Chapel Rock Trail Hiking Guide
Chapel Rock is a stack of Cambrian sandstone with a single white pine on top, once tied to the mainland by a stone arch that fell in the 1940s. The inland trail to it is the easy way to reach Lake Superior in the Chapel area, passing a 60-foot waterfall on the way. Hikers who only want the falls can turn back early and still have a good morning.
Permit: An entrance pass is needed to hike here: $25 for a private vehicle or $20 for a motorcycle (7 days), $15 per person arriving on foot or by bike, ages 16 and up. Card payment only at park sites. No day-hike permit beyond the pass. A night at the Chapel Beach backcountry site requires a Recreation.gov reservation.
Mileage and Climbing
The park gives 6.2 miles round trip to Chapel Rock and Chapel Beach. Hiking Project maps the trail at 3.3 miles each way, which works out to 6.6 miles and about 301 feet of climbing: 96 feet on the way out and 205 feet on the way back, since the beach is lower than the parking lot. Most of the effort comes on the return. Hiking Project's contributor calls it a mostly doubletrack walk, and the park describes an old roadbed with several small hills.
Chapel Falls Turnaround
At 1.2 miles you reach Chapel Falls, 60 feet high and dropping toward Chapel Lake, with two viewing platforms looking over the Chapel Basin. Turning back here makes a 2.5-mile round trip by the park's figure, which suits families or anyone short on time. From the falls it is another 1.8 miles to the lake. Spots along this path are often wet and muddy, and the trail has widened where people step around the mud, so walk through it instead of around.
At the Beach
The white pine on Chapel Rock is estimated at about 250 years old. Photograph it from the sand and stay off the rock, which is closed; the park says climbing it can cost a hefty fine. Chapel River reaches the lake beside it, and the beach has no lifeguards, with rip currents possible along this shore. To vary the return, follow the Chapel Lake Trail along the lake's far side. Hiking Project lists that forest route at 3.2 miles, with some switchbacks and sandstone showing heavy erosion.
Getting a Parking Spot
The trailhead sits at the end of Chapel Road, 5 rough miles north of H-58, about 20 miles from Munising in all. The park warns of heavy congestion in summer and early fall and a lot that is often full by 9 am. There's a seasonal vault toilet but no drinking water. Bring your pass with you: the trailhead is not on the park's list of places that sell one, and Munising has the visitor center plus several local shops that do.
Dogs, Bugs and Late Season
Leave dogs behind on this one. Pets are prohibited on all trails in the Chapel area and on the beach, and service animals are the only exception. Black flies and mosquitoes can be a nuisance from late May into September. Snow usually starts to build by mid-November, and from December 1 through March 31 Chapel Road counts as a snowmobile trail closed to cars. In the shoulder weeks, phone the Munising Falls Visitor Center at 906-387-3700 before you drive out.
Hiking tips for Chapel Rock Trail
- Turn around at Chapel Falls for a 2.5-mile outing if the full walk is too long.
- Save your energy for the way back, which climbs more than the way out.
- Stay off Chapel Rock and take your photos from the beach.
- Walk through muddy patches rather than widening the path.
- Buy your entrance pass in Munising before driving Chapel Road.
Nearby trails to explore
- Chapel Loop (Pictured Rocks)
- Mosquito Falls and Mosquito Beach Loop
- Miners Falls Trail
Hike this trail with TrailMates
Chapel Rock is an easy hike to share, and the falls turnaround gives slower walkers an out. Set a date in TrailMates, use the event's group chat to work out rides up Chapel Road, and walk down to the beach with whoever signs up. Download TrailMates on the App Store or Google Play.