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 wetlands 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 area of Lake Huron is rich in fish of all kinds. Fish-eating waterfowl, such as the great blue heron, are often seen here.[2]
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 that they used to catch the fish.[2]
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 (4.0 km) trail from the Foley Creek parking lot/campground, adjacent to the wilderness, into the wilderness itself. The trail is often damp, and mosquitoes are common; it terminates at the Horseshoe Bay shoreline.[2]
The Horseshoe Bay Wilderness is served by County Highway H-63 and is adjacent to exit 352 on Interstate 75. The nearest major municipality is St. Ignace, which is five miles (8.0 km)to the south.[1][2]
References
^ abMichigan Atlas and Gazetteer (Map) (10th ed.). DeLorme. 2002. p. 94.
^ abcde. GORP.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-13. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
January 31, 2023
horseshoe, wilderness, acre, wilderness, area, state, michigan, borders, horseshoe, shallow, that, part, extreme, northwest, corner, lake, huron, adjacent, straits, mackinac, wilderness, area, overseen, united, states, forest, service, part, hiawatha, national. The Horseshoe Bay Wilderness is a 3 787 acre 15 33 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 1 2 Horseshoe Bay WildernessIUCN category Ib wilderness area LocationMackinac County Michigan United StatesNearest citySt Ignace MichiganCoordinates45 58 30 N 84 43 07 W 45 97500 N 84 71861 W 45 97500 84 71861 Coordinates 45 58 30 N 84 43 07 W 45 97500 N 84 71861 W 45 97500 84 71861Area3 787 acres 15 33 km2 Established1987Governing bodyU S Forest ServiceDescription EditWhen the water level of Lake Huron receded after the most recent ice age many rolling areas of former lakeshore and lake bottomland became riparian wetlands 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 area of Lake Huron is rich in fish of all kinds Fish eating waterfowl such as the great blue heron are often seen here 2 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 that they used to catch the fish 2 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 0 km trail from the Foley Creek parking lot campground adjacent to the wilderness into the wilderness itself The trail is often damp and mosquitoes are common it terminates at the Horseshoe Bay shoreline 2 The Horseshoe Bay Wilderness is served by County Highway H 63 and is adjacent to exit 352 on Interstate 75 The nearest major municipality is St Ignace which is five miles 8 0 km to the south 1 2 References Edit a b Michigan Atlas and Gazetteer Map 10th ed DeLorme 2002 p 94 a b c d e Horseshoe Bay Wilderness GORP com Archived from the original on 2010 05 13 Retrieved 2009 08 29 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Horseshoe Bay Wilderness amp oldid 1118502949, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
