MASON COUNTY, MI - Stretches of orange, red and yellow leaves are starting to emerge in northern Lower Michigan.
One particular road, West Forest Trail Road, was teeming with color this week on our drive toward the Lake Michigan Recreation Area at Nordhouse Dunes.
The expansive 3,500-acre Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area, which is practically untouched by human progress, is located in the Huron-Manistee National Forest.
One key note is that the fall colors were just starting to appear closer to the lakeshore, which typically sees peak color a week after inland areas. So colors should remain vibrant here through the end of October.
Sporadic pops of color could be seen along the Lake Michigan Trail that runs along a dune ridge overlooking Lake Michigan.
The Wilderness Area features over 10 miles of trails that can be accessed from two developed trailheads: Nurnberg Road and Lake Michigan Recreation Area.
RELATED: Secluded Lake Michigan beach is perfect reward after 1.5-mile hike through wilderness
The recreation area campground, which just closed for the season, features 99 single family sites and three group sites. It also boasts a day use area with multiple picnic tables, pavilions and a playground, an amphitheater and an overlook.
A tent set up for dispersed camping near Lake Michigan at Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area in Mason County, Mich. on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. Joel Bissell | MLive.com
However, the 3,500-acre area is open for dispersed camping year-round. The Forest Service has a few regulations on dispersed sites - no camping is permitted within 400 feet of the Lake Michigan shoreline, 100 feet from trail, and 200 feet from Nordhouse Lake.
For a full list of regulations, click here.