MSPCGT:Coldwater Lake SP Traditional Cache

Michigan State Parks Centennial GeoTour (GT93)

UPDATE: 3/1/2024:

2019 was the 100^th Anniversary of Michigan State Parks and we're still celebrating!. Join the Michigan Geocaching Organization (MiGO), the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Geocaching.com for the first official GeoTour in Michigan.

This tour was originally scheduled to run for three years, kicking off on Friday of Memorial Weekend in 2019 and continue through May 31, 2022. The success of this awesome tour has not gone unnoticed. On February 2, 2022, The DNR announced the extension of the GeoTour through September 24, 2024! Join us in making a final push to complete this very popular and very successful GeoTour before the sun sets on it.

Each geocache is in one of Michigan's state parks. The geocaches are arranged by MiGO Region, with twenty-five geocaches per region. The Ticket to Celebrate 100 is available for download from the DNR's Geocaching page. It explains how to qualify for prizes in each of the four regions and for the GeoTour as a whole.

Day use areas of state parks are open from 8AM to 10PM. Geocaching is limited to those hours. Entry into Michigan's State Parks requires a Michigan Recreation Passport. See the Resources section below for more information.

The sun will set on the MSPCGT at midnight Tuesday, September 24, 2024. The MSPCGT will go off the air as a GeoTour and the caches will disappear from the map. There is a lot of construction going on in our State Parks in 2024. Some of the GeoTour caches will have to be pulled earlier. The remaining geocaches in the tour will be archived October 1, 2024. Players will have until December 31, 2024 to claim any prize they have earned. Hiders will be contacted to request removal of the geocaches they hid unless they have made arrangements with park managers and have their own permit in place to keep the geocache in play, with a new GC Code.

Now for some good news: MiGO and the DNR are busy working on a new project that will kick off in the Spring of 2025, code named MSPGT 2.0. Are you interested in helping? Keep your MiGO Membership up to date and stay tuned to the website.

Cache:

This cache was hidden as part of the Michigan State Parks Centennial GeoTour, presented by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Geocaching Organization. Record the codeword printed on the log book and on a label inside the cache container to the appropriate box on the Ticket to Celebrate 100 form. See the instructions on the form to claim prizes.

This is a traditional cache hidden at the posted coordinates. You are looking for a Regular size container. Please return everything as good or better than you found it.

Thank you aghudley & IFollowRoads for creating, hiding and maintaining this MSPC GeoTour cache.

^{Photo courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources}
Coldwater Lake from the undeveloped park property

Coldwater Lake State Park:

Coldwater Lake State Park is 400 acres of largely undeveloped park land in Branch County, three miles north of the Indiana border. The park includes farmland, wetland and woodland, with 6,600 feet of lake-frontage on the southern shores of Coldwater Lake. The 1,600-acre Coldwater Lake is connected to the largest chain of lakes in Branch County, consisting of a total 2,500 acres of water. The park′s convenient location from I-69 offers easy access.

Plans for the park include improved parking areas, development of cross-country skiing and hiking trails and shore fishing access points. The fact that this was designated a State Park instead of a Recreation Area may indicate that future plans may be grand.

^{Photo by KM Springsteen, 2019}
Coldwater Lake State Park east access at 17 below zero

History:

Money from the Natural Resources Trust Funds was used to create the state park in 1988. Two small, unpaved parking areas offer walk-in access for hunters and fishermen. A general management plan for the park was adopted by the Michigan State Parks Advisory Committee in 2015.

^{Map courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources}

Activities:

Activities at this undeveloped park are currently limited to hunting and fishing. There is no boat ramp, but feel free to carry in an unmotorized water craft.

Information:

Watch this space for news of any future development: Coldwater Lake State Park.

Special thanks to Team Maltese for help with this geocache.

Special thanks to Cold Cache Crew and Silent Whistles for the Southwest regional prize.

Resources:

• State Parks Centennial GeoTour - Download the Ticket to Celebrate 100
• Michigan.gov/StateParks100
• Michigan DNR Recreation Passport
• When were Michigan state parks and recreation areas established?
• Michigan Geocaching Organization (MiGO)