Hurricane River

The Hurricane River is a short stream in Alger County on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It flows north through mixed forest and coastal dunes to Lake Superior inside Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, entering the lake at the Hurricane River day-use area and campground east of Munising.

Course

Rising in small springs and wetlands south of the lakeshore, the river runs generally north across low-relief glacial terrain and a sandy lakeplain before crossing the park road and entering Lake Superior at the Hurricane River day-use area. A signed beach route connects the river mouth to Au Sable Light Station about 1.5 miles east along the shore.

Natural history

Geology and geomorphology

The Hurricane River flows across the Superior shore’s sandy lakeplain and enters Lake Superior below the sandstone cliffs that give Pictured Rocks its name. Coastal processes shape low dunes and barrier features near the mouth, with seasonal bars that can redirect or braid the small channel across the beach. Inland, the basin occupies glacial deposits that feed springs and short seeps to the main stem.

Plants and wildlife

The corridor supports northern hardwood and boreal-conifer communities common to the lakeshore: maple–hemlock forests inland grade to white spruce, balsam fir, and white pine near the coast, with alder and sedge wetlands along the low channel. Nearshore shallows at the mouth provide seasonal habitat for small forage fish; songbirds and migrating waterfowl use the river corridor during spring and fall movements.