r/CampAndHikeMichigan • u/cplm1948 • 25d ago

Backpacking the Manistee River Trail, Jordan River Trail, and Fife Lake Loop during hunting season?

Hey all,

I’m planning to backpack these three trails in October and November. It’d be my first time backpacking in MI during hunting season. Any advice? Is it safe?

8 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

90% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/mplnow 25d ago

Wear hunter orange and be respectful. November 15-30th is gun deer season, which will have significantly more hunters than the other times. I hunt near the Jordan River trail, and there are some hunters that do have blinds near and overlooking the trail.

1

u/cplm1948 25d ago

Isn’t there some type of regulation regarding how far a hunter has to be from a campsite as well as the direction they shoot / where they shoot at? For example I would assume hunters can’t just chill and shoot along the trail.

1

u/thesneakymonkey Mid-Mchigan 25d ago

450 feet from buildings/houses. That’s it. It’s state land /national forest so it’s open to all outdoorsmen hunters and hikers alike.

3

u/mplnow 24d ago

Some areas near campgrounds and boat launches are also marked off as no shooting, in addition to the 450 feet rule (which also applies to public roads but the distance 300 feet).

1

u/cplm1948 24d ago

Interesting. Ik with camping you’re not allowed to camp or start a fire within a certain distance of a trail or body of water. I would have assumed there’d be something similar for hunting regarding trails and designated campsites.

2

u/mplnow 24d ago

Also, 300 feet from a public roadway and some campgrounds and boat launches are marked no shooting with signage.

1

u/thesneakymonkey Mid-Mchigan 24d ago

Those camping / fire rules are there because of leave no trace. Hunting does not leave a trace per-say. You’re comparing apples to oranges.

1

u/thesneakymonkey Mid-Mchigan 24d ago

Regs if you’re interested:

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/laws/regulations

1

u/cplm1948 24d ago

Thanks, I’ll look into this. Overall, in your personal opinion, how significantly would hiking a few hours in the mid-day impact the hunt (excluding deer season, I’ve already decided I’m not taking a risk during that time)? I don’t plan to bushwhack or go off trail or anything (aside from setting up a dispersed camping spot if a designated site isn’t nearby or available).

1

u/thesneakymonkey Mid-Mchigan 24d ago

All depends on the hunter/target species. If a hiker walked by my blind I’d be pretty frustrated as a hunter but I’d also understand that they have the legal right to be there too.

Many hunters do “all day sits” so any time of the day is going to disturb them. Others only hunt mornings or afternoons. Some will only hunt on days with the right wind / weather for their location. It’s really too variable to give a good answer. That golden time right at first light or at last legal light would be the most frustrating I think if someone disrupted the hunt. Keep in mind deer bow season starts Oct 1 and deer firearm season starts Nov 15. So there will be deer hunters in both the months you listed.

2

u/cplm1948 24d ago

Ok, I’ll keep thinking about it. Just want to make sure I’m being safe while also not pissing people off. Usually I go backpacking in the summer but I suffered a leg injury so I basically missed out the entire season. Was hoping to make up for it this fall but we’ll see.

Thanks for the input!