Park Lost Lakes DNR Ownership Hamlin Lake 0 0.25 0.5 1 1.5 Miles.