Horseshoe Bay Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The Horseshoe Bay Wilderness is a 3787 acres (15.3 km²) wilderness area in the U.S. state
of Michigan
. It borders Horseshoe Bay, a shallow bay that is part of the extreme northwest corner of Lake Huron
adjacent to the Straits of Mackinac
. The wilderness area is overseen by the United States Forest Service
as part of the Hiawatha National Forest
.
s along the lake's edge. The Horseshoe Bay Wilderness is one of these wetlands. It is forested, and characterized by trees that can tolerate humid and damp conditions, such as the paper birch and the Northern whitecedar
. The shore of Horseshoe Bay, and the slow-moving tributaries that drain from the wetland into the bay, offer good ground for fish spawning
, and the adjacent ara of Lake Huron is rich in fish of all kinds. Fish-eating waterfowl, such as the great blue heron
, are often seen here.
Native Americans used Horseshoe Bay wetlands to catch fish. They harvested local plant life, such as birch bark and cedar roots, to build the canoes they used to catch the fish.
After the Horseshoe Bay wetland had been thoroughly logged
by timber companies, the land reverted to the public sector. Congress
designated a parcel of national forest land along Horseshoe Bay's shoreline as a wilderness area in 1987. The Forest Service has built a 2.5-mile (4 km) trail from the Foley Creek parking lot/campground, adjacent to the wilderness, into the wilderness itself. The trail is often damp, and mosquito
es are common; it terminates at the Horseshoe Bay shoreline.
The Horseshoe Bay Wilderness is served by Michigan local highway H-63
and is adjacent to Exit 352 of Interstate 75
. The nearest major municipality is St. Ignace, Michigan
, which is five miles (8 km) to the south.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It borders Horseshoe Bay, a shallow bay that is part of the extreme northwest corner of Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
adjacent to the Straits of Mackinac
Straits of Mackinac
The Straits of Mackinac is the strip of water that connects two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and separates the Lower Peninsula of Michigan from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is a shipping lane providing passage for raw materials and finished goods, connecting, for...
. The wilderness area is overseen by the United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
as part of the Hiawatha National Forest
Hiawatha National Forest
Hiawatha National Forest is a National Forest in the Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan in the United States. Commercial logging is conducted in some areas. The United States Forest Service administers this National Forest; it is physically divided into two subunits, commonly called the...
.
Description
When the water level of Lake Huron receded after the most recent ice age, many rolling areas of former lakeshore and lake bottomland became riparian wetlandWetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s along the lake's edge. The Horseshoe Bay Wilderness is one of these wetlands. It is forested, and characterized by trees that can tolerate humid and damp conditions, such as the paper birch and the Northern whitecedar
Thuja occidentalis
Thuja occidentalis is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is widely cultivated for use as an ornamental plant known as American Arbor Vitae. The endemic occurrence of this species is a northeastern distribution in North America...
. The shore of Horseshoe Bay, and the slow-moving tributaries that drain from the wetland into the bay, offer good ground for fish spawning
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
, and the adjacent ara of Lake Huron is rich in fish of all kinds. Fish-eating waterfowl, such as the great blue heron
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...
, are often seen here.
Native Americans used Horseshoe Bay wetlands to catch fish. They harvested local plant life, such as birch bark and cedar roots, to build the canoes they used to catch the fish.
After the Horseshoe Bay wetland had been thoroughly logged
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
by timber companies, the land reverted to the public sector. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
designated a parcel of national forest land along Horseshoe Bay's shoreline as a wilderness area in 1987. The Forest Service has built a 2.5-mile (4 km) trail from the Foley Creek parking lot/campground, adjacent to the wilderness, into the wilderness itself. The trail is often damp, and mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
es are common; it terminates at the Horseshoe Bay shoreline.
The Horseshoe Bay Wilderness is served by Michigan local highway H-63
H-63 (Michigan county highway)
H-63 is a county-designated highway in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that follows along the Interstate 75 corridor between St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie. The road is known as the Mackinac Trail, named for an Indian trail used before European settlers reached the area...
and is adjacent to Exit 352 of Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
. The nearest major municipality is St. Ignace, Michigan
St. Ignace, Michigan
Saint Ignace, usually written as St. Ignace, is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,678. It is the county seat of Mackinac County. From the Lower Peninsula, St. Ignace is the gateway to the Upper Peninsula.St...
, which is five miles (8 km) to the south.