Best bets to see Mother Nature unveil her splendid palette

Autumn in Northern Michigan is a season of gold and crimson celebration – a time to enjoy our region’s bold and natural beauty.

And we do.

From two-track trails to city thoroughfares, from bicycle lanes to the paths less traveled, we wander in search of that one special place that beckons our return year after year because a mere glance might steal away our breath.

We all have one – that place where scene and setting combine to touch us in a certain way. Little gems of geography we often think of as our very own.

But sometimes the best of these picturesque gems aren’t hidden at all.

Take it from Rob Schult of Lewiston, who owns and maintains a fleet of glistening stainless-steel tankers, hauling milk from farm to dairy. While Schult has regular occasion to travel the farm roads and country lanes across Northeast Michigan and into the Upper Peninsula, the place that beckons him when the state’s horizon ablaze is far from secret. In fact, it’s arguably the most-traveled road in the north.

“On I-75, when you get to the area north of Wolverine, you are at the highest elevation in the Lower Peninsula,” said Schult. “You’re at the top of Michigan. You have maples and you have the long-distance views. You aren’t going to get views any better than that.”

Unlike that sacred fishing hole, that secret berry patch or the hallowed hollow from which we pluck morels, autumn’s splendor is a bounty for the heart – not the hand. It is a visual harvest given us to share. This is Michigan after all, where across the state and across the street stunning scenes surround us.

These splendid early days of autumn we seek that undiscovered panorama on display. Shame to keep it a secret. When you find such a special place, mention it to a neighbor, tell a friend, show a loved one on a drive, a bike ride or a hike.

In other words, announce it to the world as we do here – with an occasional assist from some friends:

The Big Loop
(328 miles, 2-3 days)

This is where going in circles really pays off. And do yourself a favor: Take it slow and easy. You can make this trip in one long day, but then you’d miss so much to see and do along the way.

Start by heading north on the Sunrise Coastal Highway (US-23) out of Tawas. Lunch in Alpena (63.28 miles into the trip) before a visit to the Thunder Bay Underwater Preserve, then head up through Presque Isle and past the New Presque Isle Lighthouse, at 113 feet, the tallest structure on the Great Lakes.

Continue on to Rogers City – home to the world’s largest limestone quarry along more than 50 miles of spectacular, undeveloped wilderness en route to Cheboygan. Pamper yourself over dinner at the Chateau Lodge Restaurant (see Page 50 for a True North review).

Spend the night at an intimate B&B, one of dozens of motels or a campsite around Mackinaw City, where there’s plenty of shops and sightseeing to do. At the tip of the mitt – precisely halfway on this journey – you’ll hang a hard left off US-23 and head south on I-75.

Be careful not to get rear-ended as you slow to enjoy the scenery. Some travelers may want to hang a left in Gaylord and take M-32 across through Johannesburg, Atlanta, Hillman and Herron before reaching Alpena. But we recommend staying south on I-75 for lunch in Grayling at Spike’s Keg O’Nails – if only for the best cheeseburger in the North. There’s also a great picnic stop at Hartwick Pines State Park just north of Grayling (about 85 miles south of Mackinaw City).

After lunch, continue south on I-75 to West Branch, and reserve a few hours for some shopping at the Tanger Outlet Mall. At West Branch, you’ll hang a left for the last 38 miles through lush farmland in Ogemaw and Iosco counties before reaching the end of your journey in Tawas and the standard perch dinner that awaits you at any of a number of great eateries.

Au Sable River Valley Tour
(58 miles, 2-4 hours)

Start in the Oscoda County town of Mio and make a 58-mile loop in a tour that offers far more than spectacular autumn colors, according to Phil Huber of Mio.

The self-guided tour provides an abundance of scenery, complete with diverse wildlife and plenty of hiking opportunities.

“It is a nice loop. Once you get about six miles east of M-33, you start to get into hardwoods – aspen, maples and oaks,” said Huber, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest Service.

“There is a ruffed grouse walk and there are some river overlooks so you can maybe see eagles or ducks. There are interpretive signs out there and everything,” Huber added, suggesting extra time be allowed to see all the sights.

“It is pretty much all wild land. Plus, you can stop along the river at the auto tour sites, so there is a lot more to do than just see the colors,” he said.

In fact, the tour has 12 specific stops that are identified with the Watchable Wildlife Logo. Several of these stops have scenic overlooks of the Au Sable River, home to river otters, eagles, great blue herons and other wildlife.

For a map and more information, visit the U.S. Forest Service Web site: www.fs.fed.us/r9/hmnf/pages/warbauto.htm.

‘Surround Sounds’ Drive and Hike Tour
(75 miles, 4-6 hours)

Fuel up with a Paul Bunyan Sandwich or the Chicken Especiale at Tait’s Bill of Fare, on East Dwight Street, in Oscoda, as Peggy Ridgeway does before turning her attention further north along US-23 to Harrisville. There, she hangs a left on M-72, for about 20 miles.

To Ridgeway, president of the Michigan Audubon Society, the country drive – with its mix of hardwood forest and open farmland – is one of the best in Northeast Michigan. But Ridgeway added she would stop along the way at one of the best-kept secrets in the North: the Reid Lake Foot Travel Area.

“It is spectacular in the fall,” said Ridgeway. “There are hardwoods and softwoods on both sides of the trail that sweep across in a tall canopy. It is a beautiful place to visit.”

That canopy delivers what Ridgeway refers to as “the surround sounds” of nature, made all the more pleasant by the flaming fall colors.

Located 19 miles west of Harrisville on M-72, Reid Lake awaits at the end of a one-mile trail, but the area offers a multitude of hiking options varying in length and difficulty. Allow at least two hours for the shortest trail.

Once back in the car, continue west on M-72 to M-65 and turn left (south) through the Huron National Forest to F-30 near Glennie. Hang a left, continuing through the forest to the lakeside village of Greenbush, turning left again for the final five miles northbound on US-23 to Harrisville.

The River Runs Through It
(67 miles, 2-4 hours)

Jim Estes, a field man for the United States Department of Agriculture, Iosco County, spends his work days traveling farm to farm. But Estes doesn’t hesitate to reveal a wooded, farmless road as his favorite for fall travel: “River Road, along the Au Sable.”

Winding its way westward from Oscoda to M-65 south of Five Channels Dam, River Road parallels the Au Sable River, providing scenic vistas and natural solitude, according to Estes.

“As a matter of fact, it is a nationally designated scenic drive. It is gorgeous looking out over the Au Sable, and there a couple of scenic overlooks along the way,” said Estes, listing Lumberman’s Monument, the Canoer’s Memorial and Largo Springs as possible stopping points along the route.

Stay south on M-65 through Hale to M-55, and hang a left toward Tawas Bay for refreshments, lunch or dinner at Pier 23 – better known to the locals as simply “The Pier.” Estes calls it a must-stop, because all that sightseeing along the river can build up a mighty hunger.

Circular Sensations
(32 miles, 2-4 hours)

Count Brian Hutchins and Dick Fultz among the lucky ones. Rarely a day goes by from April to November that these biking buddies don’t hop on their bicycles and pedal around Higgins Lake.

One of the most beautiful lakes in the world, Higgins really shows off in autumn, when the maples and oaks along its shores begin to change colors.

“It’s just spectacular, a gem in the whole world,” said Fultz, 55, who owns The Bicycle Shop in Grayling.

Hutchins, retired from Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources, advises making the route clockwise because the bike paths are a little wider in spots where traffic might be a little heavier.

There are plenty of places to stop and replenish your body with the calories you just worked off.

“They call it the ice-cream run,” Fultz said. “There are three or four places to stop around the lake.”

Hutchins recommends a bite to eat at the Silver Dollar Bar and Restaurant on West Higgins Lake Drive and Nibbles, for ice cream, on East Higgins Lake Drive, about a half-mile from the beach, which can be very welcoming after pedaling for three hours – even in September.

Coastal Beauty
(95 miles, 3-5 hours)

In a career patrolling Northeastern Michigan’s roads and highways, retired State Trooper Allan Walbecq knows where to look for certain things. And on his annual autumn color tour, he never misses a chance to head south from his Alpena home to another great hidden gem, the Negwegon State Park, an undeveloped area open for hunting and hiking and perfect for brisk walk in the woods.

The park’s terrain is a mixture of lowland areas, with small ridges. It’s a mature pine forest with plenty of colorful hardwoods and aspen and some pockets of open meadows mixed in.

Try Walbecq’s roundabout route to the park from Alpena by heading west on M-32 to M-65 south all the way to M-72 at the northern edge of the Huron National Forest. Hang a left on M-72, heading east through the forest to US-23 in Harrisville. Turn left (north) and meander along the Coastal Highway through Alcona and Black River before reaching Negwegon. Now you’re ready to get out of the car and stretch.

After a pleasant walk in the park, continue driving north. By now, you’ve worked up an appetite, and, since cops know where to find good food, too, take Walbecq’s advice and stop at Connie’s Cafe in Ossineke before concluding this pleasant journey back in Alpena just a few miles north.

The Back Way
(10 miles, 20 minutes to two hours)

Pam Weaver, secretary for the Gladwin County Road Commission, had lunch in mind when she suggested her favorite fall drive – a winding loop leading the autumn sightseer past Secord Dam and along some scenic wooded back roads.

Turning east off M-30 at Secord Dam Road, about seven miles north of M-61, north on Three Rivers Road, east on Bowmanville Road and back north on Wildwood Road, will return you to M-30 south of West Branch.

“You have a particularly good view of Secord Lake right there at the dam,” said Weaver, noting you will glimpse views of the backwaters several times along the route.

“It is all pretty wild through there, with a lot of trees. And they are good roads,” she said, adding that many of he gravel roads en route can be inviting and worthwhile on a color tour.

“When you turn on Bowmanville Road, you are going to go right past Lost Arrow Resort. Stop there for lunch – the view off their deck is great that time of year,” said Weaver.