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.
The construction projects slated for spring through fall of 2024 should not impair access to this cache.
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 traditional cache hidden at the posted coordinates. It is a half mile hike from the parking lot along the Silver Lake Trail. The terrain rating is for the length of the hike and some good hills along the way. Be alert for mountain bikers as you will be sharing the trail with them. The cache is fifty feet from trail marker 5. You are looking for a Regular size container. Please return everything as good or better than you found it.
Thank you
Strong Rogues
for creating, hiding and maintaining this MSPC GeoTour cache.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
The water calls you at the Pinckney Recreation Area
Pinckney Recreation Area:
Pinckney Recreation Area is a paradise for backpackers, mountain bikers, anglers and other recreation enthusiasts. Pinckney is known for its extensive trail system and chain of excellent fishing lakes. Over forty miles of multi-use trail with remote campsites afford a backcountry experience.
There are multiple camp sites both for modern and rustic camping in the park. Multiple cabins are available as well. Portions of the park are open to hunting and many lakes have boat launches and are open to fishing.
The landscape is comprised of a terminal moraine area which was formed during the last glaciation period. A terminal moraine is created at the leading edge of an ice sheet after a brief (in geological terms) advance. When the ice sheet retreats, the material pushed in front of the ice sheet remains.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Mountain Biking is popular at Pinckney Recreation Area
History:
Hell, a village near the center of the Pinckney Recreation Area, was created around a small collection of startup business owned by George Reeves that included a sawmill and gristmill shortly thereafter, the inevitable tabern. Reeves had emigrated from the Catskill Mountains of New York in the 1830s. In 1924 the family sold the property to speculators who saw the possibility of a resort. They raised the level of the mill bond by building up the dam, creating Hiland Lake. The state purchased the property in 1943-44 along with considerable other property in southeast Michigan.
Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Activities:
ACTIVITIES
Information:
For more information, reservations and a calendar of events, follow this link to
Pinckney Recreation Area.
Special thanks to
mdeanbbn
for help with this geocache.
Special thanks to beenhere, LynnGeoGin and HNY Event Staff for the Southeast regional prize.
Resources: