So you’ve come for the secret of the Hippie Tree have you? Well many people come looking yet very few seem to find it as many of the locals say the only way to find the Hippie Tree is if the Hippie Tree wants you to find it. Trust me its not one of those pure of heart things at all you read in the story books as the Hippie Tree is a scary place for sure. Many of the ole timers claimed this is where the souls of those passed from from the asylum would go and who is to argue with them as once in the presence of the Hippie Tree you will be left to judge for yourself.As the Hippie Tree rests just outside of Traverse City a small bedroom community nestled safely away in the back woods of Northern Michigan and is typically known for its cherry crop and access to the pristine waters of the Traverse Bay fed from Lake Michigan. However, the quaint little town hides a dark secret in its past as being home to the Northern Michigan Asylum, as while today parts of the hulking building stand in disrepair and awaiting demolition. The heartfelt existence of the tens of thousands of troubled souls who rightly or wrongly were sent there to do private battle with their personal demons still seems to transcend time.However as fascinating as the building and local lore of it is, what is even more so interesting is what remains on the now public property behind it. As there in the darkness of a swampy ravine is the remains of a giant which is larger in death then life. While botanically it might be referred to as a Black Willow tree, to the locals it is known by a different name. This name is the Hippie Tree and is said to guard the gates of Hell much as Cerberus performed in the world of Greek mythology. While the origins of the name maybe lost to history, the lore remains as this was to be the gathering spot for the troubled souls when they made their final departure from the Asylum. Be it fact, fiction or somewhere in between the reality is the journey is the adventure, so lets take one to find the Hippie Tree together.
