MANISTIQUE, MI — Upon seeing the turquoise and emerald waters of Kitch-iti-kipi, it’s hard to believe the magnificent natural spring could ever be used as a dump.
Yet, that’s what businessman John Bellaire found when he stumbled across the Upper Peninsula’s famous natural spring in the 1920s.
“The first time I saw the spring, it was not more than a black hole mostly covered by fallen trees,” said Bellaire, according to a sign at Palms Book State Park, where Kitch-iti-kipi, known as Big Spring, is located northwest of Manistique.
“A lumber camp in the vicinity threw their rubbish into it,” Bellaire said. “I could have purchased the land myself, but instead I made the contacts to have the state acquire it.”
Today, the beautiful spring looks nothing like the dump that Bellaire found. Kitch-iti-kipi is major tourist draw that received about 260,000 visitors in 2021, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resource (DNR).
“It’s been getting busier and busier,” said Patrick Nelson, park ranger.
The oval pool fed by groundwater constantly erupting from limestone fissures below measures 45-foot deep and 300 by 175 feet across. Hatchery-stocked lake trout and walleye swim below gorgeous blue waters that visitors can traverse with a self-operated observation raft.
Like most parks in the UP, Big Spring visitor numbers have shot up since the pandemic onset. Social media and Pure Michigan tourism advertising have also provided a boost, Nelson said.
Nelson said morning and evening hours are the best time to avoid crowds in the summer season between Memorial Day and Labor Day, when visitors flock to the Upper Peninsula.
Swimming is not allowed in the spring, although Nelson said some “crazies” try it periodically. The water is cold; a constant 45-degrees, even in mid-summer.
The pool, which feeds nearby Indian Lake, is ringed by submerged dead cedar logs that Nelson said are preserved by the temperature and minerals in the water.
“We have pictures from the 1950s and ‘60s and all the logs are in ‘em,” Nelson said. “They don’t decay.”
There is no fee to ride the observation raft, although there is a $9 entrance fee per vehicle. Michiganders can also buy a Recreation Passport for their license plate that provides access to all state parks and outdoor recreation areas. That costs $12 at the time of annual plate registration through the Secretary of State or $17 when purchased at the park.
Drone flights are restricted at Kitch-iti-kipi, but MLive drone pilots Cory Morse and Garret Ellison were able to fly with Michigan DNR permission and under park supervision.
Ellison, Morse and environment reporter Sheri McWhirter stopped at Big Spring on Tuesday, May 17 while crossing the Upper Peninsula this week on a travel reporting project.
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