Popular Pictured Rocks Lookout Shut Down After Platform Slides 100 Feet

(WWJ) Spring is starting to peek out here and there in metro Detroit, which brings thoughts of barbecues and summers vacations.

Keep this in mind if your plans include Michigan's glorious Upper Peninsula.

A popular overlook at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the U.P. is closed after a viewing platform slid about 100 feet down the face of a sand dune.

Luckily, no one was on it at the time.

Heavy snow, ice, and sand deposits followed by erosion are to blame. After the ice and snow melts, park staff will go in and assess the situation. As long as no major erosion takes place in the near future, the hope is to move the walkway back from the edge and find a stable area on which to rebuild the viewing platform.

To whet your whistle for summer vacations, here are some pictures of one of Michigan's most picturesque spots.

Pure Michigan, indeed.