Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, MI: Shipwrecks

We wound up walking ("hiking" on flat paths) quite a bit this day. After leaving Chapel Falls, we went to the next point, the trail head to get to Au Sable Lighthouse. The only way for able-bodied people to get to this lighthouse is to walk there. (There is transportation available in the summer for people with difficulties.) The hike/walk is really nice, about a mile and a half, and mostly flat. Along the way there are signs pointing to shipwreck stops.

There were a lot of shipwrecks around here!

There were a couple of signs we passed. The first one, we couldn't figure out where the shipwreck was supposed to be. The second one, someone left a nice (very helpful) note letting us know where to look:

The juxtaposition of the beautiful day we had with the dark mass with spikes poking out of the lake is a little disconcerting. I actually didn't think about it too much while we were there, but looking back at these photos, it's kind of haunting.

But...also cool. I am a sucker for anything old (and also anything related to water/boats), and old stuff that's still where it originally was is just awesome. (You know, ignoring the fact that it's a shipwreck and people probably died and things got destroyed.)

There were quite a few pieces along the beach. We wound up walking most of the rest of the way to the lighthouse on the beach, and it make the walk/hike even better. There are a few staircases leading from the hiking path down to the beach, including one really close to the lighthouse.

Have you ever seen old shipwrecks up close? Was it on land or under the water? Someday I hope to try out scuba diving and see a shipwreck underwater too.

PS: Here is another write up of this hike that I liked. We didn't deal with too many flies but there were a few, so make sure to plan for that.