A Trip to the U.P. of Michigan
roadside stop (place unknown)
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
I visited the U.P. of Michigan again, for the second time. It’s just such an amazing place. I think about it frequently. It’s so pretty and pure. It’s definately the perfect place to escape to if you want to get away from crowds. I was only there for about 4 days but it was just so satisfying. If you are thinking about visiting Michigan, check out my blog post about the best things to do.
Here is Our Really Long Itinerary
We left on the Friday evening of Memorial Day weekend and stayed in Pentwater. We camped at Mears State Park. That was my first time visiting that campground. It’s pretty nice, but has small sites and feels a bit crowded. I would still recommend it though because it’s right on the beach. The following morning we drove to Sleeping Bear Dunes. This is one of my top two favorite places in Michigan. I highly recommend it. If you go, you need to visit the small town of Glen Arbor. Later on that day, we headed for the U.P. We made a few quick stops in Traverse City, Charlevoix, and by the Mackinac Bridge. That night we stayed in Muskallonge Lake State Park. We got to the site pretty late. The next morning we headed to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. After the falls we got lunch in Paradise, at the Wheelehouse Diner. Then we drove to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for a quick hike at Grand Sable Dunes, stopped at the overlook, and the waterfall by the visitor center. After that amazing stop, we headed for Marquette for dinner. On the way to Marquette we saw our first moose! Seeing a moose has been at the top of my bucket list. It was the wild animal that I wanted to see next. There is a small population living in Marquette. Anyway, in Marquette we got some pizza for dinner and took it to Presque Isle Park for sunset. That night we camped at Baraga State Park. After a really good stay we drove to the Sand Point Lighthouse. I love lighthouses so this was super exciting for me. Next, we headed for Houghton for lunch at Chicago Beefs (10/10). Houghton is a super cute town that I really want to return to. After Houghton we stopped at another lighthouse, Eagle Harbor Lighthouse. We made some other quick stops and then went to a beach at Astor Shipwreck Park. This is such a beautiful spot. You can see across the bay to the Copper Harbor Lighthouse. The water is crystal clear and the rocks are red. After that, we headed to our campsite at Fort Wilkins Historic State Park. This was my favorite campground. We set up the tent and went into the town of Copper Harbor for dinner. We ate at a food truck. There aren’t lot of options to choose from but it was very tasty. After dinner, we drove up Brockway Mountain Lookout. I highly recommend this drive because the view is amazing. It’s very close to the tallest mountain in Michigan. Then we went back to the beach park for sunset. The following morning we headed home through Wisconsin and Illinois. We made a few quick stops in cute little random towns and stopped at the Mars Cheese Castle. This trip was a ton of driving to squeeze into 4.5 days. We didn’t have long at each stop. I think it was good for us but if you like to go at a slower pace you will probably need more time or to make less stops.
Things to Keep in Mind
-Bugs are very bad during summer months in the U.P. We went in late spring and they were just starting to come out.
-There is limited cell service. I don’t think we had service over half of the trip.
-There is limited food and coffee options, especially on a holiday. We really struggled to find coffee in the morning and it was difficult. On Memorial Day pretty much every single business was closed.
-In the lower portion of Michigan camp sites book up quickly. We made a reservation for all of our sites. Copper Harbor and Baraga had quite a few empty sites though.
-It still gets very cold at night in late spring so bring lots of blankets or a heater.
-Make sure to bring plenty of water and emergency things for your car. A first-aid-kit would probably be good as well.
-If you plan to go to several State Parks, it’s best to buy a State Park Pass. You may want to get it in advance if you plan to arrive to your first park after 5pm. There was nobody at the gate to sell us one for our first night.
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