Features
Birding · Fall Colors · Fishing · Lake · Swimming · Wildflowers · Wildlife
McCarthy Beach State Park is open daily from 8AM to 10PM. A vehicle permit ($7/day, $35/year) is required to enter and park in the park. The park office is open from late May to mid-October; there are no regular office hours in the winter.
Need to Know
The trail described here is not accessible to hikers during the winter months (when the winter map is in effect). There are no amenities at the parking lot or the trailhead.
Description
McCarthy was established in 1945 to honor area military personnel who lost their lives in World War II. It encompasses a hilly landscape of northern boreal forest dotted with pothole lakes created when the last glaciers retreated some 12,000 years ago.
The trail starts at a parking area at Intersection 16 on narrow, sandy Pickerel Lake Road (off of McCarthy Beach Road). From there, it circles the northwest end of the lake and goes along the lake's east side to Intersection 17 on Ski Trail Road. The Big Hole Loop Trail continues on the other side of the road. The Pickerel and Big Hole Loop Trail comprise the Hiking Club Route at this park.
Flora & Fauna
The park protects a northern boreal forest with stands of red and white pine, leatherleaf-black spruce lowlands, birch and aspen. Pickerel Lake is stocked with trout.
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Particularly Special Place
Intermediate
All Clear
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