coleman boats

Snowmobile Ride in Michigan's Lower Peninsula

Michigan was having the best year it had seen in quite some time, in terms of snowfall. Some areas had received more than twice the average whole and the Lower Peninsula was calling to us for a snowmobile ride.

Our three-person group hauled the snowmobiles to Frank Alley Memorial Park near West Branch, Michigan. We unloaded there for a concentrate of reasons. When traveling north on I-75 from the southeast projection of the Lower Peninsula, it's the closest place to catch the trail system. Once on the snowmobile trails, you can go wherever you want - even the Upper Peninsula. Second, the Ogemaw Hills snowmobile club regularly has its trails in top shape.

We rolled out of Alley Park late in the morning. Our plan was to reach Cheboygan, placed on the Lake Huron shoreline, that evening.

We took snowmobile trails north to Luzerne; home of Ma Deeter's. You shouldn't pass through Luzerne without stopping at the landmark restaurant. From Luzerne we prolonged north through Red Oak and into Lewiston. The terrain included a wide collection of topography. Hills, tight woods, not-so-tight woods, swamps, meadows, forest roads, two tracks and icy lake tops were all included. From Lewiston we headed north through Atlanta and up to Millersburg.

As the sun set, the sky turned from intelligent blue to a vivid mix of pink, orange and blue with a few clouds mixed in to make an awesome sunset. That gave way to a clear, moonlit night that was perfect for snowmobiling.

After our fuel stop in Millersburg, we took a route through the Black Mountain Recreation Area to Cheboygan. We could have taken a hasten grade, but with trails still in great shape, the moon shining intelligent and no timetable to meet, the Black Mountain route was an definite choice.

In the heart of the Black Mountain area is a snowmobiler-friendly pit stop called The Bluffs. It sits on a bluff and overlooks Black Lake. We took a late and extended evening meal break before the short ride to our hotel in Cheboygan.

We arrived at the North Country Inn 12 hours after our departure from the trailer. It was the kind of day I didn't want to end. intelligent sunshine, pleasant temperatures, fullness of snow and wonderfully smooth trails gave way to a moonlit night. But like all good things, the day had to come to an end. We parked the snowmobiles for the night with 203 miles showing on the day's trip meter.