Michigan trails · Bill Nicholls Trail
Bill Nicholls Trail
A 40.2-mile point-to-point in Michigan, with 683 ft of climbing. Reaches Stonington Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by Michigan DNR.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 61% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 13.4. It gives back about 693 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 Trail access. About 4 min drive (2 mi) from Houghton. 47.11966, -88.59090 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:40 a.m., the sun rises at 8:10 a.m. and sets at 7:09 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:39 p.m. (EDT) — 10 h 58 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 40.2-mile route works out to roughly 15 h 15 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Nearby trails
- Keweenaw State Trail — 10.9 mi