Lake Michigan is a severely underrated hiking location, and this sandy trail in Wisconsin shows why you need to explore our closest Great Lake ASAP.

When people think of hiking, they usually think of throwing on the backpack and trudging up a mountain to set up a pup tent and eat a can of beans.

It doesn't always have to be like that. The majority of trails that surround The Great Lakes are relatively level, not that long, and the perfect hiking destination for someone that doesn't want to train for a month before they take a hike.

One of those nice, easy trails is The Old Baldy Loop in Whitefish Dunes State Park.

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Whitefish Dunes State Park is in the southern part of Door County. This is an easy 2.8 mile trail that will take hikers to "Old Baldy," the tallest dune in the park.

The trail consists of mostly the sandy soil that inhabits the shorelines of Lake Michigan.

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Other parts of the trail include wooden planks when it gets a little too messy.

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And full boardwalks to easily, and safely connect you to Lake Michigan.

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There are plenty of spots along to trail to duck into the woods and come out the other side to a spectacular view of the lake.

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There's even a great beach at the end of this trail where you can take a quick dip. Just be careful. The water is usually frigid, even in the summer months, and strong rip tides can make swimming difficult at times.

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LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

 

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