My Michigan Highpointing page

Mount Arvon, 1979 feet

Introduction

The Michigan High Point is Mount Arvon, located at 46° 45' 20"N, 88° 09' 21"W, in Baraga County, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Its elevation is 1963 feet above sea level. I climbed it with my daugther, Krystyn, her dog, Shads, and Matthew's dog, Zeke, on September 2, 2002.

Approaches to the Mount Arvon Trailhead

The most popular route to the Mount Arvon trailhead is from L'Anse, along Skanee Road, to Roland Lake Road, to ... Ravine ..., through narrow logging trails. The distance one parks from the top depends on how confident you are in your vehicle's ability to travel on those narrow roads. During winter, the road may not be plowed, and you must park about four miles away. Some can make it within 1.5 miles. We were able to park about a half-mile away, with a 75 foot vertical component.

This is the first of many signs, clearly marking the route to the top. It is about 2 miles before the turnoff on Roland lake road, and the Roland Lake Road turnoff.

Here's where we turned from tar to gravel:

At the end of that road (about 2.5 miles) is Roland Lake, and the right turn onto ... Ravine .... and the road itself.

Someone has an interesting sense of humor, as the road veers off to the left, and this line of rocks blocks the other route:

From there, it was not far to the gravel pit:

Following the most direct route through the pit, which was still curved, we exited it and knew we were on the right road.

Then followed the bridge over the ___ Creek, and the road that follows it:

Here's the first distance sign to the top:

We took several more pictures of the signs

Parking

There were about three parking spots at the trailhead. Just after we parked, another vehicle drove up behind us and took one of the other spots. They were a highpointing couple from New Jersey, who rented the car. They took the spot nearest this mountain pond. Theirs was the only other vehicle we saw the whole time. It was odd that they arrived at about the same time, but fortunate in that we got to take each others' pictures.

The Trail Head

This is the last sign on the route before the final climb. It is in the parking area.

Trails to Mount Arvon

From where we parked, there is only one trail, a steep, gravel trail with rocks big enough to stop most vehicles.

The Trail

We talked extensively with the New Jersey couple about highpointing. They had been doing it for about 30 years. This was their 23rd state highpoint. They were on their way to Iowa, then North and South Dakota, and Oklahoma for the convention. I confessed that this was only my 2nd state highpoint. It was interesting learning from them. The trail up was spaced with two-foot high speed bumps, enough to discourage most vehicles. It was sandy and muddy in places, due to the rainstorm the previous night. It was mostly a steady uphill walk to the top, round trip time about 20 minutes, including

The Summit

The sign marking the highpoint is highly visible and much like the ones we've been following. At the top is a picnic table and park bench

The Geological marker is right next to the sign:

I signed the Registration book just after the other couple, but didn't read any of the names.

The Climb Down

We climbed down the same path, without difficulty. It was about10:30 AM when we got back to the van.

The Route Out

The other highpointers walked toward the lake, and we returned the way we came, not encountering any other vehicles, which is good, because we were going too fast to slow down.

Our Tallies

Other Trip Reports

Greg Slayden (June 28, 1989) | Adam Roddy (August 10, 1998) | Roger Rowlett (November 8, 1998) | Alan Ritter family (June 16, 1999)

To the next state