Michigan is a state of vast and diverse landscapes. From its southern urban core to the wilds of the north, is there anywhere left across the two peninsulas that is unexplored?

The question is an intriguing one.

👇🏼BELOW: The Only Destination For These Highways are Michigan State Parks👇🏼

The idea of an unexplored Michigan is sparked by a discussion over secret locations across the United States and this comment:

The entire US has never been explored. There is debate over how big the country really is since there are different ways to measure the border but no one has ever explored every part of the country.

While that paragraph may sound a little far-fetched, there are several areas of Michigan that come to mind as not fully explored.

Starting in the western Upper Peninsula, the Porcupine Mountains are considered among the deepest, most rugged and impenetrable forests anywhere between Maine and the inter-Rocky Mountain West. With few access roads in and hikes that can take explorers miles from any access point in or out, it's not inconceivable to think of parts of the Porkies untouched by humans.

READ MORE: These Michigan Highways Come to a Complete Dead End

On the opposite end of the Upper Peninsula is the Gogomain Swamp. Located south of Sault Ste. Marie near the tiny community of Pickford, the Gogoman is called the 'swamp of no return' on account of the area being:

a remote wilderness that is said to disorient people so badly, some have died exploring there.... A resort owner in the area only says, cryptically, that explorers of the Gogomain Swamp "don't die every time."

At the tip of the Lower Peninsula is Wilderness State Park. The name certainly gives the alure of remoteness. However being at the entrance to the Straits of Mackinac - a strategic point of control within the Great Lakes since the earliest days of humanity, there's little chance of untouched, unexplored land there.

That may also be the case for another candidate for unexplored areas of Michigan, Isle Royale. While today the remote island is the middle of Lake Superior is the least visited National Park in the continental US, the island's natural resources and ore deposits leave evidence of human exploration and mining operations going back millenia.

So are there any parts of Michigan untouched and unexplored? It seems likely that somewhere in the vastness of the Upper Peninsula, you could find a location never before trod by human feet - but it would take some deep exploration far, far off the roads and two-tracks of the region.

The Only Destination For These Highways are Michigan State Parks

There are several highways in Michigan's road network that exist only to connect to state parks.

Gallery Credit: Google Maps Street View

These Tiny Michigan Counties Have Less than 10,000 Residents

These are the counties in Michigan where you can really feel detached from society. Each of these counties have less than 10,000 people living there.
Note: population counts are via Wikipedia and 2023 estimates.