After our Lake Superior cruise to see the Pictured Rocks from the water, we headed to Miners Castle. From the Interagency Visitor Center in Munising, we drove east for five miles on route H-58. We then turned north on Miners Castle Road and drove another five miles to the large, paved parking area at the end of the road and the Raymond F. Clevenger Visitor Information Center. The center includes restrooms with running water, a small bookstore and gift shop and a large outdoor area for rangers to give interpretive talks and answer visitor questions. Immediately adjacent is a small picnic area.
Short paved trails lead to two overlooks of the Miners Castle rock formation. The first trail is listed as 265 feet in length and ends at a wood-decked overlook at the top of the bluff with excellent views of Miners Castle. This path is wheelchair accessible, but some assistance heading back up the slight grade to the parking area might be helpful. Once at the overlook, the high, solid railings that keep visitors from falling into the lake also limit the view for children and those in wheelchairs. Fortunately, the designers included plastic windows in the railings to allow all visitors to experience the beauty of the rock formation.
The second trail is listed as 1,000 feet long and descends to a viewing platform adjacent to the Miners Castle. This trail is also paved, but includes a set of wooden stairs at the top of the descent and a series of steep switchbacks to reach the first of two platforms. While the wooden stairs can be bypassed by using a combination of trails through the picnic area and then on the North Country Trail, the first platform is raised a couple of steps above the trail. A wide set of wooden stairs descends from the first platform to the second platform. The lower platform provides closeup views of the Miners Castle formation and longer range views of the Pictured Rocks. Once again, plastic windows provide views for children.
We stopped at Miners Castle on our late July 2016 trip to Lake Superior.
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| Visitor Center from the road |
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| Picnic area |
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| Rangers providing information |
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| Covered and open deck is used for ranger talks and exhibits |
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| Wheelchair ramp to restrooms and bookstore |
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| Rear of the visitor information center |
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| Paved trail leads to upper overlook |
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| Solid railings are designed to prevent climbing and falls |
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| Miners Castle |
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| A Pictured Rocks Cruises boat passes Miners Castle |
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| Kayaks in the shallow water at Miners Castle |
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| Plastic window and interpretive sign on the upper platform |
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| Grand Island from the trail to the lower overlook |
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| Wooden stairs on the trail |
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| Beginning the steep switchbacks |
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| Steps lead to the interpretive platform and stairs beyond lead down to the viewing platform |
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| Miners Castle from the lower observation deck |
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| A closer view |
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| Pictured Rocks |
Entry to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is free.
The lakeshore website is https://www.nps.gov/piro/index.htm.
