UPDATE: 3/1/2024:
2019 was the 100th 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.
Contstruction projects in the Recreation Area will not impact this geocache.
Some has removed the stamp from this letterbox cache, and it will not be replaced (again).
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 letterbox hybrid cache hidden that is not at the posted coordinates. It will begin near Whitford Lake, and involves a medium hike along the "Old Paved Road". Let's get started on this little walk through history! Park at the posted coordinates and head due west along the paved drive, until you have the option to veer left along a grass/dirt stretch under 0.2 mile from parking. You'll find yourself at a vehicle gate, turn left here and start your hike along the "Old Paved Road" to the south-south-west. After about a quarter mile, you'll encounter a decent sized bump in the road and shortly thereafter you'll see the foundation of an old house on your left. Don't worry, you're over halfway to the silo and the location of the final container! Continue due south on Old Paved Road, and you'll soon see an old silo appear on the right side of the road. Very close to this silo is the container that you seek. If the Old Paved Road begins to turn back to the east, you've gone too far. Once you find the silo, look for the low foundation wall to the west and a suspicious pile of sticks and stones. This was the location of the cache until it was muggled in August 2020. With the silo on your right, sight down the foundation wall and look for a large tree about 100 feet north. Behind the tree will be the container you seek. This is a special letterbox for many reasons! First, you'll find a special stamp inside commemorating this GeoTour. Please bring your own stamp pad! Please return everything as good or better than you found it.
Please note that the cache location and letterbox story was updated 8/23/20
Thank you
kmans
for becoming the caretaker of this cache, and
Rj_toot
for creating, hiding and maintaining the original MSPC GeoTour cache.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Eagle Lake at the Fort Custer Recreation Area
Fort Custer Recreation Area:
Fort Custer State Recreation Area is a 3,033-acre park located between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. The park features three lakes, the Kalamazoo River, a campground, a swimming beach, boat rentals, more than 25 miles of multi-use trails, paddling and fishing opportunities, second growth forests and remnant areas of prairie. The trail system is popular with mountain bikers, equestrians, hikers and dog sledders.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Swimming at Fort Custer Recreation Area
History:
The area around the Fort Custer Recreation Area and Fort Custer Training Center next door was originally farmland. It was acquired via lease by the Federal Government in 1917 for the purpose of a military induction center and US Army basic training area. Fort Custer was named after General George Armstrong Custer, a native of the state of Michigan. After two years, the Army bought out the farmers at $98 per acre. During World War II the name of the facility was changed to Camp Custer by the Federal Government and used as an induction and military training center for the US Army. It was also the site of a POW camp housing more than 5000 German Prisoners of War. The Michigan DNR acquired the Recreation Area portion of the property as part of President Nixon′s Legacy of Parks Program.
Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Activities:
The Recreation Area supports a vast array of activities. Canoe, kayak and row boat rentals are available at the beach house located on Eagle Lake. There are approximately 20 miles of trails available for horseback riding. The trail is shared with hikers, snowshoers and cross-country skiers. Fishing for bass, blue gill, crappie, pike and channel catfish are found in all three lakes, each with boating access sites. Eagle Lake also includes walleye, carp and northern pike. A universally accessible fishing pier is located at Whitford-Lawler Lake. The park is open to hunting during regular seasons from September 15 to March 31. This park has excellent deer and rabbit hunting, along with opportunities for squirrel. The park is also open for trapping with excellent opportunities for muskrat on Whitford Lake.
The park hosts two different bicycle races on its mountain bike trails. In the spring, the Fort Custer Stampede attracts many mountain bike racers to compete. In December, the facility hosts an event in the Michigan FatBike Race Series.
North of the recreation area is the Fort Custer National Cemetery. Included in its grounds is a small portion of the cemetery holding the remains of twenty-six of the German POWs who passed away of natural or accidental causes. A truck/train accident took the lives of sixteen of those.
Information:
For more information, reservations and a calendar of events, follow this link to
Fort Custer Recreation Area.
Special thanks to
The Wandering Wierdos
for help with this geocache.
Special thanks to Cold Cache Crew and Silent Whistles for the Southwest regional prize.
Resources: