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.
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
waytag
for creating, hiding and maintaining this MSPC GeoTour cache.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Leelanau State Park Stone Stairs
Leelanau State Park:
Located at the tip of the little finger on the beautiful Leelanau Peninsula, Leelanau State Park offers over 1,500 acres for visitors to enjoy. The word Leelanau is a Native American word for A Land of Delight and could not better describe the area. The park has the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum, a rustic campground, three mini cabins, 8.5 miles of hiking/skiing trails and a picnic area. Petoskey stones can be found along the shoreline.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Grand Traverse Lighthouse and Maritime Museum
History:
The park is host to the historic Grand Traverse Lighthouse, also know as Cat′s Head Lighthouse, built in 1858. It guided great lakes mariners around the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula and into Grand Traverse Bay. Today it is a maritime museum. The first lighthouse was built here in 1852 but was deemed inadequate and was replaced by the current light. The light, now automated, still serves mariners.
Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Activities:
Hiking: Approximately 8.5 miles of trails are available for hiking. A small section of the trail is ADA accessible.
Cross Country Skiing: Approximately 8.5 miles of trails cross country skiing run through the park.
Hunting: The park offers deer and rabbit hunting, with the opportunity for woodcock, duck, goose and squirrel. Mud Lake offers trapping opportunities. The terrain is a mixture of open brush land to mature hardwood forest with some pockets of open meadows mixed in.
Swimming: No designated beach. From the trails, take the one-mile hike to Cathead Bay to access a beautiful, sandy shoreline.
Information:
For more information, reservations and a calendar of events, follow this link to
Leelanau State Park.
Special thanks to
xxthundrrbltxx
for help with this geocache.
Special thanks to Are You Geocacher Enough? Road Rally for the Northern Lower regional prize.
Resources: