PEOPLE GO IN…..BUT THEY DON’T COME OUT.

Well, okay, some people come out. But the rumors and legends about “Michigan’s Kingdom of Darkness”, a/k/a Gogomain Swamp, still permeate throughout the state.

Gogomain Swamp, in the Upper Peninsula, is near the Gogomain River and an actual village called Gogomain, which doesn’t seem to show up on maps.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the forest within the swamp is so thick, that the temperature is 30 degrees hotter than outside its perimeter. The thickness of the woods was emphasized by a hunter who said, "I normally hunt with a .220 Swift, but you can't in the Gogomain -- you can only see 35 yards. A rifle is no good at all for hunting in the Gogomain Swamp." An article from a 1964 edition of the Sault Ste. Marie Evening News states that attempting to map out Gogomain Swamp was too difficult – more so than mapping the Florida Everglades. The wilderness within the swamp area is so dense and extensive, that inexperienced people who have ventured into the swamp have become disoriented, got lost, and wound up dying before they found their way out.

Aside from getting lost and dying within the bog, there are plenty of wild beasts to keep an eye out for: bears, bobcats, cougars, coyotes, panthers, wild boar, and wolves. Locals believe some of these wild animals may have killed and devoured a few unfortunate swamp visitors. PLUS, there’s always quicksand that has probably claimed its share of people and animals.

The Gogomain has no roads or buildings, even though there seem to be a handful of old-timers who claim they were born and raised within the swamp.

Any trail you find that leads back into the swamp, will probably not have a name --- these are just dirt trails that lead to nowhere or remote private property (you don’t wanna mess with any swamp people, do ya?). All trails are not very long, and you will have to get out and hike through the bog…and probably get lost if you’re in there too long. Take a compass, food, and flashlight. You’ll need ‘em.

Whether you call it “Michigan’s Kingdom of Darkness” or “The Swamp of No Return”, Gogomain Swamp is no place for the faint-hearted or meek. Only those bravehearts or experienced woodsfolk should enter.

You have been warned.