Mike Terrell

Features Mike Terrell Northern Michigan, despite recent warmer winters, isn’t going to be thought of as a tropical zone anytime soon, but some who love to paddle don’t necessarily put their passion on hold until spring.

Those who like winter paddling seek the solitude and quiet beauty of area rivers adorned with a mantle of snow. They find the rewards are worth the risk and cold.

Features Mike Terrell Like a favorite old song that always conjures up good memories, the Pine River in Manistee County falls into that category for me. The clear, cold waters tumble through deep forests underneath high banks supporting towering pine and hardwood trees.

Features Mike Terrell Wildwood Rush lives up to its name

Perched on the edge of a platform 40-some feet in the air wrapped around a sturdy pine tree, my 69-year-old knees were quivering as much as nearby aspen trees.

Features Mike Terrell The silence was deep and golden as we glided along at times under branches of overhanging cedar along the river. Snow covered the banks and helped illuminate the darkly wooded shoreline. The only sound was the gurgle of rushing water as it swept along the gravelly riverbed and around fallen trees and submerged logs.

Features Mike Terrell Located just a snowball throw off I-75, Gaylord is arguably one of the best cross country towns in the Lower Peninsula. The village has a charming alpine motif that would fit right into the Swiss Alps, and there’s close to 60 miles of trails, both tracked and untracked, to choose from.

Features Mike Terrell It may be hard to think of Mackinac Island as a mountain biking destination when you think of the crowded village, fudge shops, horse traffic, and the flat, paved ride around the exterior of the island.
However, once you leave the village and climb up into the interior of the rock-bound island, beyond the fort and Arch Rock, the crowds and aroma of cooking fudge quickly disappear. You may see a horse-back rider, but they have their own set of forest trails. It’s a totally different look at this historic, hump-backed island.
After disembarking the boat head over to the island’s Chamber of Commerce information center located along the main street near the ferry docks and pick up a map of the island with all the interior trails. Most of the trails are marked with trail signs and are fairly easy to follow. You’ll see old stone walls and foundations, an old soldier’s garden area cleared in the late 1700s, Skull Cave, and little known treats like Cave-in-the-Woods and Crack-in-the-Island. I’ve found island residents that didn’t know these formations existed.

Features Mike Terrell The new 1.5-mile-long Bear River Valley Recreation Area, which splits
Petoskey down the middle, is a natural beauty.
Located just two blocks from the city’s famed Gaslight District, the
expansive 36-acre park features steep terrain, unpaved and paved trails,
boardwalks, forests and open meadows. You can bike, hike, fish, picnic,
nature watch and go whitewater rafting or kayaking in the newly created
Whitewater Park on the Bear River. It’s a real boon for area outdoor
enthusiasts.

Features Mike Terrell Brown Bridge Pond, the centerpiece for the Brown Bridge Quiet Area, has been with us for nearly a century, enjoyed by thousands of visitors over the years for paddling, fishing, and watching wildlife along its quiet hiking trails bordering the pond.
It was created when the dam was erected in 1921, but the dam is slated for deconstruction beginning next year. That will be the end of this delightful, scenic, wildlife area as we’ve known it. The pond is scheduled for a 13-foot interim drawdown beginning late this summer or early fall, which will expose nearly 100 acres of previously unexposed bottomlands.
I’m of mixed emotion. I will miss this wonderful natural area with its 191-acre pond and all the waterfowl and wildlife it plays host to. But, it will be exciting to see the river again flowing free through this valley both for fishing and paddling. The rapids created at the dam site will rival and may surpass the Beitner Rapids. This site had the greatest river fall of all the dam sites.
Steve Largent, head of Grand Traverse County’s Land Management Services, once said of the pond, “It’s like a little piece of northern Canada tucked away in northern Michigan.”

Features Mike Terrell Natural trails, wildlife, waterfowl and lots of swamp, marshland and bogs to explore, and if you’re a kid, what’s not to like?  Dirt & mud are natural attractions. 
That pretty much describes what you will find at Antrim County’s Grass River Natural Area (GRNA).  The good news is that with lots of boardwalks to keep your socks dry and shoes clean, parents won’t have to worry about kids knee-deep in black ooze.  Kids love the boardwalks and so will their parents for keeping them dry while exploring this fascinating area.
The Natural Area borders the 2.5-mile Grass River, part of Antrim County’s Chain ‘O Lakes’ 50-some mile waterway.  It protects over 1,300 acres, 6 miles of shoreline and features 7.5 miles of trails winding through upland forests and boardwalks snaking through floating sedges.  

Features Mike Terrell The frog and toad listeners that partake in the DNR’s annual Frog and Toad
Survey are a little like the “horse whisperers.”  Both tend to the health
and well-being of a species. 
The “listeners,” who cover over 500 routes statewide throughout every
Michigan county, listen to the calls of the frogs and toads at 10 sites
three times each spring and early summer.  They identify the species
present and make an estimate of their abundance.  Reports are sent to the
state which correlates the findings and the health of our state’s
amphibian population.
“This is our 16th year doing the annual survey,” said Lori Sargent, the
DNR’s longtime survey coordinator.  “We’ve been collecting valuable data
to help evaluate Michigan’s frog and toad population.  It’s way too early
to tell much about long-term trends, but this is a good start.”
 

Features Mike Terrell Pedal & Paddle: The Boardman River offers the best of both
By Mike Terrell
 It seemed like a long winter this year, and I’m looking forward to some
warm weather outdoor activity.  Paddling Northern Michigan rivers and
cycling -- especially mountain biking -- are a couple of my favorite
springtime activities. 

Features Mike Terrell Refreshing, remote Black Mountain: 30 miles of trail on the wild side south of Cheboygan
By Mike Terrell
Thoreau said, “The mere existence of wilderness refreshes us.”
Take a trip to Black Mountain Forest Recreation Area – located
southeast of Cheboygan – and you instantly understand what he meant.
As I pulled away from the area after a couple days of midweek
cross-country skiing last year, my body felt tired, but my soul was
refreshed and uplifted for the time spent there.

Features Mike Terrell Drummond Island: a Snowmobiling Paradise
by Mike Terrell
My companions and I had been following a snake-like trail that hugged
Drummond Island’s rocky shoreline.  At times we would dart back into
the snow-covered cedars, maneuver around a few boulders, and bust back
out along the shoreline.

Features Mike Terrell You’re on Island Time:Step into the past with a trip to Beaver Island
By Mike Terrell
The Emerald Isle calls me every few years. It‘s my favorite of the various islands we can access from the Lower Peninsula. No fudge shops and grand hotels, just a timeless, rustic quality that I find appealing. Camping, mom and pop motels and family-run lodges are your choice of lodging.

Features Mike Terrell Shingle Mill Pathway: As close as you can get to wilderness in the lower peninsula
By Mike Terrell
One of the great wilderness tracts in the Lower Peninsula is the
97,000-acre Pigeon River Country State Forest.  Located east of I-75
and Vanderbilt, it is host to a wide variety of outdoor activities;
hiking, mountain biking, trout fishing, hunting, horseback riding,
and, in the winter, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and
snowmobiling.