Shale Beach Shortcut

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5/5 (1 reviews)
Drummond Island, Michigan (Chippewa County)
Last Updated: 08/04/2022

Trail Information

Highlights

On the south-eastern side of the island, wet weather and seasonal flooding inundate the Shale Beach Shortcut with water. Time and traffic, combined with the regular flooding, have created "Tank Traps," holes large enough to swallow a vehicle. These flooded holes can make it a long day . Get your winch ready and head out here to see if you can get through without using it.

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

5/5 (2)
This trail guide's difficulty was changed on 08/03/2022
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Official Crew
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123100
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/02/2020

So here's a secret, I actually liked this trail (don't tell the wife)... just after getting stuck and then not having a reliable winch for the remainder of the trail made it nerve-wracking. We got stuck at waypoint 4, even with a 2.5 lift and 35-inch tires, I was turtled as soon my front tires went into the water. I'll add some video here of that moment. I am lucky that my winch was as waterproof as advertised and lucky that the control box was out of the water (barely). I was able to safely strap to a tree and self-extract but later inspection found muddy water in my intake, I'm very lucky that I didn't hydrolock. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THIS PART OF THE ISLAND. This marshy trail is a vehicle killer and in hindsight, I'd probably not do it again without a crew of folks with me.
Trail Review: Shale Beach Shortcut - JD Marshall

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