UP Weekend Trip Suggestions?

SIGSEGV · #1 Posted **Jun 23, 2019, 6:07 PM**

I was thinking of renting a car and driving up to the UP with the wife for our wedding anniversary weekend in August. I for sure want to do the Pictured Rocks cruise... anything else people recommend? Should I stay in Munising or Marquette? Is it worth it to go all the way to the Keewanaw Peninsula?

Thanks in advance!

the urban politician · #2 Posted **Jun 23, 2019, 6:11 PM**

Go stand in a forest and pee

I’m not kidding. It’s a good time. And only like 3 people live in the UP so nobody will see you

SIGSEGV · #3 Posted **Jun 23, 2019, 6:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Go stand in a forest and pee

I’m not kidding. It’s a good time. And only like 3 people live in the UP so nobody will see you

Aren't there mosquitos?

The North One · #4 Posted **Jun 23, 2019, 7:39 PM**

I would definitely recommend Marquette, it's gorgeous old town.

I don't think you can go wrong either way though

Keewanaw is all beautiful. Recommend it as well.

the urban politician · #5 Posted **Jun 23, 2019, 8:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Aren't there mosquitos?

Oh yeah—don’t forget mosquito spray

jpIllInoIs · #6 Posted **Jun 23, 2019, 8:57 PM**

The little beach town of Grand Marais, MI. There is a camp ground on the shores of Lake Superior, we found a VRBO that suited 4 ppl gorgeous sunsets, crystal clear water and near the Sable beach state park, nice hiking trails to the shore with huge sand dunes at the lake.

Also Taqhuanemon falls state park is worth a stop.

Steely Dan · #7 Posted **Jun 23, 2019, 9:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpIllInoIs

Also Taqhuanemon falls state park is worth a stop.

Yeah, its a bit out of the way, but Tahquamenon Falls is cool as hell. it's like an orange-tinted mini-niagra that no one has ever heard of.

by water volume, it's the 3rd largest vertical waterfall in the US east of the mississippi (after niagara and cohoes falls in upstate NY).

the river drains a large area of cedar swamps that release tannins into the water that give the falls their trademark orange coloring.

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahquamenon_Falls

the urban politician · #8 Posted **Jun 23, 2019, 10:18 PM**

^ I saw that when I went to the UP about 15 or so years ago

bnk · #9 Posted **Jun 27, 2019, 1:04 PM**

I have been to Tahquamenon Falls. One must see both the upper and lower, because in the lower crazy people risk their lives swimming in them.

I'm going up this year again, we have couple of in the family Lake Michigan Lakefront homes with beaches to choose from. We are west of Manistique. I prefer Lake Michigan, much warmer than Superior and has white sand beaches by us like the west side gets also not as extreme.
I did see Superior at the Great Lakes Shipwreck museum. https://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/
The Shoreline very rocky, water very cold, extremely windy and about easy 15 degrees colder than the southern UP shoreline.
There not a lot to do unless you like camping or plan to rent a beach house on the Big water, its a get away for sure.

Manistique has camping on lake Michigan. https://manistiquelakeshorecampground.org/

Close trips from there would be to visit Fayette Michigan, a living museum/ ghost factory town.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayett...ric_State_Park

Fayette Historic State Park was the site of an industrial community that manufactured charcoal pig iron between 1867 and 1891. The town has been reconstructed into a living museum, showing what life was like in this town in the late 19th century It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

and also close

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitch-iti-kipi

Kitch-iti-kipi ("KITCH-i-tee-KI-pee" with short "i"s) is Michigan's largest natural freshwater spring. Kitch-iti-kipi spring is one of Michigan's Upper Peninsula's major tourist attractions. It is northwest of Manistique about six miles.

Kitch-iti-kipi is an oval pool measuring 300 by 175 feet (91 m × 53 m) and is about 40 feet (12 m) deep with an emerald green bottom. From the fissures in underlying limestone flows 10,000 US gallons per minute (630 l/s) of spring water throughout the year at a constant temperature of 45 °F (7 °C).

as well as fish that appear to be suspended in the crystal clear waters of the spring. The fish are lake trout, brown trout and brook trout. On occasion one may spot yellow perch and other species that move between Big Spring and Indian Lake

LouisVanDerWright · #10 Posted **Jun 27, 2019, 2:56 PM**

If you aren't planning to drive all the way up to the tip of the UP, then just go to the Porcupine Mountains State Park. Has tons of waterfalls like that (Presque Isle Falls) and the largest stand of virgin hardwood forest left standing East of the Mississippi. You can hike into that section of the park and suddenly the canopy is 150-200' off the ground and you are surrounded by 6'+ wide trees as far as you can see in all directions. Really gives you some perspective on the environmental damage dealt to the continent by man over the past few hundred years.

There's great camping there if you are into that and tons of hiking. It's probably the best "wilderness" experience you are going to get in the Midwest. Hiking the old growth forest to lake of the clouds is one of the few times you really feel a place is "ancient" in the Midwest. The forests are undisturbed and the terrain is an ancient mountain range once the size of the Rockies that has now been worn down to 750' tall nubs. A lot of people don't realize it, but Lake Superior itself is actually an ancient continental rift where North America started pulling apart 550 million years ago. The Iron Range and Copper Range of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the UP are the remnants of volcanic mountain ranges that formed at that time and have been slowly eroding away since leaving huge quantities of concentrated metals like Copper and Iron behind.

bnk · #11 Posted **Jun 27, 2019, 3:52 PM**

...

RockfordSoxFan · #12 Posted **Jun 28, 2019, 1:39 AM**

Last time I was there I stayed in Munising, did the Pictured Rocks boat tour. Did a waterfall tour, from Munising along the lakeshore all the way to Tahquamenon, then down to Manistique. Great tour.

Rooster slayer · #13 Posted **Jul 7, 2019, 3:35 PM**

Marquette is a great college town tucked away in the woods. Lots of good places to eat, multiple breweries, bike trails and paths etc..

hood · #14 Posted **Jul 9, 2019, 8:26 AM**

The pictured rocks cruise is a good choice, Tahquamenon Falls is also pretty much a must see if you're in that area. I'd recommend both Marquette and Sault St Marie for cities to visit up there. If you go to Sault St Marie be sure to check out the locks and the Valley Camp museum ship (something I liked quite a bit years ago, before it was even complete). Marquette is worth visiting as a cool smaller city with a nice downtown, lots of shops restaurants and what not. I haven't been to the Kewanee Peninsula but I'd say if your going to add that much to your trip you'd probably want to check out the Porcupine Mountains also. I haven't been there myself but it's something I really want to do one of these days, I kinda wanted to do that as a separate trip though, cross Lake Michigan on the ferry (also something I've always wanted to do) and drive up through Wisconsin.

If you're driving up from the lower peninsula I'd go to Sault St Marie first, then Tahquamenon Falls, then pictures rocks, then Marquette. Then you could drive back on highway 2, I don't know what any of those towns are like but I would think that there are some neat stops to make along that route. That will basically be my itinerary when I get around to doing my own UP trip, for whatever that's worth.

Rooster slayer · #15 Posted **Sep 4, 2019, 3:55 PM**

SIGSEGV- You make it up there?

DetroitSky · #16 Posted **Sep 6, 2019, 7:47 AM**

I’m definitely late to the party here, but just in case anyone else gets suggestions from this thread: the Houghton/Hancock area is really interesting. It’s a college town with good restaurants and a decent amount of hotels. It’s natural setting is also very nice and there’s a few old copper mines in the area you can get tours of. It’s definitely an unforgettable experience.

SIGSEGV · #17 Posted **Sep 6, 2019, 1:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rooster slayer

SIGSEGV- You make it up there?

We ended up going to Iceland instead lol. Although we'd still like to go sometime!

SIGSEGV · #18 Posted **Sep 6, 2019, 1:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

I’m definitely late to the party here, but just in case anyone else gets suggestions from this thread: the Houghton/Hancock area is really interesting. It’s a college town with good restaurants and a decent amount of hotels. It’s natural setting is also very nice and there’s a few old copper mines in the area you can get tours of. It’s definitely an unforgettable experience.

Yeah I just have to figure out how to get invited to give a talk at Michigan tech...

Tom In Chicago · #19 Posted **Sep 6, 2019, 7:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

I’m definitely late to the party here, but just in case anyone else gets suggestions from this thread: the Houghton/Hancock area is really interesting. It’s a college town with good restaurants and a decent amount of hotels. It’s natural setting is also very nice and there’s a few old copper mines in the area you can get tours of. It’s definitely an unforgettable experience.

Agreed. . . Houghton/Hancock is pretty cool. . . lots of old mining history. . . somewhere there's an abandoned dam I visited like 30 years ago. . .

. . .