Hi there!
To hike the Chapel Loop in Pictured Rocks, you will park at the Chapel Mosquito trailhead parking lot.
If you hike the Chapel Mosquito loop trail, you’ll hike by both Chapel Beach and Mosquito Beach.
👆 Chapel Beach
👆 Mosquito Beach (ish)
And, more importantly, if you hike the Chapel Mosquito loop (more often referred to as the Chapel Loop Trail), then you will be hiking to see the famous Pictured Rocks cliffs!
If you want to see the Pictured Rocks cliffs by foot, then the Chapel Loop Trail is the hike that you MUST do when you’re in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore!
This is one of the best hikes in Pictured Rocks.
👆 Hiking to Grand Portal Point
The Chapel Loop Trail is around 10 miles long.
If that seems too long for you, another popular hiking option is to hike “only” to Chapel Beach.
This is one of the more popular Lake Superior beaches in Pictured Rocks.
You’ll hike the Chapel Falls Trail to get to Chapel Beach. This is 6-7 miles round trip.
Along the way to the beach, you’ll see Chapel Falls and the iconic Chapel Rock.
More for your trip to the UP beyond Pictured Rocks
If you’re interested in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, then you may also be interested in these things around the UP:
- Tahquamenon Falls (map)
- Kitch-iti-kipi (the bubbling big spring of Michigan!) (map)
- Presque Isle Park (map)
- Porcupine Mountains (map)
- Crisp Point Lighthouse (map)
- Bond Falls (map)
- Things to do in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
- Best places to visit in the Upper Peninsula (for VIEWS!)
Chapel Moquito area trailhead
So whether you want to hike the full Chapel Loop Trail… or you want to hike “only” to Chapel Falls, Chapel Beach, or Chapel Rock… or you want to hike “only” to Mosquito Beach… the main trailhead is all the same. The trailhead is the Chapel Mosquito area.
And being among the most popular hikes in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore… parking can get full! This means you could end up walking extra just to get to the start of the trail.
More below about getting to the Chapel Mosquito area parking!
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Getting to the Chapel Loop trailhead parking
For google maps, you can locate Chapel basin parking to navigate there. You might not get data service on your phone when you’re driving through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, so you might want to download free offline google maps before you go.
Once you are near, you’ll see a sign along the main road for Chapel Mosquito area. Then you’ll turn off the main road onto a smaller road that is heading in the direction of Lake Superior. Once you have turned onto the smaller road, it’s a mostly gravel road. It is just one road so you will just follow it all the way and you can’t get lost.
What to expect in the Chapel Mosquito parking area
Well first, in short, the Chapel Mosquito trailhead parking lot can get FULL!
And more than that, the road leading up to the parking lot can get FULL of parked cars.
So people leaving reviews for hiking the Chapel trail or Mosquito trail say to get there early morning.
Well, I did not go early.
I hiked the Chapel Loop Trail around mid-afternoon. (Around 2:30pm. And it was a Saturday. It would also be best to avoid going on the weekend if you can for a chance of less people.)
There were TONS of cars lined up WAY before reaching the parking lot. This could have you believe that there are no parking spots available up ahead.
Many people who were also just arriving were parking at a spot they found on the side of the road once they got somewhat closer, which was an extra 10-15 minute walk in some parking spots.
But at some point, people who are parked at the parking lot are leaving too.
And I figured mid-afternoon was a time there might be parking spots (aka people leaving). It seems that a lot of people think there will be no parking available at the lot, so they don’t drive all the way there.
You can take your chances and drive to the parking lot to see if there are any available spots.
For me, there were maybe like 5-10 spots available!
I heard one person who apparently parked far away and once they reached the parking lot they seemed a bit mad as they exclaimed, “The parking lot is half empty!” That was a bit of an exaggeration but the point here is that even if there’s a long line of cars parked way before you reach the parking lot, it’s possible that there will be parking spots directly at the trailhead!
If there are no spots available, you can either wait around to see if someone will finish up the trail soon, and/or assess if you want to drive back to one of the spots on the side of the road that you saw.
So then once you park, you can head towards the trailhead!
There is also a basic bathroom located near the Chapel Loop trailhead.
There is NO water though, so be sure you bring plenty! In addition to bringing along your water bottle on your hike, it can be a good idea to keep a gallon jug or 2 of water in your car so you will be able to replenish when you get back to your car!
Also a little after you start the trail, you will see a shoe brush. This is to brush off any invasive plant species that may be stuck to your shoes, so they won’t destroy the plants that are along the next trail you walk. (In this case, the Chapel Trail and/or Mosquito Trail!)
So anytime you see this sort of shoe brush, consider helping out the area plants by taking a moment to brush off your shoes! It can be good to brush off your shoes after your hike too, in case your shoes picked up anything during your Chapel Mosquito hike.
And then off you go hiking towards Lake Superior to Chapel Beach or Mosquito Beach!
And that’s a bit about how to get to the Chapel Loop trailhead!
See more about hiking from the Chapel Mosquito trailhead:
And more of the best hikes in Pictured Rocks for VIEWS!
Be sure to see more of the best things to do in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore!
Including Pictured Rocks waterfalls and Pictured Rocks beaches.
See about driving from Grand Marais to Pictured Rocks.
And then driving from Pictured Rocks to Marquette.
Plus, see some more popular trails in Michigan:
- Pictured Rocks waterfalls
- Sleeping Bear Dunes
- Porcupine Mountains State Park
- Tahquamenon Falls State Park
HAPPY DRIVING TO THE CHAPEL MOSQUITO HIKING AREA!
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