TWO HEARTED RIVER MOUTH AREA

Region: Tahquamenon & Seney, Grand Marais & Whitefish Point

The interior north of Newberry and the much-visited Tahquamenon Falls is some of the Upper Peninsula's most remote land. Mixed forests of maple, birch, and conifers, and many wetlands make for outstanding fall color. Most land is part of the Lake Superior State Forest, and loggers are active in some areas. Of the scattered sawmill villages established during the bygone lumber era, none has developed into a permanent community.
The western part of this area is drained by the four branches of the Two Hearted River, made famous by Ernest Hemingway, who appropriated its poetic name for his short story about fishing on the Fox. The Two Hearted name actually refers not to moods but to the fact that it has two branches, more or less equal in size. Totaling over a hundred miles, the Two Hearted is a designated Wilderness River under the state's Natural Rivers Program, which defines a wilderness river as "a free-flowing river, with essentially primitive, undeveloped adjacent lands." Reliable water levels and fishing for steelhead and trout make it popular enough as a canoeing stream to warrant a canoe livery/campground/motel at its mouth, Rainbow Lodge.

CR 412 is the long, twisting road east through state land to the remote Crisp Point Lighthouse from paved H-37 at Pine Stump Junction (north of Newberry). It's quite a surprise when it passes Little Lake east of the Two Hearted mouth, an oddly civilized collection of summer cottages that looks like it could be near Saugatuck or Pentwater. They have been here since the end of the logging era. Little Lake itself is a harbor of refuge, with Little Lake State Dock and launch site very near Lake Superior. The harbormaster is there June through August at (906) 658-3372.

Three rustic state forest campgrounds are along the Two Hearted, and three on nearby lakes. The land here is low-lying. Along the Lake Superior shoreline are low sand dunes, and in the interior forests, marshes, bogs, and swamps. Much of the land is open to the public for hunting, fishing, and recreational use, including most of Tahquamenon Falls State Park.

Some remote sections of the North Country Trail pass through here from Deer Park to just east of the Two Hearted's mouth. Then the trail turns south and heads for Tahquamenon Falls, going through some challenging areas where insects can be a huge problem.

Return to Tahquamenon & Seney, Grand Marais & Whitefish Point

PLACES AROUND TWO HEARTED RIVER MOUTH AREA TO

Eat Sleep Camp