This trip easily goes into my top five favorite destinations. North Manitou Island sits just off the west coast of Michigan in Lake Michigan. It's accessed from the small harbor town of Leland by ferry which runs between the mainland and the island twice daily during the summer months. The island is like a giant playground for anyone who loves the outdoors. On the ferry ride over we rode along side other serious backpackers going to hike the trail system that circumvents the island and Manitou Lake in the center of it's namesake island. We also saw casual campers with massive loads not looking to trek more than a few miles from the dock where they would set up a base and either day hike or lay on the sandy beach listening to the waves crash into the island's shore.

Once on land my wife and I along with two of our good friends, Elliott and Joy set out for a three day hike around the entire island. We headed south on very easy, level trails and finally bushwhacked for several miles to a secluded perch not on any of the trails (more details on that campsite in my BACKPACKER magazine writeup). Throughout this entire trip we were rewarded with amazing views of Lake Michigan... after all we are on an island and you don't have to go very far in any direction to see the lake.