Mountain biking in the wilderness

Nurnberg Lake in the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness

This past Sunday Mary and I went north to one of our favorite places in the world. We camped at the Lake Michigan Recreation Area, halfway between Ludington and Manistee and right next to the Nordhouse Dunes National Wilderness. We brought our mountain bikes and went riding along the old fire trails and dirt roads. It wasn't particularly strenuous but it was interesting, especially when we rode past a guy that was sighting in his rifle.

One of the spots I've always wanted to see up here in Nurnberg Lake. It's more like a large pond, but the only way to get to it is either by hiking or mountain bike. The lake is at the end of the wilderness area. If you go a couple hundred yards farther south you are in Ludington State Park. We parked our bikes along the shore of the lake and then walked along the "beach". The water level was very low, which is surprising since the Lake Michigan level is very high. After a few moments of sitting in the sun we got back on our bikes and returned to our campsite, ending up with 13.5 miles of riding.

Sunset on Lake Michigan

We finished the day by watching the sunset, having a delightful dinner of Dinty Moore beef stew, and caught an incredible sky show once it got dark. The moon had not risen and there is very little light pollution up there. We were able to lay out on the beach and gaze at the Milky Way and millions of stars. The most amazing thing was that the stars were so bright we could see a little bit, even without the moon. It was a great ending to a great day.