Photo courtesy Robb Lamer Photography © 2024, used with permission
Leaving the Dock
Cache:
This park is open daily mid-May to mid-October. 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.
This is a multi-cache with a field puzzle and is not at the posted coordinates. To determine the location of the cache, go to the posted coordinates and answer the following questions with information there.
- You will find the cache at N46° 00.ABC W86° 22.XYZ. Begin your walk toward the spring at the posted coordinates. When you reach the signs entitled, Palms Book State Park...the Early Years and Kitch-iti-kipi... a Photo History, stop and gather the following information:
- Nearby lumber camp (Camp AY) threw rubbish into the spring.
- Follow the ringed telephone poles along M-1BC. .
- The deal transferred almost X0 acres to the State for $1.
- Members of the Civilian Conservation Corps earned $Z0/month.
- Checksum: A+B+C+X+Y+Z = 29
You are looking for a Regular size container. Please return everything as good or better than you found it.
Photo courtesy Robb Lamer Photography © 2018, used with permission
Raft on the Water
Photo courtesy Robb Lamer Photography © 2024, used with permission
Your Captains for Today's Trip
Palms Book State Park:
Palms Book State Park is a 388 acre park in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It features a unique attraction, Kitch-iti-kipi, the "Big Spring" of the Upper Peninsula.
Kitch-iti-kipi is a spring flowing over 10,000 gpm from the bottom of a very clear pool of water roughly 400 feet by 250 feet and 40 feet deep. Take the raft to the center of pool to see the bubbling sand. The raft is on a cable and you turn a wheel to move the raft along the cable. The center of the raft is open and under a canopy. The canopy blocks the sun and allows you to see the bottom of the pool. Look for fish. Some of the trout are more than 3 feet long. The water is never frozen and the raft is available all year, even in the winter. The Anishinaabe people saw Kitch-iti-kipi as a place of mystery and wonder.
You might recognize that Palms Book is featured in the banner for the Michigan State Parks Centennial GeoTour cache pages.
Photo courtesy Robb Lamer Photography © 2018, used with permission
Looking in to the Big Spring
History:
The park was created in 1926 when John I. Bellaire arranged for the sale of a 90-acre parcel from the Palms Book Land Company to the State of Michigan for $1. The stipulation was a park formed and named after the land company. During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed an observation raft, dock, and ranger′s quarters for the park. The park webpage (see Information) has the complete story of John Bellaire and the park.
Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Activities:
Besides the obvious attraction of the clarity of the spring, paddling and snowmobiling are popular attractions of this park.
Information:
For more information, reservations and a calendar of events, follow this link to Palms Book State Park.