Mission Hill/Spectacle Lake Overlook

This delightful spot, part of the Hiawatha National Forest, offers one of the Upper Peninsula's most memorable panoramas. (Unfortunately, some graffits may mar the site.) Here a steep sand dune towers dramatically above Spectacle Lake. On the left, Point Iroquois lighthouse's white tower stands out among the dark pines and hardwoods. You may see freighters heading for the Soo Locks, visible to the far right, or emerging from them heading for Marquette or Duluth-Superior. Behind the locks are Algoma Steel's stacks and, blue in the distance, the rugged Laurentian hills of Ontario's Algoma Region.

Just below Mission Hill is Spectacle Lake. A plaque on Mission Hill remembers Herman and Frances Cameron, an inspiring, community-minded Ojibwa couple from Bay Mills who liked to come here "for contemplation and renewal." Follow their example. Don't hurry from this serene spot.

If you continue due west on the drive along the bluff, in five scenic but bumpy miles through the woods, you will arrive at the Dollar Settlement on Whitefish Bay (named after lumberman Robert Dollar).

The inconspicuous turnoff from Lake Shore Drive to Mission Hill is a little west of the Bay Mills Indian Cemetery.
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BAY MILLS
POINTS OF INTEREST

Mission Hill/Spectacle Lake Overlook. A delightful, easily missed spot with memorable scenic panoramas of the Point Iroquois Light, occasional freighters, and the Soo Locks. ... more

Monocle Lake. A well-stocked 172-acre lake with a beach, floating fishing dock, and 2-mile hiking trail. ... more

Point Iroquois Light Station & Museum. Memorable 1870 lighthouse museum with furnished keeper's quarters, displays on lighthouse technology, navigational aids. Up from a beautiful beach. Climb the lighthouse tower for a great view of lake, shipping. ... more

Big Pine Picnic Area. A local favorite picnic site with huge pines, a fine Lake Superior beach with colorful stones ... more

Bay View Beach and Campground. You'll often have the sandy Lake Superior beach here to yourself ... more

Pendills Creek National Fish Hatchery. See the hundreds of thousands of lake trout growing to 5" to 8" when they are released in Lake Michigan and Huron ... more

Indian Fishing Historical Marker & roadside park. On a site with a sweeping Lake Superior beach, a marker tells the story of a Bay Mills fishing case ruling on the the U.S. Supreme Court decided that Indians never signed away their right to fish for a living. ... more

North Country Trail Segment. Enjoy a short walk on the multi-state hiking trail, traversing a swinging bridge and reaching Tahquamenon Bay ... more

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