Kitch-iti-kipi
Sawmill Rd, Manistique, MI
Manistique, MI
Michigan's largest freshwater spring, an emerald pool so clear you glide over it on a raft and watch the water boil up through the sand far below.
Kitch-iti-kipi, known in English as the Big Spring, is the largest freshwater spring in Michigan and one of the most surprising sights in the Upper Peninsula. From a hidden vent deep below, water surges up through the sand at a tremendous rate, filling a wide pool of astonishing clarity in shades of emerald and turquoise.
The best way to see it is from the middle. A wooden observation raft floats on a cable across the spring, and visitors pull it along by turning a wheel, gliding out over the deepest water. From the raft's open floor you can look straight down through the crystal-clear water to the sandy bottom, where trout hang in the current and the springs boil up like slow-motion fountains.
What Guests Love
- Crossing the spring on a self-operated observation raft you pull yourself across
- Watching sand and water swirl and boil up from vents on the pool floor
- The unreal emerald and turquoise color of the crystal-clear water
- Ancient trees and trout suspended in the deep, glass-clear pool
Worth Knowing
- A Michigan Recreation Passport is required on the vehicle to enter the park
- The raft is self-guided; you pull it across the spring by a hand-turned wheel
- The spring stays around the same cool temperature year round and never freezes over
- It is a short, easy walk from the parking lot, doable for most visitors
Details
Manistique, MI
Learn about Kitch-iti-kipi
The Big Spring itself
The spring is a large oval pool fed by underground water that rises up through vents in its floor, keeping the pool constantly refreshed with cold, clean water. Because the water moves and never sits still, and because it stays cool year round, the spring does not freeze over even in the depths of an Upper Peninsula winter.
The water is so clear that depth is hard to judge. Fallen ancient trees rest on the bottom, seemingly close enough to touch, and large trout drift among them. The color shifts from deep green to bright blue depending on the light, and on a sunny day the whole pool seems to glow from within.
The raft and how to see it
Rather than a boat you board and are ferried across, the raft is a self-guided platform strung on a cable. Visitors turn a large wheel to haul themselves out over the center of the spring and back, moving at their own pace. A viewing well in the middle of the raft lets you look straight down into the depths.
The whole experience is short and gentle, a brief walk from the parking area and a slow glide across the water, which makes it accessible to families, older visitors, and anyone who does not want a strenuous outing. It is the kind of stop that rewards a quiet, unhurried few minutes.
The name and the people
Kitch-iti-kipi is an Ojibwe name often translated as the great cold water, or big cold spring, and the site carries stories tied to the Anishinaabe peoples of the region. The Upper Peninsula is the homeland of the Ojibwe and their neighbors among the Three Fires, who have lived along these lakes and rivers for countless generations.
The spring became a state park in the 1920s after a local businessman recognized its beauty and worked to protect it from being treated as a dump. Thanks to that early care, it remains an unspoiled natural wonder rather than a spoiled one, held today within Palms Book State Park.
Season by season
Summer is the busiest time, when the forest is green and the spring glows in the sun, and it can draw a steady stream of visitors on a fine day. Early morning and weekdays are quieter for those who want the raft to themselves.
Fall paints the surrounding hardwoods in color reflected on the water's surface. Winter is a special reason to come: because the spring never freezes, it steams and shimmers amid the snow, and the emerald water against a white forest is a sight few visitors expect.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Manistique
Manistique
About 12 miles, a 20 minute drive
A small Lake Michigan town with a historic water tower, a lakeside boardwalk, and a picturesque lighthouse.
Indian Lake State Park
About 5 miles
A large inland lake with beaches, camping, and boating, one of the biggest lakes in the Upper Peninsula.
Palms Book State Park
At the spring
The state park that surrounds Kitch-iti-kipi, with the raft, picnic areas, and forest just steps from the water.