Winter Visit to Cliff Lake
Cliff Lake is a small body of water nestled against the southern flanks of Mt. Benison, located halfway between Big Bay and Skanee. There are two main routes to Cliff Lake: follow Cliff River north from the Northwestern Road past Forty Foot Falls or break off of Erick's Road where it meets Little Huron River Road and head east. Since I decided to tackle this adventure in early March, when Erick's Road is one of the few plowed drives in the area, I chose the latter.
Ice Covered Cliff Lake
I was excited to jump out of the car after four hours of early morning driving, even if the forecast had lied about the sunny day. Thick flakes of fluff drifted lazily on my car, parked near the sharp northward bend of Erick's Road. I grabbed a few extra jackets for layers and headed southeast past the 'Private Drive - No ATVs' sign. This road was also plowed (surprisingly), making the first bit of my hike an easy walk.
After passing several cabins in the first half mile I decided to cut north. Cliff Lake wasn't my only ...
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