P.J. Hoffmaster State Park, 6585 Lake Harbor Rd, Norton Shores

1/14/21
Today's visit was our third to Hoffmaster and we took the Homestead Trail, which leads, naturally, to Lake Michigan.
On any trail you take here, you'll come across signs like this, along with evidence of the signs being ignored.
This just may be the prettiest trail in the park with a stand of pines, and beech trees hanging on to their leaves.
We wound our way through the woods and ran into three other people the entire time.
Then, the inevitable and anticipated last rise of the dune.
We walked the beach, which due to the soft sand, was a bit of a slog.
When we saw this mansion on the hill, we turned around and made our way back into the park and to the trail.
The entire state park is well-marked with trails connecting with each other at various points.
And there is beauty around every bend, regardless of the season.

12-31-20
New Year's Eve day brought us back here for a winter adventure, and an adventure it was. Since we did the dune climb overlook last time, we took the beach walk trail today.
It was a little icier than we anticipated (an understatement).
The water was finally in sight.
We were so happy to be there and appreciated being able to walk the beach on the last day of 2020.
Then it was time to make our way back.
We were foolish to take this hike without cleats and remedied that when we got home (our previously purchased & now installed Korkers).
Someone had taken the time to build this in the Visitor Center parking lot and we were happy to see it and to be back at the car without having fallen :-)

12/17/20
Named after Percy James Hoffmaster (1892-1951), the first head of the Michigan Parks division, this park offers 10 miles of hiking trails all throughout the dunes. And it is spectacular.
We spotted lots of trail heads and decided to take the Walk-A-Mile trail for our first endeavor.
With the promise of eventually getting to Lake Michigan, we set off.
Some of the trail can be a little tricky with lots of tree roots ready to trip you up.
Unfortunately, many hikers feel the need to carve into these beautiful trees.
The trail runs up and down through the woods, and if you're lucky, you might run into friends of yours, one in particular who recommended this park :-) 
Finally we could hear the water!
And there it was.
Instead of turning around to go back the way we came, we decided to walk down to and along the beach.
When we saw a trail (8) heading back up towards our parking lot we took it.
Over at the closed Visitor Center we found a sign for a dune overlook so we headed that way.
But you do have to climb a few stairs to get there.
And the snow made it a little precarious at times.
We made it to the top and took in the view, which is actually a little better just before the top.
Then down we went, took in the view of Mount Baldy, and called it a day.
It's a park that can be returned to again and again and you will find something interesting to appreciate.
 

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