Our family journey leads to stronger, healthier connections between children, parents and nature. Our week in the Hiawatha National Forest of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula will be an easy, enjoyable way for families to be in nature together. Lead Feather will provide all the ingredients for a week of wonder and exploration: camping gear, delicious food, and local know-how. We’ll spend the week canoeing, hiking, horseback-riding, fishing, and swimming, and there will be plenty of time to enjoy the wilderness one-on-one with your child. To deepen our connection to nature and the land, we’ll also participate in Native American ceremonies with our guides, who are leaders from the Ojibwa nation. We hope you’ll take this journey with us. It will be one to remember.
Native roots, Native rituals
Our guides on this family wilderness journey will include several spiritual leaders from Native American tribes of the region. Fire keepers will start the sacred fires for ceremonies and talking circles, the keepers of traditional songs will sing and share a few with us, and storytellers will be present to tell many of the old legends and teachings of the native traditions. Our guides are eager to share their knowledge and experience of native traditions with us. Together, we invite you and your family to participate in the talking circles, a sweat lodge, a drum building experience, and more.
Setting
Our family wilderness journey will take place in the fragrant pines and gentle streams of Hiawatha National Forest, which spans Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from the northern reaches of Lake Michigan to the southern shore of Lake Superior. Our campsite will be at the edge of Swan Lake, a 52-acre lake abounding with local species of fish, especially rainbow trout. (We’ve reserved the whole campsite for this week, so we’re likely to be the only people using the lake.) We’ll also take advantage of the trails, rivers, and other lakes nearby.
Purpose
Spending time in nature, once a given, is now a rarity for many of us—especially our overscheduled, tech-savvy children. Experiencing the natural world with all five senses remains a vital part of healthy human development. Academic studies have found a variety of negative effects among children who lack access to nature, from higher rates of obesity, ADHD and mental health issues to lower creativity. Many of us remember growing up with plenty of unstructured time outdoors, during which we explored the world from creek to treetop. In this family journey, we’ll bring back that forgotten pastime together, freeing our children and ourselves to connect to the natural world. We’ll build a fire without matches. Create a shelter by hand. Learn which plants are edible (the easy way—with experts beside us). By the end of our week in the woods, we’ll feel that once-familiar pleasure of being at home, and at our best, in nature.
Itinerary: Please open the print brochure: Hiawatha Print Brochure
