UPDATE: 3/1/2024:
2019 was the 100th Anniversary of Michigan State Parks and we're still celebrating!. Join the Michigan Geocaching Organization (MiGO), the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Geocaching.com for the first official GeoTour in Michigan.
This tour was originally scheduled to run for three years, kicking off on Friday of Memorial Weekend in 2019 and continue through May 31, 2022. The success of this awesome tour has not gone unnoticed. On February 2, 2022, The DNR announced the extension of the GeoTour through September 24, 2024! Join us in making a final push to complete this very popular and very successful GeoTour before the sun sets on it.
Each geocache is in one of Michigan's state parks. The geocaches are arranged by MiGO Region, with twenty-five geocaches per region. The Ticket to Celebrate 100 is available for download from the DNR's Geocaching page. It explains how to qualify for prizes in each of the four regions and for the GeoTour as a whole.
Day use areas of state parks are open from 8AM to 10PM. Geocaching is limited to those hours. Entry into Michigan's State Parks requires a Michigan Recreation Passport. See the Resources section below for more information.
The sun will set on the MSPCGT at midnight Tuesday, September 24, 2024. The MSPCGT will go off the air as a GeoTour and the caches will disappear from the map. There is a lot of construction going on in our State Parks in 2024. Some of the GeoTour caches will have to be pulled earlier. The remaining geocaches in the tour will be archived October 1, 2024. Players will have until December 31, 2024 to claim any prize they have earned. Hiders will be contacted to request removal of the geocaches they hid unless they have made arrangements with park managers and have their own permit in place to keep the geocache in play, with a new GC Code.
Construction activities in the campground at the park will not impair access to this geocache.
Now for some good news: MiGO and the DNR are busy working on a new project that will kick off in the Spring of 2025, code named MSPGT 2.0. Are you interested in helping? Keep your MiGO Membership up to date and stay tuned to the website.
Cache:
This cache was hidden as part of the Michigan State Parks Centennial GeoTour, presented by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Geocaching Organization. Record the codeword printed on the log book and on a label inside the cache container to the appropriate box on the Ticket to Celebrate 100 form. See the instructions on the form to claim prizes.
This is a two stage cache with the both stages at given coordinates. The cache is protected by by combination lock. At the first stage you will find some plaques. Answer the following four questions to determine the combination for the lock at the final stage.
Q1) What year did the SS Cyprus go down?
0) 1877
1) 1907
2) 1950
3) 1917
Q2 The Deer Park Life Saving Station was in service from... ?
6) 1815 to 1977
7) 1865 to 1912
8) 1915 to 1921
9) 1877 to 1915
Q3) What popular hiking trail passes through this State Park?
3) Muskallonge Lake Hiking trail
4) Lake Superior Hiking Trail
5) Cross Michigan Hiking Trail
6) North Country Hiking trail
Q4) How long is this hiking trail (from question 3) ?
7) 460 miles
8) 6400 miles
9) 1282 miles
0) 4600 miles
Record your answers, they will be helpful when you find the cache. Proceed to the second stage (N 46° 40.664 W 085° 37.471 ) with your answers. Start your journey at the day use parking lot, and navigate to the Deland Pathway, follow your geo-senses.
You are looking for a Regular size container. Please return everything as good or better than you found it.
Thank you
usyooppers
for creating, hiding and maintaining this MSPC GeoTour cache.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Sunset over Muskallonge Lake
Muskallonge Lake State Park:
Muskallonge Lake State Park is located 28 miles northwest of Newberry in Luce County. The 217-acre park is situated between the shores of Lake Superior and Muskallonge Lake and the area is well known for its forests, lakes and streams. There are about 70 lakes and five rivers within a 20-mile radius of the park.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Rock Collecting along the Lake Superior Shoreline
History:
Muskallonge Lake State Park was the former site of Deer Park, a lumbering town in the late 1880s, and prior to its lumbering history, an Indian encampment. Muskallonge Lake was a mill pond for millions of white pine logs that were brought to it by railroad lines. By 1900, the virgin stands of pines were depleted, the mill was closed, and the lumbering operation moved away. All that remains as evidence of the lumbering community are piles of sawdust and a few partly submerged pine logs in the lake. The park was also the old site of a Coast Guard Life Saving Station.
Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Activities:
Fishing, hiking and snowmobiling provide the biggest opportunities at Muskallonge Lake State Park. Muskallonge Lake provides anglers with an excellent opportunity to catch northern pike, muskellunge (notice the different spelling), smallmouth bass, walleye and perch. Lake Superior boasts populations of trout, salmon and menominee, especially near the river mouths.
Historic forts and the Father Marquette National Memorial and Museum are excellent destinations for day-trips. Tahquamenon Falls State Park is a relatively short drive away and offers spectacular scenery that includes Whitefish Point and several waterfalls.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
To the Big Lake
Information:
For more information, reservations and a calendar of events, follow this link to
Muskallonge Lake State Park.
Special thanks to
aghudley
for help with this geocache.
Special thanks to Cherry Capital Cachers for the Upper Peninsula regional prize.
Resources: