Michigan trails · Bill Nicholls Route
Bill Nicholls Route
A 41.0-mile point-to-point in Michigan, with 710 ft of climbing. Reaches Stonington Lake and other lake destinations.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 63% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 13.7. It gives back about 620 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Stonington Lake (lake)
- Lake Ongie (lake)
- Morrison Lake (lake)
- Bob Hall Lake (lake)
- Donken Lake (lake)
Getting there
Bill Nicholls Route access. About 55 min drive (39 mi) from Houghton. 46.77053, -89.07489 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:41 a.m., the sun rises at 8:12 a.m. and sets at 7:11 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:42 p.m. (EDT) — 10 h 59 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 41.0-mile route works out to roughly 15 h 33 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Nearby trails
- Ottawa National Forest — 16.1 mi