Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
Location of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Location	Alger County, Michigan, United States
Nearest city	Munising, Michigan
Coordinates	46°33′44″N 86°18′45″W / 46.56222°N 86.31250°W / 46.56222; -86.31250
Area	73,236 acres (296.38 km2)
Established	October 15, 1966
Visitors	476,888 (in 2005)
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Michigan State Historic Site
Official name	Pictured Rocks
Designated	February 17, 1965

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. It extends for 42 mi (68 km) along the shore of Lake Superior and covers 73,236 acres (114 sq mi; 296 km²). The park has extensive views of the hilly shoreline between Munising and Grand Marais in Alger County, with picturesque rock formations, waterfalls, and sand dunes.

Pictured Rocks derives its name from the 13 miles (24  km) of colorful sandstone cliffs northeast of Munising. The cliffs reach up to 200 feet (60 m) above lake level. They have been naturally sculptured into a variety of shallow caves, arches, and formations resembling castle turrets and human profiles. Near Munising, visitors can also visit Grand Island, most of which are included in the separate Grand Island National Recreation Area.

The U.S. Congress designated Pictured Rocks the first National Lakeshore in the United States in 1966. It is governed by the National Park Service (NPS), with 22 year-round NPS employees as of May 2006, and received 1,313,179 visitors in 2021.^[2]