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.
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 seven stage multi-cache with a field puzzle and is not at the posted coordinates. To determine the location of the cache, go to each stage and collect a digit for the final. Stage 1 is at the posted coordinates.
Stage 1: There is a post with two DNR signs. The top sign has three large words. The second word is 10 letters long. What is the numerical value of the second letter in the second word? This number is C.
Stage 2: This stage will take you to the campground. While a large park, this is the only area for individual camping. It is situated on Proud Lake. If the gate is closed, it is possible to park and walk down to stage 2. At this stage there is a circular drive that creates a greenspace. (It is before entering the campground proper and to the left/west side.) How many trees are growing on the north end of the greenspace (near the drains)? From the number of trees, subtract the number of drains. The result is B.
Stage 3: This is a busy area of Proud Lake RA. Here a cacher will find the main entrance, conference center, annex, and hiking and skiing trails. The conference center and annex can be rented and have been the site of the Michigan Geocaching Organization's Fall Fun Day on multiple occasions. At this stage is a trail head. There is a large sign explaining the marsh and a small plaque on a large rock. On The Marsh Story sign, how many letters are in the second bolded word in the first paragraph (the last word in the first paragraph)? This is number A.
Stage 4: This is Heavener Canoe and Kayak Rental. This place can be very busy at times. The Huron River flows through the Proud Lake RA. It is a rather slow river in this section and it is very possible to paddle stream. A cacher does not need to enter to get the number at this stage. It can be found on the entrance booth, south side. It is circular and has how many words (do not count the initials in the middle as a word.)? This is number Z.
Stage 5: This is the Powers Beach area of Proud Lake RA. It has space to walk, hike, and enjoy the small beach. The coordinates for this stage will take cacher to a small parking section. How many parking blocks are at this small parking lot? Take that number and subtract the number of stages already visited on this multi-cache (not counting this stage). That number is Y.
Stage 6: Horses use Proud Lake extensively. This stage brings a cacher to the equestrian staging area. There are trails here that can be hiked or trodden with a horse. It could be very busy here. At this stage there is a post pointing the directions of the trails. On this post are five arrows, four of them painted different colors. (Ignore the white arrow.) Take the number of letters in the color of the second-from-bottom arrow. Add that to the number of letters in the color of the top arrow. This will be number X.
Using the digits you have collected along way, the final can be discovered at:
N 42° 33.ABC W 083° 34.XYZ
North Checksum: A+B+C = 14
West Checksum:. X+Y+Z = 16
You are looking for a Regular size container. Please return everything as good or better than you found it.
Thank you
South Lyon Trekkers
for creating, hiding and maintaining this MSPC GeoTour cache.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Bridge in the fog
Proud Lake Recreation Area:
Proud Lake Recreation Area is a 4700-acre recreation area stretched across
Oakland and Livingston counties and popular with equestrians and hunters. The park lies along the shores of the scenic Huron River and offers diverse and plentiful recreation opportunities and is dominated by hardwood forests and lakes to west. The eastern portion is wooded as well as consisting of open meadows. This is the area in which the Nike missile site was located.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Water Sports
Activities:
Visitors to the recreation area can hike on 20 miles of trails including almost 10 miles of mountain biking trails. Paddling is popular on the many lakes and rivers. Winter time brings snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. Camping can be done year-round. Access to adjoining park systems can be had on the both land and water.
For water enthusiasts′ canoes and kayaks can be rented at the park and there is a boat launch available as well.
Proud Lake Recreation Area has over 40 currently active Geocaches in the park including 2 Geo Arts as well as 2 additional Geo Arts just outside the park borders, all hidden by Da Finns. There ae several Highly Favorited caches located here, and a couple hidden by TreePlanter are noted below. So, while you are visiting show Da Finns and TreePlanter some love by visiting some of the caches here in the park, such as GC356Z1 and GC35XB7.
Information:
For more information, reservations and a calendar of events, follow this link to
Proud Lake Recreation Area.
Special thanks to
navychief98
for help with this geocache.
Special thanks to beenhere, LynnGeoGin and HNY Event Staff for the Southeast regional prize.
Resources: