MUNISING, MI— Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is temporarily closing Sand Point to all ice-climbing activities.
Officials say the move aims to protect the park’s trails and natural resources. Warm temperatures have resulted in considerable ice and snow melt. That, combined with increased foot traffic has caused a drastic deterioration of trails and could significantly impact park resources.
In a typical year, the park has several feet of snowpack on trails leading to ice climbing locations. Snowpack allows for foot traffic with limited impacts on the ground below. Without snow, areas with high foot traffic are extremely muddy and approaches to climbs are beginning to erode.
Park staff will be monitoring conditions to determine when ice climbing activity can resume on Sand Point.
