Well, I was hoping to schedule this one earlier in the Spring but too many conflicts. So, we are going to try a Memorial Weekend Hang at French Farm Lake. There is easy access via French Farm Lake Road. There are several free campsites (dispersed camping permit) and the North Country Trail runs right through the campground. The Dark Sky Park, Wilderness State Park, and Mackinaw City are all within a few miles. No hiking in required but lots of great hikes in the area.
French Farm Lake has no facilities whatsoever so you will need to plan for water and toilet (I will probably bring a privy we can dig a hole for and share but better to plan for your own just in case). It is a very woodsy site so there should be plenty of places to hang. The best way to get there is to exit 75 at Mackinaw City and take Central Ave. west until it ends at Wilderness Park Drive. Turn left there and head south until the road makes a 90 degree turn at Trails End Road. Turn left on Trails End and then take an immediate right onto French Farm Lake Rd.
For being as close as it is to Mackinaw City, it is a very remote and primitive location. There are no houses on the lake or the road going in to the site. The boat launch is just a dirt parking lot. There is no dock and I don't remember seeing any concrete even. Most activity on the lake is fishing and maybe some duck hunting and not much of that. The only amenities the sites have are some fire circles and those are just rocks that former campers put together in a circle. Besides that, there are some posts for hanging up the dispersed camping permits. Most of the sites are very far away from each other so no worries about noisy neighbors.
The road is somewhere between a dirt road and a two track. It is quite a ways in but keep going straight and eventually you will start to see a few posts with site numbers on them (I think there are 6 and they are spaced a long way apart) I am hoping to get the sites all the way at the end of the road past the boat launch which would make a good parking area. When you get to the boat launch there is a two track that goes to the right which leads to the last sites. I will be heading up after work on Friday so should get there about 5:00. Anyone who wants to get there earlier in the week, please try and grab those last two sites for us.
As far as food, the plan is byo mostly with a pot luck/bbq on Saturday night. I will bring charcoal and a grill to fit over the fire pit. Bring what you want to grill and something to share chips, beans, dessert, etc). I will be camping with my 3 year old so will have my little camper (will do my napping in the hammock). I will have all my cooking gear and a two burner propane stove, coffee pot and coffee. Looking forward to some relaxing time in the woods. I do have access to a big tarp and could bring that if the weather looks like rain.
Anyway, this is purely a casual affair so anyone is welcome to join. If anyone wants to do an overnight hike on the NTC we can provide some shuttle services too. Come park at the campground and let us know where you want to be dropped off. Then you can just hike back to French Farm Lake.
Hope you can make it!
Dirk
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