Kathleen Lavey

Lansing State Journal

Laura Rotegard came to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore last spring to serve as its superintendent.

From Arizona.

So living next to Lake Superior – one of the world’s largest lakes – was a 180-degree turn.

“It’s so clean and so clear that you can see down 25 feet with no problem,” she said. “It’s almost a Caribbean color. People are always amazed when they see the lake, how clear and how colorful the water is.”

Throw in pristine forests, natural waterfalls, lighthouses and the stunning rock formations that give the park its name, and you can begin to understand why more than 700,000 people came from around the world to visit the park last year.

Pictured Rocks stretches more than 40 miles along Lake Superior from Grand Marais in the east to Munising on the western end.

The biggest draw: the park’s namesake rock formations. The sandstone cliffs along the lakeshore are shaped by water, ice and wind and stained by minerals to present colors from pale buff to tan, green and orange.

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Key sites bear whimsical names such as Miner’s Castle, Lovers’ Leap, Rainbow Cave and Chapel Rock.

Some of the rock formations – Miner’s Castle, for example – can be seen from overlooks with nearby parking lots.

But the best way to see the formations is probably from a boat. Visitors can take a boat tour out of Munising or take a guided tour in a sea kayak (conventional river kayaks are no match for the vast lake).

“We’ve seen a double-digit increase in that use in the past three years,” Rotegard said of kayaking. Three companies – up from two – will offer guided tours this year, but those tours come with a safety advisory.

“This is not kayaking 101. This is more like a graduate-level course in kayaking,” Rotegard said. “It’s beautiful, but be smart and have the right size boat and wear your life jacket.”

If you’d rather swim than boat, the park is full of beaches, and even Lake Superior’s legendarily chilly waters are refreshing on a hot summer day. The Weather Channel named Sand Point Beach on the Munising end of the park one of the “top 5 summer beaches in America” a few years back. Rotegard said Sand Point is popular because the water on that end of the park is a little shallower and warmer than other swimming spots.

Pictured Rocks also includes the secluded and beautiful Twelvemile Beach, which has views of the rocks and the Grand Sable Dunes. There’s a campground there, too.

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Park visitors also can hike through the park’s interior, which is spectacular in its own way, with towering trees, rocks, lakes and streams. Day hiking has also increased in popularity.

The Upper Peninsula’s long evenings make hiking after dinner feasible, as long as you have plenty of mosquito repellent.

“Go out for an evening hike when it’s beautiful and quieter,” Rotegard said.

Walk the mile or so from the parking lot out to the Au Sable Light Station, a historic lighthouse, and you get great sunrise or sunset views of the vast lake.

Because, when it comes right down to it, the water makes the park what it is.

"There isn't a nice day when you don't want to be on the water," Rotegard said. "It's just a hypnotic thing that goes on with the lake."

Event

2016 marks Pictured Rocks’ 50th anniversary. The park will host a public event Oct. 15 in Munising; details will be announced.

Learn more at www.nps.gov/piro.