{"id":3904,"date":"2015-06-28T18:52:23","date_gmt":"2015-06-28T18:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mymichigantrips.com\/wp\/?p=3904"},"modified":"2017-02-03T02:36:39","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T02:36:39","slug":"young-state-park-camping-hiking-and-mountain-biking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymichigantrips.com\/wp\/young-state-park-camping-hiking-and-mountain-biking\/","title":{"rendered":"Young State Park – Camping, Hiking and Mountain Biking"},"content":{"rendered":"

Young State Park – Boyne City, MI – June 24 to 28, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

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It was an easy 30 minute drive from Petoskey to Young State Park in Boyne City, Michigan.<\/p>\n

About Young State Park:<\/strong> Young State Park protects 560 acres of of gently rolling terrain, lowlands and cedar swamp near the east end of Lake\u00a0Charlevoix. There are 240 modern campsites spread between 3 different campgrounds. \u00a0The interior of the park can be explored on 7.3 miles of hiking trails. However, the main attraction is the 1\/4 mile of soft sand beach that starts in the day use area and continues along the edge of the Spruce Campground.<\/p>\n

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The Young State Park Campground<\/h5>\n

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Our home for the next 4 days was campsite 107 in the Spruce Campground. \u00a0The site was in a good location at the end of the first loop next to the mini cabin. \u00a0It was only a short walk to the beach and the camp-store.<\/p>\n

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When I made our reservation I saw on the map that the playground was right behind the site. \u00a0What I didn’t realize was that the slide for the older part of the play area was pretty much right next to our fire pit. \u00a0It was nice for keeping an eye on our kids, but there was also more traffic than we would have liked right behind us.<\/p>\n

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About 150 feet further behind the site there was a more modern play structure.<\/p>\n

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The Young State Park concession building was built by the\u00a0Civilian Conservation Corps in 1930. \u00a0It has to be one of the best stocked camp stores in the entire Michigan State Park system. \u00a0It centrally located in the day use area between the 3 different campgrounds.<\/p>\n

The Young State Park Map.<\/p>\n

Download or print this map.<\/a><\/p>\n

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It was a really nice afternoon so we made quick work of setting up camp and headed down to the beach. \u00a0This is one of the best beaches that you will find on an inland lake. \u00a0The shallow sandy bottom is perfect for swimming and the water in Lake Charlevoix is always clear and warmer than the Big Lake. \u00a0It was a busy afternoon and it looked like there were several large groups that were spending the week vacationing together.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>\"\"For dinner we grilled some chicken kabobs. \u00a0Can you tell by the girls faces that this is one of our favorite camping meals?<\/p>\n

Last year we switched from propane to a charcoal grill. \u00a0So far we have been very happy with our Coleman Table Top Charcoal Grill<\/a>\"\". \u00a0We looked at a lot of different grills, but this one seemed to be the most portable because of the shape, folding legs and cover latch.<\/p>\n

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The next morning the weather turned on us. \u00a0It was cloudy and there was a chance of scattered showers all day. \u00a0We slept in, made a big breakfast and then did some exploring around the State Park on our bikes. \u00a0After lunch we went for a drive along Lake Charlevoix and then walked around downtown Boyne City. \u00a0On the way back to the campsite we also stopped at Family Fare to restock our food supplies for the rest of the week. \u00a0 We were lucky, the radar showed showers all around us, but we stayed dry.<\/p>\n

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After dinner the radar looked like it was clearing up so we drove over to Boyne Mountain to play the disc golf course. \u00a0We did this course over others nearby mainly for the experience. \u00a0The course starts up on the ski hill and you can ride the chairlift to get to the top. \u00a0The summer chair lift ride\u00a0<\/a>is free if you are staying at the resort and $7 if you are not. \u00a0We didn’t realize it was going to be this expensive, but the nice guy at the activity desk gave us a reduced rate for the family.<\/p>\n

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The mandatory family pic at the top.<\/p>\n

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Overall it was a pretty fun course to play and we had it all to ourselves. \u00a0Some of the holes were a little hard for the kids so it was slow going. \u00a0The course loops back down around to the bottom of the hill along a paved bike path. \u00a0We played 6 holes and then it started to sprinkle. \u00a0The kids wanted to ride the chairlift again so we climbed back to the top and downloaded.<\/p>\n

Find the current course conditions on DG Course Review.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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We got a little wet but on the way back down, but then the sun came out and there was a rainbow ending at the bottom of hill.<\/p>\n

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There wasn’t a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but we did find Pierson’s Pub and some good appetizers.<\/p>\n

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We made it back to Young Sate Park just in time for the best sunset of the trip.<\/p>\n

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The next morning we drove into Boyne City for some coffee and donuts from Johan’s Bakery.<\/p>\n

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Avalanche Park<\/h5>\n

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After powering up with sugar and caffeine we drove to the south edge of town to climb Avalanche Peak. \u00a0Avalanche Park is 320 acres and has a 2.2 mile hiking trail, 4.2 mile mountain bike trail, disc golf course and scenic overlook of Lake Charaleviox.<\/p>\n

Here is the history of Avalanche Park from the information board: “In the early 1950’s Mayor Sam Arbuckle felt strongly that the youth of Boyne City should have a local ski run. \u00a0In response the city leased the property at this location, which was then known as McIntyre’s Hill. \u00a0Volunteer\u00a0labor was organized to help clear the hill and hand grade the runs, which were too steep for farm tractors to operate on. \u00a0The first ski lift was a rope tow system that was built by local car mechanics and powered by a rebuilt car motor, \u00a0The city furnished the material for the first warming house and again all of the labor to compete the project was donated by local volunteers.<\/em><\/p>\n

The ski run was a success\u00a0and well used by the community. A club house with restrooms and a short order lunch room was soon built, the rope tow was lengthened and a chair lift was added. \u00a0In 1960 the property, which was owned by the city, was sold to David E. Cook, who expanded the ski operations and renamed Barn Mountain. \u00a0Subsequently, the club house suffered fire damage, which was never repaired , causing ski operations at Barn Mountain to cease.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1969 Everett Kircher of Boyne Resorts negotiated the purchase of the property, \u00a0In 1977 the property was donated to the Nature Conservancy, which in the early 1980’s sold the property back to the city for $1.00. \u00a0However, by that time the deed to the property contained restrictions that prevent the property from being either used for downhill skiing or further developed. Since its return to city ownership, the property has been know as Avalanche Park.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Park is about 320 acres and contains an ice skating rink, along with hiking, biking and cross-county ski trails. \u00a0the front hill is approximately\u00a0394 feet high, with 462 steps up the front that leads to an overlook which provides a breathtaking view of Lake Charlevoix.”<\/em><\/p>\n

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Heading off on the well worn path to the bottom of the stairs.<\/p>\n

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Taking a quick break about 3\/4 of the way up the 462 steps.<\/p>\n

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Trying to recreate a picture from a previous visit.<\/a><\/p>\n

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The panoramic view of Lake Charleviox from the overlook. \u00a0Click the photo to see larger.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Before heading back down we relaxed in the shade and soaked in the view for a while.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>\"\"Download or print the Avalanche Park brochure and trail map >><\/a><\/p>\n

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We found this and many of our other favorite short hikes in: Best Hikes with Children in Michigan<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

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It was really warming up and after climbing the steps everyone was ready to get to the beach for the rest of the day. \u00a0I still did not have my fill of Avalanche Park so I jumped on the bike and rode back over from Young State Park. \u00a0The mountain bike tail \u00a0starts off the east end of the parking lot and is a loop that is just over 4 miles. \u00a0It winds around and climbs through a nice forest on the back side of the peak ending at the overlook. \u00a0From the overlook it is quick drop back down to the tailhead. \u00a0This time I decided to turn around and try going back down the way I came up. \u00a0Doing it this way lengthens the ride and was more enjoyable than just bombing down the hill to the end. \u00a0The total distance for the ride was just over 16 miles.<\/p>\n

I heard that improvements are being planned for this tail and it will be interesting to see what they come up with.<\/p>\n

For more pictures of the Avalanche Park MTB Trail \u00a0check out this video from a previous visit >><\/a><\/p>\n

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It was another nice day on the shore of Lake Charlevoix.<\/p>\n

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The kids wanted to use the GoPro Camera<\/a>\"\"\u00a0in the water so I put it in the floating case and set it on the time-lapse setting. \u00a0We end up deleting most of the photos, but there are usually at a least a few keepers.<\/p>\n

Here you can see the nice sandy bottom and clear water at Young State Park.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>\"\"One more of our favorites from the\u00a0GoPro<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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It is a good idea to have the GoPro Floaty Backdoor<\/a>\"\"\u00a0when using it in and around the water.<\/p>\n

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After reading on the beach for a while I decided to take the paddle board out around the corner to the east end of the State Park to see if the upside down tree forest was still standing. \u00a0I was surprised to see many of the trees were still there. \u00a0I thought that the shifting ice in the winter would have knocked them all down.<\/p>\n

After the paddle boarding it was back to chillaxing. We brought a bunch of snacks and beverages so we could stay on the beach and have happy hour while everyone else was heading up for dinner. \u00a0It was the best part of the day, but soon our stomachs told us it was time to head up for some real food and a campfire.<\/p>\n

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The Hill Nature Preserve<\/h5>\n

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The next morning we took a short drive to the Hill Nature Preserve on the north edge of the Boyne City limits. \u00a0The Hill is part of the Little Traverse Conservancy and the preserve protects 119 acres of rolling hills with a mix of hardwoods, pine plantations and open meadows.<\/p>\n

From the LTC website<\/a>: “In 1966, the families of Dr. Gene Herzog, Dr. John Herzog, and Dr. Lou Mrstik purchased this property for their family to have an \u201cup north\u201d destination. It was used for family gatherings and enjoyment for several decades. In 1996, the families donated a conservation easement to protect it from future development and in 2011, the land was donated to LTC as a nature preserve.”<\/em><\/p>\n

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The Hill Preserve can be explored on 2.5 miles of trails. There are 4 stacked short loops that are accessed by a connector trail. \u00a0We followed the outside of all the loops in the clockwise direction.<\/p>\n

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The path was mowed through some of the open meadow areas.<\/p>\n

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Passing through the Red Pines.<\/p>\n

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The panoramic view of Lake Charlevoix.<\/p>\n

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From the overlook it is an easy walk back to the trailhead. \u00a0The Hill is a nice little preserve that has enough variety to make for an interesting short hike.<\/p>\n

Directions to The Hill Preserve.<\/a><\/p>\n

Find a map and more information at michigantrialmaps.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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After the hike we decided to go for a drive. \u00a0We had never been in the Wallon Lake area so we decided to check it out. \u00a0On the east end of the lake there is a nice little shopping area that is anchored by the marina and\u00a0Barrel Back Restaurant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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There just happened to be a water ski show going on out in front of the restaurant. \u00a0We decided that it was a good reason to stay for lunch and we were lucky to get a table right by the window of the open air dining area.<\/p>\n