Largo Springs Alaska, ahem… I Mean Michigan
Last weekend there was a rare, but pleasant disruption in Michigan’s typical February weather pattern. It was sunny and not only was it sunny, the air was warm. Time for an adventure!
Around the holidays, some friends from my and my husbands hometown of Grayling, Michigan talked about doing a weekend getaway to somewhere we’ve never been. We decided on Oscoda, Michigan, which was perfect because none of us had ever been there and we were curious about visiting because it has ties to Grayling.
The one thing that just about everyone knows about Grayling is that AuSable River Canoe Marathon happens every year during the Milltown Festival. For those not familiar, let me just briefly explain how big of a deal it is for the town – It’s the longest canoe race in the world (big deal) and the most strenuous spectator sport there is (not kidding, read about it). The start of the race begins at 9:00pm with the blast of a cannon. The paddlers run down a hill, jump in the AuSable, and head toward Oscoda. They paddle throughout the night and end up where the river empties into Lake Huron between 11:00am and 12:00pm the next day.
Since none of us have ever followed the race the entire way, we were interested in seeing the other side of the AuSable and curious to compare towns. The weekend trip was never intended to be a real outdoor adventure, but since the weather was gorgeous, we decided to check out the area, and started driving down River Road Scenic Byway.
There are several parks, campgrounds and pull offs, along the route and many of them were still covered in snow and ice but Largo Springs was inviting, so we pulled in. We noticed right off the bat how busy the place was and were somewhat surprised to see a crowd since we heard nothing but cricket chirps in town. There was a nice overlook and you could look down to the river right off the parking lot. When we walked in a bit, we saw several flights of wooden stairs that seemed to have no end. The sign at the beginning said the count was 300 stairs, a little intimidating, but we headed down regardless. The stairs went down and along a very steep and very long hill, and the views were nice the entire way down with the sun peaking through at us.
At the bottom, we reached a main boardwalk that branched off to other points of interest.
There was water everywhere. Waterfalls, small streams, big streams, and GREEN, everything was green, in February mind you. It was this bizarre but spectacular world of shimmery fresh flowing water and emerald.
After checking out the streams and waterfalls, we headed toward the river bank views.
I was excited to see the AuSable in a different place. I had no idea that it would be so wide and surrounded by such astounding nature. My husband said, “It’s like Alaska”.
He was right, we’ve never been to Alaska, but it really was nothing like we’d ever seen in Michigan. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
I love Michigan and have seen my fair share of natures gems in this great state, but nothing like Largo Springs. Check it out if you’re ever in the Northern Lower part of the state. I promise it won’t disappoint, it’s truly breathtaking, not just the scenery, but the hike back up those 300 wooden stairs too :)
By and By
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