Bewabic State Park & Just Beyond It
Our fourth park in our U.P. Michigan & Wisconsin 2020 Adventure was Bewabic State Park, located near Crystal Falls, Michigan. Although only 315 acres in size, there are 129 campsites – and it is a fantastic park featuring structures built by the Civil Works Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps and of course, the beautiful, Fortune Lake. We camped here during the middle of the week and there was plenty of availability; even at peak fall color season.
We were quite surprised the ranger station had us walk inside vs. talk through the window (covid-19 pandemic closed so much down), but I masked up and went in to check into our site.
Our site number was 53 and the ranger let us know she’d only be there for another hour or two so if we needed wood, come on back. Our new Micro Lite has a shorter hitch than our Outback did, which makes it pull extremely well, but it’s challenging to get the tailgate open enough to pick up wood on our way in.
So, we headed up the hill to our campsite. Be aware of the moguls (we called them moguls…lots of large bumps …) on the drive in and out…and a heck of a hill to climb too! We filled with water before setting up– excellent water pressure in this park, by the way (always great to find decent water pressure!) – and backed into our campsite, unhooked and I headed back to purchase some firewood.
Once I returned to the camper, we ventured out to look at Fortune Lake – hoping to spot a loon or two. The fall colors were absolutely stunning here. This whole trip has been near perfection when it comes to fall colors!
The gentleman who was camping nearest to it exclaimed loudly, to the whole area, that he’s been camping for 40 years and never saw anything like that!!! Wow he was worked up! It was one of those moments where you’d wished you been filming your campfire and just would have happened to capture a tree falling too.
Back to the fire…once it got roaring, we heated up our log poker stick and brought out a coffee cup to poke our beers. Beer poking typically happens in the spring, but what a lovely fall feeling it can bring as it caramelizes your beer. I would consider this the adult beverage version of a s’more.
The next morning, we were up very early and we headed out on a hike to Fortune Lake and then back through the forest. This trail seemed to be the longest trail within this state park. Bewabic State Park is a smaller state park, currently at 315 acres, but it’s a hidden gem in our eyes with well over 100 campsites, most of which are relatively private.
Along our hike we discovered a variety of mushrooms, stunning lake views, and a couple different “That Tree”s
Once we returned to our campsite, we whipped up bacon and eggs in our enameled cast iron skillet on the Nu-Wave. The Nu-Wave is super handy when camping on an electric site, because you can cook outside. No greasy bacon smell in the camper!
Glidden Lake
Next, we decided to adventure to a brewery, but hit up a nature preserve along the way. Thus bringing us to Glidden Lake and Lake Mary Plains Pathway. Here we discovered a board walk, which was partially flooded in the bog – but it gave Amanda her first opportunity to hug a Tamarack Tree. As we continued up the trail, we came upon more flooding which gave us the opportunity to turn around and revisit the boardwalk again.
Alpha, Michigan
The village of Alpha, Michigan has a fantastic brewery: Alpha Michigan Brewing Company – with a great slogan “Craft Brewed on the Circle” – Alpha is also the smallest village in America with a brewery! So much history and fame in this community because the village also features the oldest traffic circle in Michigan!
Alpha has historic signs and a unique, green water tower. During the late 1800’s iron ore explorations began here and at least three ore mines were operated in the area. Alpha was incorporated in 1914 although mining activities diminished by the 1960’s. This village is definitely on our “must return” list.
We enjoyed our brews in the beer garden. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, we were unable to drink indoors, but we arrived just as they opened and local customers began filling the patio.
Local Folks & Their Creativity:
It was interesting to hear what folks were ordering (locals tend to know the best brews!) and to hear people giving suggestions to the staff about how once winter arrives (in a few weeks) they should invite people to bring their own portable ice fishing shelters (I like the term, ice shacks) to keep the beer flowing on the patio. It was so fun to hear out-of-the-box ideas to help keep places like this open during such an unbelievable time. You could tell there was pride for this town and for this brewery.
Back at the camper we whipped up jalapeno poppers and t-bone steaks for supper. When we awakened the next morning, it was time to pack up and head to our next state park on our Anniversary Adventure: Brunet Island State Park. Cole’s brother is going to join us to camp here for two nights. The drive was absolutely gorgeous with all the trees changing for the season.
Have you visited Bewabic State Park? If so, let us know your favorite things in and just beyond the park in the comments!
Thank you for visiting us here at Just Beyond Parks!