Snowshoe to the Lost Creek Yurt in the Porkies

The Porcupine Mountains offer a lot of fantastic winter options including cabin and yurt rentals for winter excursions. The most remote trek available in the park is towards the Lost Creek Yurt, a 6.8 miles route that is 2.8 miles on cross country ski trail, and 4 miles on a flagged route into the woods. 

To start the hike, enter the park at the Headquarters Office off of the junction of M-107 and M-64. This will lead to the eastern entrance of South Boundary Road. You can only access this road from the eastern entrance in the winter - South Boundary Road becomes a snowmobiling trail in the winter and is unplowed throughout winter months. From the Headquarters Office, hikers can snowshoes towards the River Trail, which loops southeast towards Union Spring campground. The trail crosses over South Boundary Road twice, and intersects with Union Spring campground and the Artist Residence along the way. After the second intersection with South Boundary Road, the path continues for 1 miles, reaching the entrance to the Union River cabin. Continue ahead, and hikers will see the start of the flagged route. The route is marked with orange and fluorescent ribbons attached to tress. Depending on snowfall, the trail can usually be seen following previous hikers footsteps. 

The flagged route starts the second half of the hike. The trail is generally flat, but begins to increase in slope for the majority of the trip, following a ridge towards the yurt. At the very end of the this section, the trail begins to slope downward in its last 0.5 mile. At the end of this slope, there is another wooden sign marking the trail for the yurt, which is 300 yards ahead. Once arriving at the yurt, hikers can see an additional wood-pile for restocking the yurt, an outhouse, and a bear box. Once inside, the yurt has a cast-iron stove for heat and cooking, four bunks, and a table and chairs. 

Once settled in, hikers can scramble towards Lost Lake, roughly 1.25 miles northwest of the yurt. There is a trail from the yurt, but it is not well marked or flagged. 

Total Distance from Park HQ to Yurt: 6.8 miles

Total Elevation Gain from Park HQ to Yurt: 610ft