Porcupine Mountains
If you've been wanting to get away from it all, this trip to the Porcupine Mountains in late summer is a great time to do it! Backpacking in this park is an incredible experience. You'll be immersed in a vast wilderness and will spend three days walking through peaceful old growth hemlock forests next to rivers. Late summer and fall is the best time to visit: the weather is cooling down and there are typically fewer bugs than earlier in the year.
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The trip includes delicious prepared meals, snacks, and of course the most important food groups: coffee or tea and desserts. Mileage can be adjusted to suit your group's needs, all gear can be provided. You'll be challenging yourself and learning about the backcountry with all the logistics taken care of. Waterfalls? Yes. Lake views? Yes. Deep forests? Absolutely.
What is Typically Included?
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Delicious meals are served from dinner on the first day to lunch on the last, and snacks and desserts are provided
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Dinners are high-quality handcrafted backpacking meals with an original twist
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Wilderness Responder certified guide and naturalist
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One night at a drive in campsite and two nights of backcountry camping.
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Five to eight miles of hiking each day
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Backpacking gear: lightweight backpack, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, hiking poles, headlamp, and tent are provided
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Pre-trip communication, including packing list and other guidance as needed
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Post-trip photo sharing options
Relish the Challenge!
Learn how to safely travel in the backcountry:
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Basic navigation
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Leave No Trace principles
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Packing and choosing gear
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Setting up a camp
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Backcountry cooking
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Coexisting with wildlife
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Route planning
Sample Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive at Union Bay State Park around 6:00 PM and meet your fellow explorers, then set up your tent and enjoy dinner and a campfire with the group.
Day 2
In the morning, you'll organize your gear and learn how to best pack your bag. Breakfast will be served then we carpool over to the trailhead. It will be a relaxed five to eight miles of hiking to the first campsite, a scenic spot near water. There will be time for relaxing and enjoying the quiet before dinner is served.
Day 3
We'll have options this day, and might choose to pack up and move to a different camp over five miles away, or we might leave our tents set up and day hike. Either way, there will fantastic scenery and the potential for spotting wildlife.
Day 4
After a leisurely morning and delicious breakfast, we’ll decide which route to take back to the trailhead. The trip will conclude around lunchtime at your car.
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How to Register:
Registration: For 2024, only private trips are offered at Porcupine Mountains, dependent on guide availability.
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Trips should be planned well in advance. Please contact us for more information.
Cancellation policy: Private trips have a ninety-day cancellation policy. After that date, your reservation is considered final. Prior to that date, you remain responsible for campsite reservation fees incurred. The trip will be able to happen in most weather, but in the unlikely event that the trip leaders determine it to be unsafe, a full refund will be given.
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Recreation passport: every car that enters the park needs a recreation passport. More details will be in the post-purchase registration email.
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You can also sign up for the mailing list to be notified of newly added dates.
Your Guide
Lisa Eick
Lisa is an experienced outdoor guide, dedicated hiker, and certified Wilderness First Responder. She is passionate about the healing power of the natural world, and has lived and worked in the outdoors in Wisconsin, California, Mexico, and New Zealand. Her expedition experience includes a six-hundred mile kayaking trip down the West Coast of California and Baja. She believes that challenging the body in the outdoors leads to emotional and mental growth, and is excited to facilitate this adventure!