Nordhouse Dunes is a federally designated Wilderness Area in Michigan’s beautiful Manistee National Forest. If you’re planning to visit Nordhouse for the day or overnight, here are some helpful tips.

Top 5 Tips

1. No wheels. Be prepared to carry in your gear—AND carry it out again.
2. Bury your poop—there are no bathrooms in the wilderness.
3. Burn dead, dry wood only that’s already on the ground. No cutting live trees.
4. No tents on open sand. Dunes are fragile.
5. Dogs are welcome but must be leashed.
   

All the Details

Parking

South Access: There is a 24-space parking lot at the Nurnberg Road Trailhead, where you’ll find a vault toilet, garbage and recycling bins, a trail map and other information, a few picnic tables, and a place to pay for your parking permit. It costs $5 a day or $15 for seven days.

North Access: There are 60 spaces at the Lake Michigan Recreation Area Trailhead, plus vault toilets, a playground, a water pump, and garbage cans. The cost for a parking pass is also $5 a day or $15 for seven.

In addition, if the Nurnberg parking lot is full—and it will get FULL, especially on weekends during the summer—there also is parking on the south side of Nurnberg Road. Parking along the road is not a free-for-all. Keep an eye out for the no-parking signs! If you fail to pay or if you park where you’re not supposed to, you will get ticketed. 

Hiking 

Cell phone service is spotty, so a trail map is handy while hiking at Nordhouse Dunes. Take a picture of the trail map provided at the North or South trailheads or download the free Avenza map app and search for Nordhouse Dunes. This app will show your location within the Wilderness even if you don’t have cell service. When hiking, stick to the trails as much as you can. Making new trails causes erosion and especially damages the fragile sand dunes. 

It’s about a mile to the beach from the Nurnberg trailhead. Be ready! Parts of the trail are sandy and can be hard to navigate. The Lake Michigan Recreation Area is directly adjacent to the beautiful Rec Area beach. Walk about ¼ mile south to the Wilderness boundary along the beach or take the trail along the ridge to the Wilderness. Don’t set up camp until you reach the Wilderness! Camping isn’t allowed at the Rec Area outside of the developed campground.

Camping 

Here are the basics for camping at Nordhouse.

• There are no designated camping spots at Nordhouse. You can camp anywhere at Nordhouse with a few exceptions and you’ll need to carry in your gear, food, and water or water filter. 
• No camping on open sand or dunes. This protects the fragile dunes for the rare species that live here.
• No camping near water or a main trail. This is important for keeping the water clean and the trails from feeling crowded.
• Set up camp in a spot that’s already established. You’ll know it when you see it! Look for an established fire pit and make a fire there rather than starting a fire in a new spot. 

Got heavy gear? If you want a great car-camping experience, check out the Lake Michigan Recreation Area, which is located on Nordhouse’s north boundary. The Lake Michigan Recreation Area offers both individual and group campsites and you can stroll into Nordhouse on the connected trails. Some spots you can reserve, and some are first-come, first-serve. Make reservations and find more details on their website: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233714

No Wheels

When you have a lot of gear or want to hike in cold beverages, it’s tempting to use wagons or coolers with wheels, but wheels are not allowed at Nordhouse. Wheeled coolers and wagons have been a major source of erosion on fragile dunes in recent years. Although sleds don’t have wheels, they are also tough on the dunes.

No Cutting Trees

Use downed wood from the forest only. Do not cut down a tree or chop off a branch for your fire—even a dead one! Those dead, standing trees are important habitat for birds and animals that call Nordhouse home. Driftwood is also important for beach critters and holds sand so plants can take root and grow. Firewood is pretty scarce especially around the beach campsites so make a smaller fire with branches and twigs rather than a raging blaze with all the logs you can find! 

Rules Protect Your Wilderness

Rules can seem annoying, but it’s important to remember that all of these guidelines are in place to help protect the plants and animals that call Nordhouse home and make it an amazing place to visit.

Whether it’s hiking off trail, parking where you’re not supposed to, dragging in a wagon, or leaving trash behind, it might be easy to shrug it off and think,  “I’m only one person. What’s the harm if I do it just one time?” But Nordhouse’s popularity has boomed in the past decade, and most likely, you’re not the only one doing it. When many people don’t follow rules, those actions add up. Even as one person, your actions make a difference. Set a good example, and speak up if you see someone who isn’t following the rules—they really might not be aware! Together we can keep Nordhouse wild for many generations to come.

Visit FOND’s blog to learn more about visiting Nordhouse.