Visiting G'chi-dikibi (Kitch-iti-kipi)

From Manistique, follow M-149 north to Palms Book State Park and look for signs that say Palms Book or the Big Spring. DNR’s visitor page still calls the spring Kitch-iti-kipi. Its 2024 management plan records G’chi-dikibi as the accurate modern Anishinaabemowin spelling and says the spring and surrounding landscape remain significant to Great Lakes Anishinaabek.

This is Michigan’s largest natural freshwater spring. More than 10,000 gallons of water rise through the limestone each minute at a steady 45 degrees. The moving water ripples the sandy bottom, while trout and old tree trunks are visible through the clear pool. DNR says the spring does not typically freeze.

You view it from an accessible raft that visitors propel across the spring. The raft is open from 8 a.m. to dusk. A Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry, and the store is seasonal. Swimming, diving, fishing, boating, and placing objects or cameras in the spring are prohibited, so this is a look-with-your-eyes stop.

John Bellaire helped turn the spring into a public park. At his urging, the state completed a $10 purchase of 90 acres from the Palms Book Land Company in 1928, with a deed requiring the land to remain a public park named Palms Book State Park. He sold spring water and sand at his store while claiming they had magical powers. DNR’s current plan is careful about the distinction: some tourist interpretation needs correction, but the spring’s Native history and living cultural importance do not come from those promotions.