Rangers Reopen Marquette Memorial Nature Trail Spur
By Paul Gingras

Tom Hamel (left) and Robert Robach, who work for Straits State Park, pose at a nearly forgotten lookout point near the Father Marquette National Memorial. Obscured by mist, the Mackinac Bridge rises out of the water behind them. Mr. Hamel, Mr. Robach, and Travis Kross re-blazed a 15-year-old trail leading to the site. Until they did so, the interpretive sign to their right was hidden in re-growing forest.

"It is just a nice place to be," said Tom Hamel, a seasonal ranger at Straits State Park, describing a recently upgraded portion of a half-mile nature and historical trail, which winds through the forest at the Father Marquette National Memorial in St. Ignace.

The trail is connected to the memorial and continues to draw interest in all seasons, seven years after the nearby Father Marquette National Museum burned down.

The trail system and the memorial remain, however, and to augment visitors' experience there, he and rangers Robert Robach and Travis Kross recently cut trees and battled juniper bushes in the July heat, recreating a spur of the trail that provides access to a lookout point complete with an interpretive sign.

Pictured (from left) rangers Tom Hamel, Robert Robach, and Straits State Park Manager Wayne Burnett pose at a five-year-old addition to the Father Marquette National Memorial in St. Ignace. At their feet is a painted stone map of Father Jacques Marquette's 17th century journey through the Midwest.

Once again, visitors can pass down a narrow path through a mint-green stand of white cedars, emerging on a high point that overlooks the Straits, like a sanctuary. A magnificent spot from which to view the Mackinac Bridge, the overlook is also a unique place to imagine an earlier era.

The interpretive sign was hidden for about 15 years. It details Native American hunting, fishing, and other uses of the land, prior to and during European settlement. On the plaque is a quote by Father Claude Dablon from 1670, describing how the land is perfectly configured to serve native peoples.

Mr. Hamel, Mr. Robach, and Straits Park Manager Wayne Burnett walked along the trail Thursday, July 26, enjoying the fruits of the recently completed effort. Along the way, they stopped to count the growth rings on one of many trees cut to reopen access to the observation point.

"That is just about right," Mr. Hamel said. There were more than 15 rings, each representing a year of growth.

Both the nature trail and the walkway to the memorial represent the philosophies of federal and state park planners. The oldest piece of the trail system is the cement walkway that leads to the memorial, an open-air structure topped with a roof like a multifaceted spire.

It was built in 1976, at a time when the federal government was developing access to natural and historical sites across the country. Planners intentionally kept parking lots at a distance from these areas.

Planners wanted to encourage the public to walk more. As people strolled to natural and historical sites, using walkways like that at the memorial was intended to help them step away from the "hustle and bustle" of modern life, take in the scenery, and even get a sense of walking back in time, Mr. Hamel said.

Keeping modern symbols like cars at a distance helps create an impression of what the area may have appeared like to early French explorers and native peoples, Mr. Hamel added.

The park service created extended walkways at parks and memorials in western states, also.

Originally, the Father Marquette memorial, museum, and walkway served to illustrate history and offered a place to view the Straits.

About 10 years after construction of the memorial, the state added the interpretive nature trail. Continuing with the philosophy of drawing visitors away from the parking lot, and helping them immerse themselves in the area, the state included gravel trails peppered with 15 signs that detail natural features, such as plants used by Native Americans. In their efforts to include the cultural flavor of groups that have made use of the land, plant names appear in Ojibwa, Latin, French, and English.

"From everything we hear, people like it," Mr. Hamel said, noting that the trail system is used in the winter, when visitors leave behind the tracks of skis and snowshoes.

Over the past 15 years, as the forest grew, the recently re-opened spur was forgotten. Unlike the rest of the system, it was not paved or graveled.

When the state developed the trail system, it also installed several signs inside the Father Marquette memorial. They describe the history and natural features of the area. Five years ago, in the center of the memorial's floor, a polished, painted, stone map of Father Marquette's journey through the Midwest was installed.

The memorial and trail served historians and naturalists who gave informative talks to visitors. The talks ceased when the state cut funding after the museum burned down, Mr. Hamel added.

At peak use, activities took place three to four days each week, Mr. Burnett said. They included lectures, cooking projects, and authentic French and native structure building. At the time, the memorial, museum, and nature trail saw up to 600 visitors per day, and groups of up to 70 attended lectures at the memorial site.

People continue to arrive and read the signs, Mr. Hamel said. Many ask park workers for stamps on "passport books," which are generated by the national park division of the federal government. The stamps read "Father Marquette National Memorial."

Responding to questions by tourists who return to St. Ignace after several years, park workers continue to explain the loss of the museum, and explain that the memorial and interpretive trail remain.

These days, many visitors come upon the memorial by accident, Mr. Hamel said. By following the trail, they discover a hidden gem: the Father Marquette memorial, surrounded by the original forest inhabitants, birds, snowshoe hares, coyotes, and even an occasional bear.