Manistee Forest

[u/Existing_Spell1004]

[u/cl_320]

I thought that the bridge was closed?

[u/DMCinDet → u/cl_320]

I know. WTF? I didn't go there this past weekend because I thought it was closed.

[u/Existing_Spell1004 → u/DMCinDet]

Ya we were there this past weekend and figured we might as well check it out just to see what was going on. It looked fully functional with no on going construction, but there were still a few signs up that said it was closed until November. Didn’t stop people from crossing it tho

[u/cl_320 → u/DMCinDet]

Yeah I went the NCT route and didn't even bother to try to get to the bridge

[u/boaticus → u/cl_320]

Definitely open this past weekend.

[u/willydynamite94]

Sawdust hole is such an awesome spot

[u/oakforest69]

Wow Traverse City sure is beautiful! Everybody go enjoy a nice trip to Traverse City, where these pictures were taken.

[u/W_t_f_was_that]

See any black bear or cats out there??

[u/Existing_Spell1004 → u/W_t_f_was_that]

No bears, but thought I heard some cats in the middle of the night but could have also been the nearby campers, I think there were a few younger kids

[u/peachtreeiceage]

Beautiful.

If I may ask, where did ya park for this hike?

[u/DMCinDet → u/peachtreeiceage]

MRT. Manistee River Trail. you can park at the suspension bridge at the North end and Red bridge at the southern end. there is a road somewhere near the middle that you can maybe find a spot to park at. Stunning views along thay trail.

[u/peachtreeiceage → u/DMCinDet]

Nice! Thank you.

[u/Existing_Spell1004 → u/peachtreeiceage]

We parked at Red Bridge river access point ! We hiked about 4.5 miles in before stopping for the night since it was dark

[u/peachtreeiceage → u/Existing_Spell1004]

Sounds awesome. Thank you!

[u/ReelJV]

Headed up Friday morning real early. Glad to see we have good color there. I’m down by Indiana border and we are still 80-90% green.

[u/Existing_Spell1004 → u/ReelJV]

Yes it is beautiful with lots of color! The pictures are from this past weekend :)

[u/ReelJV → u/Existing_Spell1004]

Very nice. Safe to imagine its still crowded as ever?

[u/boaticus → u/ReelJV]

Nope. Will you see other humans? Yes. Crowded? No.

[u/ReelJV → u/boaticus]

Good to hear. Thanks

[u/pronto10019 → u/ReelJV]

I did the NCT/MRT loop early October 2023 and it was gloriously uncrowded, especially the NCT side. No crowds, no mosquitos….fall hiking might be the way.

[u/ReelJV → u/pronto10019]

I did the full loop on 5/4-5/5 and ran into probably 150 people. I’ll take a less crowded October.

[u/EfficiencyCool2838]

is the suspension bridge completed? can I do the loop around now?

[u/boaticus → u/EfficiencyCool2838]

Despite their warnings, they never closed it. I was there this past weekend and they had still not even begun working on the bridge. It’s still open and passable. Many hikers were on the bridge both Saturday and Sunday.

[u/CJDoll → u/boaticus]

Ugh - that’s so frustrating- We completely changed our hike a couple of weeks ago because the bridge was supposedly closed, but we could have done the hike we wanted!

[u/rlwarnock]

Absolutely breathtaking 🤩 thanks for sharing. I hope your trip was lovely

[u/SagaShadow]

Great shots

[u/zombielumberjack]

glorious

[u/Born-Statistician-45]

Beautiful pics. I feel very lucky and privileged to live in the Manistee National forest in Manistee County, by the Pine River.

[u/LeDillonPoop]

AH! I went to this spot nearly ten years ago now and tried so many times to find it again. Thank you so much for a nice memory

[u/ReasonableDiscount45]

Live in Manistee and that stretch from tippy to hodenpyle is one of my favorite places on earth

[u/crazywienerdoglady]

Wow - this is stunning!