H-58 (Michigan County Highway) - Route Description

Route Description

H-58 starts in Munising at an intersection with M-28. The highway follows the eastern end of Munising Street through the eastern side of the city by the Neenah Paper Mill, then turns northeasterly. The roadway runs outside of, and parallel to, the southern boundary of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The park visitors center, which is open year round, is located off H-58 on Sand Point Road at the west end of the park. The highway turns due east and runs through an intersection with H-13 (Connors Road). Leaving town, H-58 becomes Munising–Van Meer–Shingleton Road and enters the national park. East of the intersection with Carmody Road, the county road passes to the south of the Pictured Rocks Golf and Country Club before meeting the intersection with H-11 (Miners Castle Road). This latter road provides access to Miner's Castle, a natural rock formation located on the shores of Lake Superior, and the Miners Falls. Further east, H-58 meets H-15 in Van Meer, site of the Bear Trap Inn and Bar. Munising–Van Meer–Shingleton Road turns south along H-15, and H-58 turns northeast along Melstrand Road to the community of Melstrand.

Melstrand is located outside of the national park boundaries in the Lake Superior State Forest. H-58 continues through "burned and cut areas, meadows, maturing second growth, and the haunting sounds of silence" in the state forest. H-58 reenters the national park and approaches more Pictured Rocks facilities like the Hurricane River Campground. The road then travels northward towards Buck Hill, which is near the intersection with the Adams Truck Trail; at that intersection, there is a parking lot for snowmobiles. Past this point, the road is closed to vehicles during the winter months each year; snow plows do not clear the snow from the roadway, allowing it to be used as a snowmobile trail. The area on each end of the park averages around 140–144 inches (360–370 cm) of snowfall annually, while the National Park service says that this central section is higher.

The road meanders through forest lands and fields as it continues northwesterly toward the Log Slide. This location gives motorists a chance to hike down to the lakeshore to see the Au Sable Point Lighthouse peeking above the trees to the east and the Grand Sable Dunes to the west. The American Motorcyclist Association said of this segment of the roadway that it is "so close to the beach and lake that can smell it when rides." The lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and can be accessed from the Hurricane River Campground. The roadway crosses the Hurricane River and turns southerly away from Lake Superior. H-58 turns back eastward near Grand Sable Lake, running between the north shore of the lake and the Grand Sable Dunes on the south shore of Lake Superior. At the intersection with William Hill and Newburg roads, H-58 makes a 90° curve and travels northward for about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km). The road turns back eastward next to the Sable Falls parking lot. This lot also marks the eastern end of the segment of H-58 that road crews do not plow. The roadway exits the national park and runs to the community of Grand Marais. On the edge of town is the Woodland Township Park where hikers can walk along the beach to the base of the Grand Sable Dunes that form the east end of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. These dunes reach heights of up to 275 feet (84 m) at a 35° incline. Hikers are advised to use the access points along H-58 to get to the dunes instead of attempting the climb up the face.

H-58 meets M-77 in Grand Marais. This town is the location of a small harbor that was once the home of a lumber shipping port. H-58 turns south to run concurrently along M-77 for about two blocks before turning back eastward. The county road runs along the southern edge of the harbor past the township's school and out of town. The pavement ends when the road leaves Alger County for Luce County.

H-58 follows a gravel roadway through the forested northwestern corner of Luce County. The roadway turns northeasterly and runs closer to Lake Superior as it approaches Deer Park. The road also carries the County Road 407 (CR 407) designation and the name Grand Marais Truck Trail. Near the Blind Sucker Flooding, a man-made reservoir, the truck trail turns south to intersect Deer Park Road. H-58 turns east on Deer Park Road and runs between Rainy and Reedy lakes to the south and Lake Superior to the north. The east end of H-58 is at an intersection with H-37 near Muskallonge Lake State Park in Deer Park, north of Newberry. Deer Park is the location of a trio of resorts and remnants of a community that once included a sawmill, hotel and store. The state park is located on the shore of Muskallonge Lake and is visited by about 71,000 people each year.