Corridor 41, Haywire Grade Trail, Schoolcraft County, Michigan…

What can I say, I’m in love… with this trail…

Yeah, it’s that good. It’s got everything, everything you want… Everything you need! LOL. OK, time to get serious…

Corridor 41 through Schoolcraft County in Michigan’s Upper Penninsula is on the epic side of the spectrum and I hope to show you why in this journey I took here.

Corridor 41 meanders through Schoolcraft & Alger Counties offering some incredible views of the Hiawatha National Forest, Along and over many creeks and rivers.

Delias run (Creek) along Corridor 41

The Haywire Grade Trail is… just that, a railroad grade. So there is little variation in terrain while riding this trail. That fact is offset by the natural beauty that surrounds you while driving. There are plaques along most of the length of the trail where you are able to pull-off safely and read about the history of not only the trail but the area.

I think this sort of “walk through history” should be put in place along all trail systems. It’s as if you are going back in time, while riding the trail. In this case, this area was a major logging area, so a lot of the plaques included that type of information. An example would be, I was reading about the logging industry and there was a photo on the plaque, of horses pulling a sleigh (during winter) full of logs, seemingly 10ft high, my point is, being outside like this, is very different than being in a museum building. Makes it interesting on a whole different level.

Very few road crossings… [/caption]

There are very few road or driveway crossings, which makes this trail an absolute joy to drive. It’ just seems like endless nature and you drive seemingly forever along this amazing trail.

Usually, to me, a railroad grade trail get tiresome or boring. The Haywire Grade Trail (corridor 41) is different. While desolate, the fact that there are the plaques all along the trail, really helps to break up the riding and keeps it interesting. It’s wonderful.

Attractions and sights along the trail…

I will have separate articles for each of these destinations…

Imogene Herbert Historical Museum, Manistique, Michigan. Accessible to off-roaders, via road routes within the community of Manistique.

Kitch-iti-kipi (The Big Spring), Michigan’s Largest Fresh Water Spring, Along The Road Routes.

Where to stay…

While there are campgrounds located throughout the area, you are not gonna find one better than Jack Pines Campground, Located right on M94 & the Haywire Grade Trail in Northern Schoolcraft County.

Staying here was absolutely amazing, so much so, that I had made Jack Pines Campground My #1 pick for 2024.

The campground has it all and everything is kept up. There is a bar and restaurant on-site, fully stocked camp store, restrooms / showers, fast wifi and more. You are located somewhat centrally between Manistique to south and Munising to the north. You can drive to one community, one day… and than another day drive to the other on the Haywire Trail.

For further details about this epic campground, check out the full review in the blog…

The Communities…

The communities are sparse along the Haywire. Munising on the north end of the trail is less open to off-roaders because it is very busy, very touristy community. You are able to get to the south end of Munising to get fuel and you do have access to a few restaurants on the south-east side of the community. That is about it. You would not want to ride into Munising even if you could, I couldn’t find a decent way into the community, because it’s so busy.

Manistique on the other hand, is the opposite, it welcomes off-roaders with direct access to downtown and offers a “trail” that weaves it’s way through the community to help you get to fuel and food. While this “trail” through the community feels a bit wonky, it works.

Once in Manistique, The community offers lots of food and shopping experiences as well as a few history museums and other attractions, very nice variety for a town this size.