Sign Up  /  Login

Bur Oak LbNA #24389 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Turtle's Mom
Plant date:Aug 10, 2006
Location: Lake Antoine Park
City:Iron Mountain
County:Dickinson
State:Michigan
Boxes:1
Found by: Middle Sister
Last found:May 28, 2016
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFr
Last edited:Oct 25, 2016
Lake Antoine Park near Iron Mountain is a nice spot for swimming, fishing, picnics, and camping. The 748 acre, spring-fed lake is surrounded by high hills and is well-known for its walleyes and largemouth bass. Big oaks shade the campground and picnic areas.

The short hiking trail is another great feature of this park, however, it is badly neglected. It travels from the lakeshore into 20 acres of pristine climax forest of hemlock, maple, oak and white pine. Among the large oaks in this forest are several specimens of bur oak (a white oak) and one of the largest oaks in North America. It is uncommon in the Upper Peninsula. It has a tall, clear trunk and short, stout branches. Its leaves feature a deep cleft near the bottom. It is extremely slow-growing and not considered mature until it is 200 to 300 years old!

To find the bur oak, travel west on US-2 from the center of Iron Mountain about 2 miles until you come to the stoplight at Lake Antoine Rd. Turn right and go 1.6 miles to the Quinnesec-Lake Antoine Rd. and turn right again. You will pass the entrance to Lake Antoine Park. After .3 of a mile, you will see Lake Antoine Road (south side of lake) where you must turn right. A chain link fence borders the campground on the right side of the road. You will come upon the exit for the park and the fence will stop. Park in front of the 'Dog Area' in front of the white posts.

Start your hike by the lake in front of you. To the left is an outhouse - the trail starts behind it and along the lake. Follow the trail to bench #1. Take the left-hand fork into the woods and across the road to the sign, "No hunting, Public Hiking Trail." As you enter this portion of the trail, note the thick growth of hemlock trees shading out the undergrowth. Scattered among them are maples and ironwood. Further along, large northern oaks become more numerous. Bench #2 is on your left. Keep walking along and at a bend in the trail you will find Bench #3 on your right. Further ahead on your right will be Bench #4. Start counting your paces (2 steps = 1 pace). At 10 paces, look left to find a tall white pine that houses an eagle's nest in its top about 10 paces off the trail. On the trail, keep counting off 10 more paces. There should be a post on your right. Right here is a large bur oak on the left side of the trail. Look behind it.

Please rehide this box carefully.

Hike length: 0.5 miles