The ruins of a once-thriving limestone quarry and town can be found in the woods close to Trout Lake Township in Mackinac County.
This abandoned ghost town is managed by the MKC and is still accessible to the general public as long as the posted rules designed to prevent vandalism, damage to natural features, and unsupervised, dangerous cave explorations are followed.
The parking area is where the journey to the quarry begins. You’ll enjoy a scenic quarter-mile to half-mile hike along a two-track before you see the first of the ruins.
Hendrie River Water Cave, Michigan’s longest known cave is 620 meters long (2,034 feet) with about 1,500 feet of mostly high, narrow passage and a stream running along the floor, and it’s a significant feature of the preserve.
Even with its remote location just northwest of Mackinac Bridge in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, there is plenty of exploring to be done in this area.