Exploring Grand Island

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The definitive bush guide to the Grand Island National Recreation Area, which is located along Lake Superior's south shore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, just offshore of Munising, Michigan...

Exploring Grand Island

A GPS-enabled, USGS-map-based, backcountry guide to the trails, campsites, beaches, overlooks, old growth, waterfalls, historic sites, caves, & shipwrecks of the Grand Island National Recreation Area

Reviews

Preview cover

Preview page 5

Book beta

Author:

Michael Neiger

ISBN 10:

0-942057-00-7

ISBN 13:

978-0-942057-00-3

Publication date:

2012

Edition:

First

Number of pages:

Language:

English

Format:

Paperback

Binding:

Saddle stitch, staple

Cover:

Full color on heavy 13-point, matte-finish paper

Inside:

Full color on heavy 100-pound, gloss-finish paper

Size closed:

8.5" wide by 11" high

Size opened:

17" wide by 11" high

Number of USGS topographic maps:

10, full color

Number of detailed map illustrations:

19, full color

Number of detailed elevation profile illustrations:

6, full color

Suggested retail price:

$12.95 (US)

USGS quadrangle beta

Source:

U.S. Geological Survey

Scale:

1:24,000

Type:

Full color

Contour interval:

3 meters

Coordinate system:

Universal Traverse Mercator (UTM)

Coordinate grid:

1,000-meter UTM

Map datum:

North American Datum (NAD) of 1927

Quadrangle names:

Indian Town, Michigan 1984
Munising, Michigan 1985
Wood Island, Michigan 1985

Walk-in retail sales

Book World, Inc.
136 W. Washington Street
Marquette, Michigan 49855
1-906-228-9490

Down Wind Sports
514 North Third Street
Marquette, Michigan 49855
1-906-226-7112

Falling Rock Café and Bookstore
104 East Munising Avenue
Munising, Michigan 49862
1-906-387-3008

The Gift Station
101 Cedar Street
Munising, Michigan 49862
1-906-387-3013

Grand Island Ferry Service
P.O. Box 333, Wetmore, Michigan 49895
N-8016 Grand Island Landing, Munising, Michigan 49862
1-906-387-3503

Hillside Party Store
1201 W State Highway M-28
Munising, Michigan 49862
1-906-387-6000

Lakeshore Bike
505 North Lakeshore Boulevard
Marquette, Michigan 49855
1-906-228-7547

The Melstrand Store
N-8501 County Road H-58
Shingleton, Michigan 49884
1-906-452-6070

Munising Visitor Center, Kelly Marketing
109 West Superior Street
Munising, Michigan 49855
1-906-387-8310

Northern Waters Adventures
P.O. Box 314
712 W. Munising Avenue
Munising, Michigan 49862
1-906-387-2323

Paddling Michigan, Uncle Ducky Outfitters
1331 West M-28
Munising, Michigan 49862
906-228-5447

Pictured Rocks Cruies
100 City Park Drive
Box 355
Munising, Michigan 49862
1-906-387-2379

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore & Hiawatha National Forest
Interagency Visitor Center
400 East Munising Avenue
Munising, Michigan 49862
1-906-387-3700

Putvin Drug Store
119 Elm Avenue
Munising, Michigan 49862
1-906-387-2248

Snowbound Books
118 N. Third Street
Marquette, Michigan 49855
1-906-228-4448

Sports Rack Ltd
315 West Washington Street
Marquette, Michigan 49855
1-906-225-1766

Switchback Gear Exchange
209 South Front Street
Marquette, Michigan 49855
1-906-362-4327

Phone-in mail-order retail sales

Snowbound Books
118 N. Third Street
Marquette, Michigan 49855
1-906-228-4448

Online mail-order retail sales

Amazon.com
1-866-216-1072

Phone-in wholesale orders

Extreme Trail Maps
Michael Neiger
313 Jonathan Carver Road
Marquette, Michigan 49855
1-906-226-9620
mneiger@hotmail.com

Partners Publishers Group
2325 Jarco Drive
Holt, Michigan 48842
1-517-694-3205

What others are saying about Exploring Grand Island

Exploring Grand Island is a work in progress and the author welcomes your comments, corrections, and ideas regarding how future editions of this backcountry map guide can be improved at mneiger@hotmail.com

Media reviews

Developed by our friend Michael—who explored every inch of this island—this is the most detailed information on the island ever produced!
—Down Wind Sports, Marquette, Michigan, Top Ten Holiday Gifts, December 4 , 2012
A half-mile ferry ride, kayak paddle or snowmobile trip from Munising takes you to Grand Island, a place that offers everything from mountain biking to ice climbing and has as interesting a history as anywhere in Michigan.
And everything, including detailed maps of the island complete with associated GPS locations, can be found in Michael Neiger's "Exploring Grand Island," a marvelous guide to "the trails, campsites, beaches, overlooks, old growth, waterfalls, historic sites, caves and shipwrecks," as the subtitle says. You can even find the names of the 43 people (mostly Powells, Williamses and DesJardins) who lie under the gravestones in the tiny cemetery.
I wish it had been available on my many trips to the island that's among my five favorite outdoors sites in Michigan. The guide sells for $12.95 on Amazon.com and also is available from www.ExtremeTrailMaps.com
—"Outdoors 'Gotta have it': 'Exploring Grand Island,' by Eric Sharp, Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan), September 23, 2012
A new booklet is now available for those wishing to explore the Grand Island National Recreation Area more thoroughly. The guide, "Exploring Grand Island," features a wealth of physical, technical, and historical information on the island, in 16 sturdy, weather-resistant pages.
     As someone who has been visiting all reaches of the island since the time it was being sold to the federal government in the early 1990s, booklet author Michael Neiger of Marquette wished to share the various hidden gems and secrets that would not be readily found or learned in an everyday visit. "There's just so much to see and do that's off the beaten path, that unless you're with someone local or who knows the island, you would likely miss," he said. "I just really wanted to share some of the things I'd discovered in my years of coming over to the island." Neiger also feels that by increasing awareness of Grand Island's unique features, the guide would be a good way to help preserve it in its publicly-owned state. "It's always been my feeling that if people are more aware of what's there, they may be more willing to step forward to help protect it," he said.
     Neiger is an extremely experienced wilderness guide who has led all sorts of explorations and expeditions, in all sorts of seasons, throughout Michigan and Canada. As a lead investigator for Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue, he is sure to include tips on adequate planning, and staying safe around permanent or seasonal hazards on the island.
     Included in the map portions of the guide are locations of trails, campsites, public and private buildings, toilets' and picnic facilities, caves, old-growth trees, and more, all over close-up sections of U.S. Geological Survey topographical map. Each location includes a GPS coordinate, elevation, trail distance, accessibility, and in many cases, a blurb on the location's cultural significance. Another interesting feature of the booklet is the inclusion of historical event locations, along with snippets derived from newspapers and past explorers' or residents' journals. "It's a nontraditional guidebook, the next best thing to having a guide with you," Neiger said.
     Perhaps the only drawback of having so much information in 16 pages is that the print is very small, which may cause problems for explorers who have reading vision issues. One suggestion for those folks would be to purchase and insert a flat magnifying sheet right into the guide for use while out on the island.
     Neiger says he plans to create more "Extreme Maps for Extreme Trails" guides, with his next, due in 2013, of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. If the Grand Island and Pictured Rocks guides go over well, he says he will likely continue with more locations such as the Porcupine Mountains State Park, Isle Royale National Park, and perhaps even a specialized guide for passengers on the Algoma Central Railway in Ontario, Canada.
     Those interested in obtaining the Exploring Grand Island guide may visit www.extremetrailmaps.com, or look locally at the Falling Rock Cafe and Bookstore, Grand Island Ferry Service, or the Interagency Visitor Center.
—Amanda Ingraham, "New Booklet an In-depth Guide to Grand Island," The Munising News, Munising, Michigan, September 5, 2012
These are SWEET!
—Switchback Gear Exchange and Outfitter, Marquette, Michigan, September 4, 2012
Congrats to our good friend Michael Neiger...years of research has led to an amazing guide to Grand Island! Looking forward to getting out and finding some of these secret spots. One of the most detailed guides/map that we have ever seen. Be sure to stop by the store and check these out before your next Grand Island adventure.
—Down Wind Sports, Marquette, Michigan, September 4, 2012
"Exploring Grand Island" brings a wealth of information to your fingertips for those looking to achieve a deeper visiting experience and historical appreciation of the 22-square-mile island, situated in Lake Superior just northwest of Munising.
     The guide, produced by longtime wilderness guide and former Michigan State Police trooper Michael Neiger, is a GPS-enabled, U.S. Geological Survey map-based, backcountry guide to the trails, campsites, beaches, overlooks, old growth, waterfalls, historic sites, caves and shipwrecks of the Grand Island National Recreation Area.
     The laminated 16-page guide is meant to be read before a visit to the island, but it's also light enough and sized right to be able to take along. The detailed maps included in the guide are likely reason enough to bring it with you.
    "The island's natural features, scenic beauty, rich history and largely undeveloped state have made it one of the Midwest's most attractive backcountry destinations for generations," Neiger wrote in the guide. "Long a summer hunting and gathering area for Native Americans, the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co. operated the island as a public resort and game preserve from 1904 to 1959, along the lines of Mackinac Island, with transportation limited to ponies, saddle horses, horse-drawn carriages and bicycles until the 1920s."
     Since 1990, the island - which is about eight miles long by roughly five miles wide - has been managed by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Hiawatha National Forest.
     In addition to the detailed maps, the guide also provides contact information for ferry services and guided bus tours and kayak and bike rentals. Neiger also covers a variety of considerations for visitors ranging from biting insects, pet rules, and water availability to off-trail travel, fires and camping rules.
     The guide also covers a series of safety hazards on the island from black bears and hypothermia to rip currents, crumbling sandstone and dead overhead trees and branches Neiger calls "widowmakers."
    Neiger breaks down, in great detail, segments of the 21-mile Rim Trail Tour. He includes graphics showing elevation changes, locations of various points of interest, including shipwrecks, caves and old growth. Similar depictions are featured for the island's thumb and tombolo sections.
     The guide also includes maps of the Timber Wolf Cave Complex, Peregrine Falcon Cave Complex, Murray Bay Picnic Area and Campsites and Black Bear Cave Complex.
     A schematic showing the layout of gravestones in the historic Williams-Powell Cemetery details the names of those buried there and provides a quick guide to cemetery etiquette and epitaphs from a couple of the headstones.
     Articles highlighting various aspects of the island's history, including a 1908 murder mystery at the North Light Lighthouse and filming of scenes for the silent motion picture "Wild Goose Chase" in 1918, are also included.
     A passage from the guide talks about wave action against the island's cliffs producing strange sounds in 1833, detailed by an Indian interpreter traveling with Henry R. Schoolcraft.
    "At the base (of the cliffs), the action of the water has worked out deep hollow places," the excerpt from a letter read. "The rushing water into them, causes a dismal sound, as if some dreaded monster lay concealed in its dark caverns."
     Neiger's Grand Island guide is available at local bookstores and sells for $12.95. He is working on a similar guide to be released next year that is expected to be a definitive wilderness guide for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore called, "Exploring Pictured Rocks."
—"Grand Island exploration made easier," by John Pepin, The Mining Journal, Marquette, Michigan, September 4, 2012
Your maps are very impressive!
—The Munising News, Munising, Michigan, August 29, 2012

Reader comments

My wife and I purchased Exploring Grand Island and found it most informative, a resource that every hiker to Grand Island should have. In fact, I have placed a photo of the cover on our Facebook page and recommended that it be acquired.
We are looking forward to the guide on PIRO. Our chapter’s trail section commences at the mouth of the Two Hearted River on the east and runs to Rock River Road (H01) roughly 20 miles west of Munising. The first 3 miles of our trail were burned out by the fire in May/June north of Newberry. We are working on rebuilding and re-opening those 3 miles and will, hopefully, have that completed Tuesday.
—Tim Hass, President, Superior Shoreline Chapter NCTA [North Country Trail Association], Munising, Michigan, October 7, 2012
It's the Ultimate Guide for Grand Island!
I just used the guide a few weeks ago on my second trip there this season. The amount of detail, written and drawn, was amazing! The only thing that was kind of awkward was the actual size of the publication, but I just kept it in my pack shovel pocket and my buddy pulled it out when needed. If you're going to the island, this is a must have!
—MichiganDave, Amazon.com, 4-out-of-5-star rating, October 22, 2012
Hi, I picked up your map just before my friend and I heading off to Grand Island on our kayaking trip. First off I would like to thank you for all the great details in this map. Every bit of it was very helpful on our trip. The campsites, waterfalls, caves, arches, and shipwrecks were all great sights to see. I'm looking forward to seeing Exploring Pictured Rocks and hopefully many other maps.
—Tim M., Tecumseh, Michigan, June 29, 2013
The guide is awesome, it will be put to good use in the next 8 days.
—Brian Keel, July 12, 3013
Mike, I picked up your Grand Island map last Oct. My wife and I went for 4 days. It was THE most helpful, informative, entertaining, easy, durablest map I've ever used. Awesome job. Can't wait for Pictured Rocks. Am recommending it to everyone headed to G.I. Thanks for a quality product.
—Tim Hamp, Alma, Michigan, July 25, 2013