Upper Peninsula, Michigan

For years I had read articles about the beauty and wilderness of Upper Peninsula (UP) Michigan. This was my spring to find out firsthand. After extensive reading and online study I decided May was a perfect month for my trip as I prefer low temperatures to mosquitos and black flies.

As Necedah WI was along one route to the UP from N Florida I scheduled some upgrades to my beloved "Venezia" with Cary. Venezia received a bumper, side curtains, solar connector, new rear hatch gasket and a complimentary axle adjustment. Thank you to all the wonderful employees of Camp-Inn and their good work.

Leaving Necedah I headed to Langdale WI the southern end of the Nicolet-Wolf River Scenic Byway camping at Ada Lake NF Campground. My drive along the scenic byway was an opportunity to get into the rhythm of "2 lane blacktopping" that I would enjoy for the next 3 weeks.

Without detailing my camping sites and many spectacular hikes and historical site visits I would like to convey a general outline of my journey. I crossed into UP near Iron River where I enjoyed my first Pastie and traveled west on Hwy 2 to the western corner enjoying day hikes along swollen rivers to spectacular waterfalls and Lake Superior beaches. Slowly traveling and camping clockwise along the Lake Superior coastline, I visited Black River, Porcupine Mountains and all the scenic drives of the Keweenaw Peninsula to Copper Harbor. My rain canopy got quite a workout and on nights when I had shore power my electric throw blanket and quartz heater made for a cozy start to deep sleep after exhausting days of hiking and activity. Marquette is a picturesque working port city with rows of lovely homes, a superb Maritime Museum and outstanding Lake Superior outdoor areas to its NW along the highway to Big Bay. Clocking on around to Munising I enjoyed Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (PRNL) from the water by boat and by inland trails to its overlooks and many waterfalls. Just when I thought it was time to leave Munising I would learn of another trail to hike or waterfall I had overlooked. The contrast at PRNL from the rocky cliffs on the west end to the high dunes of Au Sable on the east was remarkable. Traveling from Grand Marais to Deer Park was my plan as there were many forest campgrounds along the route I planned to utilize but the road like many on this trip was flooded from the snow melt and heavy rains. Dispersed camping in the forests was welcome. Many remote sites in the national forest were not passable with my rig. Many times I had to disconnect and turn my 550 by hand when I reached high water I could not negotiate after often driving miles of muddy forest roads. Just part of the adventure. When you have no schedule it matters not.

One of my most memorable days was bicycling the 9 miles along the many ponds of Seney Wildlife Refuge and counting 64 Trumpeter swans, spotting Sandhills cranes and seeing the state threatened Common loons nesting. It was a day of weather contrasts with a low ceiling and light rain clearing to a beautiful blue sky. The visitor center trail had lots of warbler species. Had never seen some many American redstarts and Yellow-throated warblers in one area.

After visiting Whitefish Point and the impressive Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum I traveled the scenic byways to Brimley and Sault St. Marie for the civilized portion of my adventure at the Soo Locks camping on the St. Marys river watching the ships pass by. The food and micro brew was even better than my camping fare. Leaving Sault St. Marie I visited the eastern end of the peninsula at De Tour Village then more scenic drives west on Hwy 134 and 2 along Lake Huron then the beautiful dune beaches of Lake Michigan to Manistique. Had no idea there was a karst spring in that part of the country but there it was Kitch-Iti-Kipi with a glass bottomed "boat" on a cable. Returned to civilization at St Ignace and caught the early ferry with my bicycle to Mackinac Island. Once you left the dock it was like stepping into the past with the only motorized vehicles being electric wheelchairs and hundreds of draft horses carriages and wagons. Like disney only real were my thoughts.

With a touch of melancholy I left the UP driving over the only connection between Upper and Lower Michigan the Mackinaw bridge and drove my first interstate miles for almost 3 weeks. There were more adventures before reaching N Florida but the UP Adventure was in the books.

All my expectations were exceeded.

 

What an adventure!

 

We went to the UP before we had our Camp Inn and loved it. We are looking toward taking “Jeremiah “ to Necedah for a checkup next summer. While we are up that we will go to the UP again. It is truly a hidden gem to most people, the scenery is gorgeous and the people there are top notch.

 

Sounds like a great trip Roger! It was our pleasure to meet you as our paths crossed in Necedah! Your trip has certainly inspired us to put the UP on our list.

 

We just returned from a 3+ week in the UP at Wells, McLain and Baraga State Parks. We had perfect weather and lots of fun drives and walks. Showed off the tear to many people.

We put a new battery in before we left so all our power problems are gone.

While at Wells we enjoyed meeting the Ewalds who also have a 550 Ultra. They drove by our camp site while leaving to get a picture of the twin tear drops. Ours has the Sportbrella which we used a lot.

 

Bob is a Michigander and because we avoid driving through the Chicago area on our treks from Seattle to Lansing, we always take the UP route. We love it! We've stayed at both Wells SP and Tahquamenon Falls SP several times as well as the Munising Tourist Park Campground and the Soo Locks Campground. A stop at Leno's for pasties and Trenary Bakery for Trenary toast are musts. The shipwreck museum takes you up to the Lake Superior coastline. And, in the face of snow and severe cold, we've stayed at the Grey Wolf Lodge in Manistique (a restaurant is conveniently just steps away.) The UP is a unique experience!

 

Hi Kathy,

Where exactly is Leno's - Linda and I are headed back there before the CICO in September.

Dave K

 

You're right. It's Lehto's
US 2, west of St. Ignace, just past (west of) Cheeseman Rd

 

OK - its on the list and we will be driving right by!

Thanks for the local flavor!

 

If time check out the Keweenaw Peninsula. We loved learning about the Copper industry history and seeing the remains of the mines and the amazing architecture especially in Calumet and Copper Harbor.

 

Thanks Pat - we are planning on spending two days on the peninsula and taking the ferry from Copper Harbor to Isle Royal for a few days too. Really looking forward to this. Then we head over to Michigan and go south to Sleeping Bear Dunes.

 

Boy I guess I got lucky - I have a reservation for two nights at Platte River CG!

 

Since your on 2 - Muellars on the main street in Escanaba has great pizza - Down just past the first stop light on the right across from the school.

 

Thanks for the suggestion - As always - we should be spending twice the time in these spots - - Google maps has us on 41 and 28 across the northern part until we get to 77 - so will have to save this for next time.

 

Sounds wonderful enjoy!