UPDATE: 3/1/2024:
2019 was the 100th Anniversary of Michigan State Parks and we're still celebrating!. Join the Michigan Geocaching Organization (MiGO), the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Geocaching.com for the first official GeoTour in Michigan.
This tour was originally scheduled to run for three years, kicking off on Friday of Memorial Weekend in 2019 and continue through May 31, 2022. The success of this awesome tour has not gone unnoticed. On February 2, 2022, The DNR announced the extension of the GeoTour through September 24, 2024! Join us in making a final push to complete this very popular and very successful GeoTour before the sun sets on it.
Each geocache is in one of Michigan's state parks. The geocaches are arranged by MiGO Region, with twenty-five geocaches per region. The Ticket to Celebrate 100 is available for download from the DNR's Geocaching page. It explains how to qualify for prizes in each of the four regions and for the GeoTour as a whole.
Day use areas of state parks are open from 8AM to 10PM. Geocaching is limited to those hours. Entry into Michigan's State Parks requires a Michigan Recreation Passport. See the Resources section below for more information.
The sun will set on the MSPCGT at midnight Tuesday, September 24, 2024. The MSPCGT will go off the air as a GeoTour and the caches will disappear from the map. There is a lot of construction going on in our State Parks in 2024. Some of the GeoTour caches will have to be pulled earlier. The remaining geocaches in the tour will be archived October 1, 2024. Players will have until December 31, 2024 to claim any prize they have earned. Hiders will be contacted to request removal of the geocaches they hid unless they have made arrangements with park managers and have their own permit in place to keep the geocache in play, with a new GC Code.
Now for some good news: MiGO and the DNR are busy working on a new project that will kick off in the Spring of 2025, code named MSPGT 2.0. Are you interested in helping? Keep your MiGO Membership up to date and stay tuned to the website.
Cache:
This cache was hidden as part of the Michigan State Parks Centennial GeoTour, presented by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Geocaching Organization. Record the codeword printed on the log book and on a label inside the cache container to the appropriate box on the Ticket to Celebrate 100 form. See the instructions on the form to claim prizes.
This is a whereigo cache not hidden at the posted coordinates. This cache is a guided tour through the history and make up of Saugatuck Dunes State Park. It uses the Wherigo player to provide the tour experience and help you navigate through the park. This park is 1000 acres. You won't see all of it but you will see a lot of it so prepare for a hike. Take a water bottle with you.
Your tour will start not in the State Park, but adjacent to it in Laketown township park near the Felt Mansion. Parking is available there. Cellular service out here is sketchy so it is recommended that you download the cartridge before you get to the park. The Felt Mansion and its grounds are very popular for special events. There are often multiple weddings here on Summer weekends. If there is an event going on, please do not disturb it. The whereigo cartridge will help you decide. The alternate starting point is the Felt Trailhead (05), not far south from the State Park trail parking.
Don't have a wherigo player? All you need to play it is a
smart phone or a wherigo compatible GPSr. The Garmin Colorado and Oregon series up through the 550 are compatible. For the smart phones you can download one of the players here:
For the iPhone - click here for the
Wherigo player.
For the Android Smart-phone - click here for the "WhereYouGo app."
Download the cartridge here:
For those who do not have a compatible device or are unwilling to play a Wherigo
and still want to complete the geotour, there are a number of waypoints listed on the cache page that are part of the tour. At two of these near the extremes east and west points tags have been placed with parts of the coordinates to the geocache. Find both then you can find the cache.
Note from the State Parks Workgroup: The hider hear went to significant effort to make this one of your best whereigo experiences ever. Please include in your log how your experience was.
Thank you
BoxmanCrew
for creating, hiding and maintaining this MSPC GeoTour cache.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Water view of the Dunes
Autumn view of the Saugatuck Dunes shoreline:
Saugatuck Dunes is a largely undeveloped state park featureing 14 miles (23 km) of hiking trails, 200-foot-high (61 m) sand dunes, and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of beachfront located two-thirds of a mile from the picnic parking area.
Photo courtesy of feltmansion.org
The Felt Mansion
History:
The site was once part of the estate of inventor Dorr E. Felt, whose summer home, the Felt Mansion, is an in-holding within the state park and is undergoing restoration. Built by the inventor of the comptometer in 1928, the Felt's summer home was sold to the St. Augustine Seminary in 1949 and used as housing for young students, and later, for cloistered nuns. In 1977 the building was purchased by the State of Michigan and used as a state police post, with nearby buildings serving as a prison. The state established a portion of the site as a state park in 1978.
Photo courtesy of feltmansion.org
Carriage House at the Felt Estate
The Felt mansion was originally built in 1925 and completed in 1928. The property comprised of five farms that were brought together to create one large estate owned by Dorr Felt. The property was referred to as the Shore Acres Farm. Dorr Felt and his wife lived on the estate for only a short time before dying. The mansion is said to be haunted by Mrs. Agnes Felt.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Grotto at the Felt Estate
St Augustine Seminary Purchased the estate from the Felt family in 1949 by the St. Augustine Seminary of Chicago, the Carriage house was converted to class rooms. The main house served as housing until a school was built on the ridge. It was then taken over and used as a convent for the nuns. Standing behind the house is one of the last remnants of the Seminary, A small shrine or Grotto.
Photo courtesy of nailhed.com, used with permission
Former prison building, now torn down.
In 1977 the State of Michigan acquired the property and turned the Seminary into a minimum-security prison. The prison opened July 17, 1978 and operated until 1991. Following closure of the prison and removal of the structure the mansion and property were transferred to Laketown Township for use as a park and is immediately adjacent to the state park.
Restoration of the mansion and carriage house began in 2001. The facilities now are rented for various functions.
Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Activities:
A day use park along a secluded strip of Lake Michigan shoreline, Saugatuck Dunes State Park offers 1,000 acres of land with two and a half miles of shoreline. The Lake Michigan beach is a two-thirds mile hike from the picnic parking area. In addition, the park has fresh water coastal dunes that are over 200 feet tall. The park's terrain varies from steep slopes to rolling hills. Activities are limited to hiking, cross-country skiing, metal detecting and wildlife observation.
The Saugatuck Dunes State Park also contains a little bit of geocaching history. January
26, 2002 Eight Legs hid GC3562 Laketown Lockup out near the beach. This cache is one you will need to find if you want to complete the historical caches of Allegan County Challenge. If you are "Jasmer" hunting, this is one of 5 remaining January 2002 caches in Michigan.
Information:
For more information follow this link to
Saugatuck Dunes State Park.
Special thanks to
ecpoch13
for help with this geocache.
Special thanks to Cold Cache Crew and Silent Whistles for the Southwest regional prize.
Resources: