M-22, the 116-mile state highway that wraps around Michigan’s little pinky like a glove, is often crowned our most beautiful drive. The scenery is great but what is truly remarkable is the amount of public land M-22 passes through.

The highway winds through the heart of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and serves as the gateway to more than two dozen other preserves, parks and rail-trails in Manistee, Benzie and Leelanau Counties. The Trails of M-22 leads you along 48 trails into this stunning landscape of dunes, forests, wetland and Lake Michigan’s golden beaches.

Trail descriptions, highlights, amenities and interesting side notes are complemented by more than 50 detailed maps and outstanding photography. THE MAPSThe third edition of The Trails of M-22 is a guidebook blended with digital content.

Trail maps in this book are accompanied by a QR code linking you to a larger and more detailed version on the MichiganTrailMaps. com website.

Those maps can be downloaded onto a mobile device or printed and then used on the trail. Also on the website are links to Avenza Map Store that will enable you to download a georeferenced version of the maps.

Jim DuFresne, a lifelong Michigander, is one of the best known authors of outdoor guidebooks in the Midwest. His other titles include Isle Royale National Park: Foot Trails & Water Routes, Backpacking in Michigan, 50 Hikes in Michigan and Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.

He is also the main contributor to MichiganTrailMaps and his columns can be read at www. michigantrailmaps.

com. .