L'Anse-Lac Vieux Desert Trail

Near this spot ran the L’Anse-Lac Vieux Desert Trail, which crossed the interior of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan from L’Anse on Keweenaw Bay to Lac Vieux Desert on the Wisconsin border. The trail was used in prehistoric times by native Americans traveling to visit, hunt, or trade. Father René Ménard may have followed this route in 1661 as he traveled south from Keweenaw Bay, a trip from which he never returned. The trail was later used by fur traders, early surveyors, and homesteaders. L’Anse and Lac Vieux Desert bands of Chippewa Indians used this trail into the twentieth century. Today, many segments of the L’Anse-Lac Vieux Desert Trail are unpaved roads that can be traveled by car.