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
C and Z's Loot
for creating, hiding and maintaining this MSPC GeoTour cache.
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Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
The road into the park is a designated Natural Beauty Road
Watkins Lake State Park and County Preserve:
Watkins Lake State Park is a 1,122-acre site jointly owned and managed under a partnership
between the Michigan DNR and Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission. The park features beautiful rolling land with a mixture of open meadow, mixed hardwoods and low wetland areas. The park is known for its quiet serenity, popular 5-mile walking trail and opportunities for bird watching. The property′s most admired feature, Watkins Lake, holds large numbers of waterfowl in the spring and fall migration and is a designated Waterfowl Refuge.
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Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Crane is searching for food in Watkins Lake.
History:
The parkland has a well-documented history beginning with the purchase of 800 acres by the Watkins family for farming in 1833. The family played a role in the Underground Railroad, assisting those fleeing slavery.Watkins Lake State Park is Michigan′s 103rd and newest state park. It was created in 2016.
Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Activities:
The Lake holds large numbers of waterfowl in the spring and fall migration and is a designated Waterfowl Refuge. As such, the lake and surrounding park property is closed Feb. 15 to May 15 and Sept. 1 to Jan. 1. The preserve is marked in red on the map.
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Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation
Watkins Lake State Park hiking trail
Watkins Lake State Park has over five miles of hiking trails passing through rolling hills, open
meadow, mixed hardwoods and low wetlands.
The park and surround area has several other geocaches of interest. The Washtenaw County Geocaching Adventure Reward Trail is very popular, as are three nearby Virtual Caches: GC9302 Lt. Phillip Richardson, GC92FC In memory of our soldiers and GC92F3 CAMO.
Information:
For more information, reservations and a calendar of events, follow this link to
Watkins Lake State Park.
Special thanks to
TeamMaltese
for help with this geocache.
Special thanks to beenhere, LynnGeoGin and HNY Event Staff for the Southeast regional prize.
Resources: