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 not too difficult gadget cache at the posted coordinates. You will need to use something that attracts and repels to see the combination to the lock, or use your imagination with the hint, given the theme of this cache.
You are looking for a Regular size container. Please return everything as good or better than you found it.
Thank you
Pirate Sunflower & ORM3757
for creating, hiding and maintaining this MSPC GeoTour cache.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Resources
Burt Lake State Park Beach
Burt Lake State Park:
Burt Lake State Park is located on the southeast corner of Burt Lake with 2,000 feet of sandy shoreline. Visitors are welcome to come and enjoy camping, boating, fishing, sight-seeing and many more activities in this beautiful area. This state park is at the heart of the Inland Waterway. The Inland Waterway is Michigan′'s longest chain of rivers and lakes. It is nearly 40 miles long connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Small watercraft, canoes and kayaks travel this route easily.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Resources
Boating is popular on Burt Lake
History:
Burt Lake was among the first 25 parks established after the Michigan State Parks Commission was created in 1919. In 1920, the first portion of land was acquired for Burt Lake State Park. Other portions of land were acquired up until 1939, when the park reached its present size of 406 acres.
Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Resources
Activities:
Families have enjoyed canoeing, rafting, kayaking and tubing on the Sturgeon River for years. Currents vary enough to please everyone; make wise decisions and use caution while on the river. The technical sections, for more of a paddling challenge, are in the Mid Sections to Upper Sections and are recommended for those with experience. Smooth and slower sections of the river, for a more relaxing ride, are closer to Burt Lake. The best information about the river conditions and the type of watercraft
that meet your desired river trip and adventure will be provided by local outfitters.
Less than 1 mile north of the park is a trailhead for the Rail-to-Trails route of the North Central State Trail. This route follows the Michigan Central Railroad traveling north along Mullet Lake to Cheboygan, stopping at Mackinaw City. In the past, trains on this route carried freight and passengers north. Then railroad cars and freight traveled by railroad ferries to the Upper Peninsula. Here they would travel again by train to their destinations. When the Mackinac Bridge opened in 1957, passengers and freight shifted to cars and semi-trucks.
The Sturgeon River ends its northwardly flow into Burt Lake. A section of the river marks part of the northern boundary of the park. The Sturgeon River provides an awesome wilderness white
water experience. The Sturgeon River is the fastest river in Michigan′s Lower Peninsula with an average descent of almost 14 feet per mile. It is a Class I/II river. The average depth is 3-4 feet.
However, there are deeper pools that can reach 5-8 feet in depth, usually around the outside of the bends. The temperature is a refreshing 42 to 52 degrees. There is an 80% tip-over rate on this river.
Information:
For more information, reservations and a calendar of events, follow this link to
Burt Lake State Park.
Special thanks to
Red Hat Grandma
for help with this geocache.
Special thanks to Are You Geocacher Enough? Road Rally for the Northern Lower regional prize.
Resources: