Bird's–Eye Tour of Michigan's Upper Peninsula
A mapped guide around the U.P.
This article courtesy of Midwest RV Traveler
Take in a Bird's–Eye View
For an aerial view, go to the top of the 21–story Tower of History, a museum featuring exhibits on local history, including early missionaries and American Indians. You'll have a bird's–eye view of all the ship traffic, Sault Ste. Marie and its Canadian twin city of the same name.
Visit the Museum Ship Valley Camp, housed in a 550–foot ore carrier. This floating museum gives visitors an insider's look at the living quarters and workings of a lake freighter. Its exhibits include displays of marine artifacts, aquariums featuring species of Great Lakes fish and amphibians, and two lifeboats from the Edmund Fitzgerald that disappeared in a storm in 1975. For more area history, tour The River of History Museum, which chronicles the history of the St. Mary's River.
Follow the Lake Superior Shoreline – It's All Here. From Sault Ste. Marie, head west on M–28, then take M–123 north to Paradise to visit the Centennial Cranberry Farm, Michigan's oldest working cranberry operation, dating to 1876. Continue to Whitefish Point and tour the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, including an impressive exhibit on the Edmund Fitzgerald and other notable shipwrecks. The museum complex includes a fully restored 1861 light–keeper's quarters and a 1923 U.S. Coast Guard surfboat rescue station, with a replica surfboat and historical exhibits.
The adjacent Whitefish Point Bird Observatory is among the best places in the Upper Midwest to observe migrating water birds and raptors. The observatory offers guided bird walks and educational programs, including one where you can see owls in their evening hunts.
Back on M–123, stop for a picnic at the Tahquamenon State Park and view the second–largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River. Moose are frequently spotted here, as well as in the 95,000–acre Seney National Wildlife Refuge, five miles south of Seney, on M–77. The refuge has the largest population of common loons and trumpeter swans in the country. You can hike, bike or take the seven–mile drive through the refuge to watch for birds and wildlife. A short video at the visitor center will introduce you to the species found here.
First consider taking a side trip to Oswald's Bear Ranch. The largest bear–only ranch in the U.S. provides an opportunity to safely observe black bears in their natural habitat.
At Pictured Rocks National Lake–shore in Munising, hike to the 50–foot falls, along the top of the cliffs, or to overlooks for unparalleled views of Lake Superior and geological formations such as Miners Castle. Or take the Pictured Rocks scenic cruise, departing from the Munising City Dock, to view the multicolored sandstone cliffs that give the national lakeshore its name.
Join Capt. Peter Lindquist on the Miss Munising for a glass–bottom boat tour of three shipwrecks in the Alger Underwater Preserve. They include the Bermuda, a wooden schooner that sank in 1870. Clear, cold waters make this a popular site for scuba diving.
Munising is the perfect place to sample regional specialties, including fresh whitefish, sometimes served with a topping of tart, local cherries and pasties (pronounced pass–tee). The latter is a meat–and–potato–stuffed pie – a staple in the diets of Cornish immigrants who came to northern Michigan for mine work.
Iron Ore and More
Marquette was once the primary shipping port on the Great Lakes for iron ore. Today, visitors can learn about its rich seafaring heritage at Marquette Maritime Museum and the fire–engine red Marquette Harbor Lighthouse, built in 1866.
A bike path runs along the city's shoreline to Presque Isle Park, providing unobstructed views of the lake and the massive ore–loading docks. The park is closed to vehicular traffic on some mornings, so walkers and bikers can enjoy its beauty in solitude.
"Anatomy of a Murder," starring Jimmy Stewart and Lee Remick, was filmed in Ishpeming (Marquette, Big Bay and Michigamme, as well). Ishpeming is also the site of the National Ski Hall of Fame and Cliff Shaft Mine Museum, which offers tours of mine tunnels. The history of the iron industry can be seen in exhibits and video at the Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee.
Don't Miss Da Yoopers
Da Yooper Tourist Trap, west of Ishpeming, is a travelers' favorite, for its vast array of local products and souvenirs as well as its whimsical museum, featuring inventions by Yoopers (a nickname for U.P. residents). You'll see The Guinness Book of World Records' world's–largest working chain saw, an underground mining display and others.
Historical Keweenaw Peninsula
Henry Ford envisioned Alberta as a self–sufficient town, where workers would live in company–owned houses, grow their own food and work in the sawmill to produce parts for his "woody" automobiles. While the Ford Motor Co. donated the town to Michigan Technological University in 1954, you can still visit this 1930s–era planned community.
At Copper Harbor, on the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, visit Fort Wilkins State Historic Park, which depicts mid–19th century army life on the northern frontier. The Copper Harbor Lighthouse tour includes a boat trip and 90–minute tour of one of Lake Superior's oldest lighthouses.
The Delaware Copper Mine, as well as the Quincy Mine, in Hancock, offer a look at historic mining operations and a tour of an underground mine. The latter, a National Historic Landmark District, features the world's–largest steam hoist and includes a scenic cog–rail tram ride.
Scenic Southern Shore
If you are a serious hiker, you'll want to spend time in the scenic Porcupine Mountains in the western U.P. Otherwise, head south from Houghton on M–26 to U.S. 45. You'll proceed past the beautiful Bond Falls, near Paulding, to U.S. 2 to begin the southern half of the loop.
In Vulcan, visit Michigan's only underground iron mine. This attraction includes a guided train tour through 2,600 feet of underground shafts and reportedly the largest rock shop in the U.P.
You'll have a choice at Powers – to continue on U.S. 2/41 to Escanaba or head south to Menominee, where you'll get your first glimpse of Lake Michigan. The Menominee North Pier Lighthouse is a great photo stop. From here, follow M–35 along the scenic Green Bay shoreline to Escanaba, where you can visit historic Sand Point Lighthouse and the adjacent county historical museum, an amazing depository of items of local historical significance.
A Garden Peninsula detour, the living–history museum at Fayette Historic State Park offers insight into life in a smelter town in the mid to late 19th century.
Retrace your route, going east to St. Ignace, for a stop at Father Jacques Marquette National Memorial, the Marquette Mission Park and the Museum of Ojibwa Culture. Then, you can either head to Michigan's Lower Peninsula via the Mackinac Bridge – considered the longest suspension bridge in the U.S. – or complete the loop to Sault Ste. Marie.
If your schedule allows, catch the ferry to Mackinac Island. Ferries leave from St. Ignace and Mackinaw City. No vehicles are allowed on the island, so take bikes or plan to rent them there. Visit Fort Mackinac, the state's only Revolutionary War–era fort, or the Grand Hotel for tea and a guided tour. Catch a horse–drawn carriage through historic downtown or visit two butterfly conservatories.
Shipwrecks. Waterfalls. Scenic Drives. Museums. The U.P. is ready for you to come and explore.
For More Information
Summer Breeze Campground
W8576 Twin Falls Road
Iron Mountain, MI 49801
(906) 774–7701
Upper Peninsula Travel and Recreation Association
(800) 562–7134
Country Village RV Park
1200 Country Lane
Ishpeming, MI 49849
(906) 486–0300
St. Ignace
Mackinac Island KOA
1242 US 2 West
St. Ignace, MI 49781
(800) 562–0534
(906) 643–9303
Vagabond Resort
8935 County 513 T Road
Rapid River, MI 49878
(906) 474–6122
Wandering Wheels Campground
Highway M–28 East
Munising, MI 49862
(906) 387–3315
(906) 387–1580
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Consult your 2007 Woodall's North American Campground Directory for a complete list of area campgrounds.
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