Baileys Harbor Boreal Forest Trail System

The climate here does something it almost never does this far south: it lets the boreal north survive. A cold microclimate along the northeastern Door Peninsula coast allows balsam fir, white spruce, and white cedar to dominate a forest that by rights belongs to Canada. The state designated this area a State Natural Area in 1995. Several miles of unmarked, unmaintained trails lead to 1.5 miles of undeveloped Lake Michigan shoreline, including a bedrock beach exposed at low water. Experienced hikers only — no facilities, no hand-holding.