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.
Take a break from the beach and enjoy a picnic at the shelter while you explore the area around this cache, located on the backside of the Dunes, very near the parking waypoint. The cache is large enough for the 50 Cal. Ammo Can to fit inside and well labeled. The hint will give you access to the logbook and GeoTour Codeword. While here you may want to climb Mt. Randall along the very steep Trail #3 towards the beach and find the Virtual Geocache Buffalo Tree Two - GCJMYD.
Thank you
MaxB on the River & Ol,Dude
for creating, hiding and maintaining, and
iatsemedic
for becoming the caretaker this MSPC GeoTour cache.
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Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Overlooking pristine Water from the Dunes
Warren Dunes State Park:
Warren Dunes State Park provides 1,952 acres of recreational opportunities along the beautiful shore of Lake Michigan in southwestern Michigan. The rugged dune formation rises 260 feet above the lake and offers spectacular views. The park has three miles of shoreline, six miles of hiking trails and is open year-round. The park′s sand dunes and lakeshore beaches make it one of the most popular of Michigan′s state parks with an average of about one million visitors annually.
Photo by Maxine Brown © 2018 used with permission
Take a walk on the beach
History:
Edward K. Warren, of Three Oaks, was a pioneering conservationist in the late 1800-early 1900′s. The dunes and beach area were preserved when he originally purchased the site as a favor to a friend who had encountered significant financial difficulties. Although most in the area saw the land as worthless, Warren wanted to preserve the majestic dunes that soar to more than 240 feet. The Park had, at that time, a pristine two-mile beach as well as wildflowers and mature forests. By 1930, the Warren Dunes area had been taken over as a state park.
Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Activities:
With 9 Hiking and Cross-Country Skiing trails ranging in length from 0.2 - 6 miles long, visitors enjoy passing through the fragile dune ecosystems, sand blowouts, and mature forests. These trails offer a wide variety of wildlife viewing. A developed summer swimming beach, non-swimming beach and dune climbing area allow visitors to experience Lake Michigan in all seasons. Dogs are allowed in specified areas, even along the shoreline past the swimming beach area. During the summer, State Park Explorer Program Guides lead several visitor interactive talks and hikes, such as a Fossil Hunt, Beach Walk, Birdwatching Hikes, Wildflower Hike, Tall Trees, Easy Dune Hike, Story Telling, Night Sky Watch, Dragonflies and Damselflies program, and talks about the park′s mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
Photo by Maxine Brown © 2018 used with permission
Tower Hill in early winter
Information:
For more information, reservations and a calendar of events, follow this link to
Warren Dunes State Park.
Special thanks to
JHBDFamily
for help with this geocache.
Special thanks to Cold Cache Crew and Silent Whistles for the Southwest regional prize.
Resources: