Discovering the Little Carp River Trail Thanks to a Hitchhiker

When we were driving down the South Boundary Road after leaving the Preque Isle River we picked up a hitchhiker. Yes, we picked up a hitchhiker! There were two men with an assortment of little girls on the side of the road and I told Wayne to swing it around and see what they needed. What they needed was a ride to their car to save the girls an extra 6 mile hike so Dad #1 hopped in and we took him to his van on Little Carp River Road. The light under the canopy was so beautiful that I pestered Wayne the next day to go back there for our hike.

I was a bit disappointed that the light was not as good because it had been overcast the day before, but we had a nice little hike nonetheless.  The road ends at a parking lot for the Little Carp River Trail which connects to a few other trails along the way. We took the side trail to Overlooked Falls first, which is really a set of cascades.  We ran into a nice couple there who took our picture, and I was so amused by the way Wayne was standing that I imitated it.  Our daughter said it looked like he was going to start doing ballet, I thought he looked like he was striking a superhero pose. Either way, it made for a fun shot.



We went to the other side of the river and made our way onto the Little Carp River trail.  It was a bit noisy due to some workers doing some trail maintenance.  There were quite a few downed trees across the trails in the park on our hikes. Perhaps they wait until later in the season and get them all at once due to budgetary limitations.

A little further in on the trail we came to Greenstone Falls. The falls is about 20' wide, and less than 10' high. As waterfalls go it isn't very impressive, but there was something delightful about climbing down the bank to see it and having the view up and down the river all to ourselves. The reflections of the golden leaves on the river's surface didn't hurt either.

Just a few steps away from the falls is the Greenstone Cabin, right on the trail.  It was originally built in 1948 but was renovated after a fire in 1990 and is an easy 1/2 mile walk from the parking lot. One of the unique features of this state park is their trailside cabins and yurts. The cabins range from 2-8 bunk capacity and include  mattresses, kitchen dishes and utensils, a table with chairs, a wood burning stove, and a saw and axe. Many hikers make arrangements to spend different nights at different cabins, making their way through the park along the trail system.  Most of the cabins also include an outhouse, though we couldn't find one for this cabin.  I was enchanted with the location and it's easy access from the parking lot and am keeping it in mind for a possible future trip with a friend. Hopefully that outhouse is hiding somewhere nearby! I can just imagine walking down to the river every morning to enjoy the peace and quiet before packing up and hitting any of a number of trails that intersect near there.  Bug season is quite lengthy in this area, so if you have the same idea either bring plenty of repellant or come after mid-August to avoid them.