...what about the old empty Northville Psychiatric Hospital and the surrounding property? that's a scary place, and it doesn't have to be close to Halloween.....it was empty for a long time , has that been torn down yet to make way for luxury homes? It's On 7 Mile just east of downtown Northville; west of Haggerty....too bad they never let you off road on the property because the grounds are daunting too.....at least they were.

 

Not sure if that has been torn down yet. I know they were supposed to auction it off. And yes, that was a very creepy place, same with the other mental hospital where St. Johns golf course and resort now stands. Grew up not to far from either of those.

 

I havent been in a few years but with the way the economy is and has been. I would say that Silver lake is a ghost town. If you wait a few more months it will really be a ghost town 'cause of the tourist season being over. Not sure when(or if) the Silver Lake sand dunes close down for the winter, but thats always fun!

 

Still standing though not legally accessible. Over the past 30 years or so there have been numerous attempts/Bids proposed for that attractive site but funding has always been the Hic-up,and what with the economy in Crapper for the for see able future, this most likely won't change soon.

 

If you are up by Traverse City there is an old closed down ski hill, Sugarloaf, just about 15min northwest of Traverse City. There are still some timeshares there since there is a golfcourse, but everything else is closed down and boarded up. We stayed there this past spring. There were no signs saying not to drive on the old ski hills or surrounding 2-tracks, so we had a bunch of fun wheeling around checking the place out. Talk about GREAT views and sunsets.....

 

We are actually heading up there this weekend, is the hill no longer open or just closed for the season? Would you by chance have any coordinates of where you went?

 

Also found this old abandoned house in the Sleeping Bear Dunes state park area, alot of dirt roads and 2-tracks in this area. We and the wife wanted to get out to check it out but the kids were a little too scared, so we kept driving but had to get the pic.....

 

The ski hill is no longer open, I think it has been closed for over 10yrs now. Here is a website with more pics of the place http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten....n_michigan.htm and the address to it is 4500 S Sugar Loaf Mountain Rd, Cedar MI 49621. There is a newer golf course that is open though around the old ski hill. It was late March when we were there so there wasnt really anyone around anywhere at that time.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes state park area (which covers a very large area) is just around the corner. I dont have any GPS cordinates but we ended up finding quite a few 2-tracks just driving around. Have fun!

 

....I'm going to be up there this weekend; do you remember where you saw this? It could be near Empire...it looks to be. There's also a great place at the bend in M22 at the intersection with a road called Trail's End that is now US Natl Lakeshore, my grandparents had an antique store there in a log cabin. There are still some 2-track trails there, take them, make sure you have a park pass - you can get it at the Ranger's/ Visitor's Station in Empire ...some old "cellars" left over from torn down houses. Down in Trail's End, there used to be several houses; one or two still standing... sometimes a little creepy but a great adventure, and not too many trapsing around down there.....

Worth the ride from Traverse City.

 

......I'll be lookin' for your ride. I might be in a red '69 Commando... maybe headed to Joe's Friendly Tavern in Empire Saturday night....or Sunday. Empire is a little ride from Sugar Loaf, but you can take Scenic M22 around; through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; check out the abandoned ME Day Farm, Pyramid Point...and end at Empire after hitting the abandoned Sugarloaf area.....There are decent trails in Trail's End just south of Empire, but you should have a pass from the DNR for access; they're fairly cheap.