Camping During Labor Day Weekend | Nordhouse Dunes National Park

Time to go off the grid. Destination: middle of the woods and Evelyn’s first camping trip! We headed to the west side for Labor Day weekend. Our plan: live off of snacks and food that didn’t require refrigeration or cooking, hike all day every day, and enjoy our last possible camping trip before my busy fall semester. We packed everything the night before and set it by the door, but we still had to wait until Charlie came home from work. When he finally did, we loaded up our luggage bag, the dogs jumped into the trunk, buckled Evelyn in, and headed to the Nordhouse Dunes National Park. It was 10pm and pitch black by the time we finally arrived and a good chunk of camping spots were already taken. We weren’t familiar with the drive, and since it was so dark, we just found a reasonable spot and pitched our tent. In the morning, we would look for a new spot if we felt we needed to. Only the basics were taken out of the luggage carrier, we got into our flannels, bundled up Evelyn, and went to sleep.

Day 1: Our itinerary consisted of a lot of walking. After getting dressed, eating and packing our snacks, we headed to the main road. Charlie thought we could walk to the trailhead since it was only a couple miles; but by the time we arrived, we knew we would regret that decision. At the Nurnberg Trailhead, we would hike the shoreline until we reached the overlook. Then, we would follow a little more inland and take a fork in the trail directly back to our campsite. Well…. that was the plan anyway. The trails had been changed and the maps were not updated (and mind you we went off grid so we could enjoy the weekend… so no google).

We hiked from the Nurnberg Trailhead all the way to the campground; which was about 4 miles, and all sand, but we did a couple extra hikes here and there to the water or we got lost on top of the dunes. From the campground, we took the higher trail that followed the shoreline for a bit and then headed back toward the trailhead, about 3 miles. Then the trail forked and we went toward the Nordhouse Lake, where we planned to follow the old trail around the lake and back to our campsite. Evidently that trail was redirected back to the campground! Tack on about 4 more miles and from there, we gave up and followed the road all the way back. However, we weren’t quite positive on where exactly we were headed or how long it would take to get back. At this point, the only thing literally pulling me forward was Kyra. I could barely pick up my feet. That ended up being about 4 miles. The trails were rugged, mostly sand, and we ran out of snacks.

After many wrong turns, a crying baby, and no longer feeling our legs, we finally made it back to the campsite after hiking a total of 20 miles (according to our fitness trackers). Many lessons were learned that day! After sitting and resting for a bit, we drove down to the market at the entrance of the park to grab a bite of real food (we deserved it) and some firewood. We were so beat that we ended up going to bed before the stars even came out. I was kind of bummed about that too, because the Aurora Borealis was supposed to be seen in northern Michigan and I was hoping we were far enough north.

Yes, that is baby throw up….. welcome to parenthood

Day 2: We couldn’t walk any more. So, we went into Ludington to spend the day. This was our last full day and we just played it by ear. We started out the morning by walking the pier to the Ludington Breakwater Lighthouse. As if this weekend couldn’t get any crazier, Charlie and the dogs fall. off. the. pier. WHAT. Yes, let me type it again. THEY FELL OFF THE PIER. Thankfully, there was a little ledge under the water, and they were able to catch themselves. Also, thank you to everyone who was walking on the pier that day and helped! The dogs thought they were just going for a little swim. Charlie checked the store inside the lighthouse for a change of clothes, to no luck. So we drove into town and I walked in and out of the stores looking for a cheap pair of shoes. They were having crazy amazing deals and the entire store was 50% or more off! After picking out some shoes and Charlie laying out his stuff to dry (on top of the Jeep), we headed to Cafe 106 for some yummy homemade breakfast.

After refueling, we walked downtown and looked for all of the murals. The vintage pastel building is by far my favorite thing I’ve ever seen! We then spent the rest of our day walking around Ludington State Park and watching the sunset at The Big Sable Point Lighthouse. Ludington State Park was breath takingly beautiful! The park had an equal amount of paved trails, gravel trails, and more advanced hiking trails. There was a tree-top, overlook trail, where you could see over the dunes and Lake Michigan. This whole weekend was just full of beautiful views.

After catching the sunset, and walking back to our car in the dark, we drove back into Ludington for our last bite. We stopped into the House of Flavors restaurant. It was on all of the Ludington blog posts and top lists of things to do, so we thought we HAD to check it out! The restaurant had a pretty neat story and the ice cream was delicious, but their food was just plain awful. I had the Salmon and Charlie had a baked potato with chili. My Salmon tasted like a rubber patty and the veggies looked like they came out of a bag, frozen, and microwaved. I wouldn’t recommend eating there… but their ice cream was delicious!

Day 3: Time to head home, to our showers, and our warm beds! We hiked a total of 30 miles this weekend and despite how tired we were, it was an amazing weekend.

If you’re planning on heading to the west side next summer, support our state parks! I can’t believe how beautiful and well kept it was, and I hope to visit again some day. Where will you be traveling next summer? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo Searra (313 Studios Photography)