Michigan's Upper Peninsula

[Davydd]

Michigan's Upper Peninsula is a great place for traveling and camping. The best way to get there is to drive across the Mackinac Bridge in celebration of arriving. This is our GPS approach to the bridge.



It was a calm day so the passage was easy in our B van.



On arriving we drove a mile or so west on US Highway 2 and stopped at Suzy's Pastie Shoppe and bought a couple of Pasties.



The we drove a few miles west until we came to Lake Michigan's sandy beaches and stopped for a picnic on the beach.



We then drove up to Grand Marais, Michigan, a tiny town on Lake Superior, and camped right in the town's municipal campground called Woodland Hills. It has about 100 sites, mostly level, with electric, water and some sewer hookups. It is also just a short walk to the few restaurants in town.



Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore is close by. In the past we had taken our kayaks and paddled in the protected harbor at Grand Marais. We didn't this time. We did take in the Lake Superior Brewing Company Pub in town and sampled their brews and I had the UP ubiquitous white fish dinner.





Then the following morning we had breakfast at the West Bay Diner. A classic diner was attached to a house and you could eat in the diner or in the house dining room.





This was just a passing through trip this year with an emphasis on road food. Last year we camped at Tahquamenon Falls State Park and Porcupine Wilderness State Park. Another time we took in Pictured Rocks.

[julievojo]

Ohhhh, pasties! Love those things. Since it's so cool here this week, I'm going to make a batch on Friday.

Julie

[renrut]

I use to drive that area quite a bit. One thing you have to watch out for are deer on the road. A couple times I drove along Hwy 2 and Michigan 28, there were so many deer on the road, I couldn't drive any faster than 40mph. In fact, I hit a deer in 1992 in that area. Didn't do any damage to my vehicle. The deer are quite small.

I drove along that route in the winter too. It can get quite interesting when you get the snow coming off Lake Superior.

[Davydd]

renrut,

Deer are common just about everywhere you go nowadays. We encountered them in great numbers in Shenandoah National Park, down in Hocking Hills, Ohio, and on Minnesota's North Shore. We have them around our house as well. I frequently encounter them right in my driveway. You just can't avoid them. Driving before sunup or after sundown are when you are going to have the most trouble. In effect, deer are not going to keep me from going somewhere but when I drive might be dictated somewhat and sometimes that can't be avoided. When we left the Scenic View Campground at Hocking Hills last week in the early morning we encountered two deer crossing at the exit of the campground and another one on the road before we reached Logan 6 miles away.

[renrut]

I know deer are everywhere now. Where we lived before, I worked at an International Airport. There were deer everywhere. It was very common to see them in the parking lot when I went to work. The airport had to put very high fences around to try to keep them away from the runways.

I enjoy seeing them and I enjoy any wild life. I use to go hiking through the woods a lot just to see what is around. I use to be a Scout Leader and took my troop out a lot. Teen aged boys can be quite a handfull but they always enjoyed the outdoors. I use to take them out in the woods for a long walk and periodically stop and make them listen to see what animal sound and nature sounds they can identify. Once they saw how peaceful it is out in the wilderness, they wanted to go more and more. One place had a water falls. We would take a different way in each time and it was a competition to see who would hear the falls first.

Now we live in an area where all the land is privately owned and there isn't much wilderness around. There are Provincial Parks and Conservation areas we can go to but it's not the same as going out into a large forest where there isn't very many humans around.

[Davydd]

I reported in another report Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island and the bridge. On our way back we stopped at Lake Gogebic State Park near the western end of the Upper Peninsula just north of the Wisconsin lakes area. Lake Gogebic SP is a small shoreline park with about 118 sites with a boat launch and swimming beach. The sites are mostly grassy sites and most have electrical and there are flush toilets and showers. Lake Gogebic itself is billed as the largest inland lake in the Upper Peninsula. Of course that is discounting Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and Lake Huron bordering the UP.

Lake Gogebic


Our grassy campsite


Typical double wall fire pits being installed in Michigan state parks


Across from us. We were not the only B. This one is a classic.

[T.Low]

I love the UP. Paddled Pictured Rocks many times. My favorite camp ground is a few miles west of Grand Marais called 12 Mile Campground, cliffside above the Lake with a magnificent sunset.

After paddling pictured rocks we'd always hit The Dog Patch in Munising for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Make sure to hit the Lake Superior Shipwreck Museum on Whitefish Point. http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/map.phtml

"The searchers all say
they'd a made White Fish Bay
if they put 15 more miles behind 'er"
Gordon Lightfoot The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald

[LivingtheDream]

The U.P. is one of the best kept secrets of beauty in this country (full disclosure: my family are UP-pers). The western end of the UP is fabulous, Black River Harbor on Lake Superior, The falls just a few miles from that. The Bluffs all around Bessemer and Ironwood. In fact, the US 2 is one of the nicest drives in the US. Sometimes you can go a couple hours and only see 1 other vehicle, its great!

Pasties are a must in the UP, the more to the west you are, the better they are... (originally made for miners to take down into the iron mines with them and they stayed warm if wrapped up well for lunch).

But dont think that Mackinaw to the west is all of the UP. Sault Saint Marie and the Islands there are wonderful, so go a bit east ...

If you are an Easterner.... come up the 75 to Sault St. Marie then take the 28 and go up to Copper Harbor... down to Ironwood then across the US 2 back to Mackinaw... nice week on the road... do it in early October and you will see colors you have never seen... do it in November and you may see the Northern Lights like you wont see elsewhere... as there is less man-made light in the UP... spectacular!

Oh, one more plug... when you make Ironwood... go over to Hurley, WI ... nice little town with a history of Chicago gansters and bordello's... but now a nice town with little shops and coffee houses....

LivingtheDream
Turn the Key and Smile

[arrveedogz]

The U.P. is one of the best kept secrets

Thinking about a trip up that a-way. How about June and early July? What's the black fly/no-see-um forecast?

Thanks,
Dan F.

[tredogandi]

The U.P. is truly a must see. Not too many places left that have so many miles of thick woods to travel through. In mid June, you can expect lots of 'skeeters and some ticks. However, you may be the only one at many spots, there's just not many people up there. Most of the towns are filled with locals that may clue you into a great camping spot, along a lake or river, that may cost you nothing!!!

[Karsty]

Reading this thread is rather timely ... in light of the fact that this year's B-Rally will be hosted in the Upper Peninsula.

I have been to Michigan on numerous occasions but have spent most of the time in the Frankenmuth area an never made it to the UP. Well ... I am going to the B-Rally this year so I will get to explore the UP. I am planning to leave a few days early ... cross the Bluewater Bridge into Michigan and spend a few days exploring before heading to the rally.

For anyone that is interested here is a link for this rally which is for Class B owners only.

http://www.military-rving.us/B-10/B-10_MI.html

After the rally I intent to cross back into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie. It's been awhile since I've been up that way and I am looking forward to exploring that area on the way home.

Thanks for posting some great pictures and giving me some ideas on places to explore.

[ABXGuy]

We are working out the plans for a Lake Superior Circle Tour in July to include some side trips to Armstrong & Soiux Lookout in ON. Going to be about 2500 miles.

[Mike]

We're thinking of attending the B-10 Rally with our new class B travel trailer. It's shorter, at 20', than some of the Sprinter models that will be attending.
Since we still own a class B RV (2002 C190P Roadtrek), we would still qualify under Karsty's definition of "Class B owners only".