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        It has been a few years since our winter has been cold enough to produce abundant Lake Michigan ice.  We saw it a few days ago while hiking Pyramid Point.  I knew we would be on a beach soon to explore all the beautiful blue and winter whiteness.   There was so much variety -- from bright blue puddles like this... .... to dense pack ice that has filled Sleeping Bear Bay and half the Manitou Passage... ... to a frozen beach with big chunks of sandy ice ...

Ice formations on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Sleeping Bear Bay After a long, cold winter, spring is coming to northern Michigan! While there is still a chill in the air and doubtlessly more snow before summer, the sun is noticeably warmer and the piles of snow and ice are melting. If you picture spring in northern Michigan, you probably imagine blue skies, cherry blossoms, and tulips and daffodils. We're a long way from any of that right now. While we've had some beautiful, sunny days ...

For the second year in a row, frigid temperatures over Lake Michigan have left it nearly 60% frozen. Those cold temperatures coupled with the strong winds we've had over the past month are the perfect ingredients for the formation of ice caves. There were ice caves on Lake Michigan last year, but none had formed so far this year. Until last week, that is. Eric LaPaugh, owner of Leelanau Adventures, shot some footage from inside an ice cave near Glen Arbor and shared it with us. Inspired b ...

The wild winter this year has brought frigid temperatures, mountains of snow, and large waves to the Republic. We can now add ice caves to that list! The spectacular formations on Lake Michigan have been caused by the way the lake has frozen this year: a mixture of sudden freezing caused by historic low temperatures, a gradual pileup of pack ice, and wave action adding freezing spray to the equation. The results are stunning: cavernous caves, precipitous cliffs, and an ice pack stretching ...