Michigan’s Upper Peninsula offers a choice of shorelines on three of the Great Lakes, forests full of wildlife, lakes full of fish and scenic waterfalls and rivers. And if you like this time of year, it has snowmobile trails by the mile.
The Upper Peninsula’s location on the Great Lakes shipping lanes means it also has lighthouses to admire. The U.P. Maritime Trail — www.upmaritimetrail.com/ — has links to five lighthouses and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. And if your travels will take you beyond the Upper Peninsula, explore two sets of Web links to other scenic and historic sites across the region.
But lighthouses are only part of the UP’s appeal. Browse through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — www.uptravel.com/ — to get acquainted with activities categorized by season, attractions you have to search by location or name, and information on skiing, snowmobiling and fishing. There’s even a directory of waterfalls, such as Gogebic County’s Ajibikoka Falls. And you’ll need to browse through their library of links to the local tourism and chamber of commerce Web sites that provide detailed information on the peninsula’s towns and counties.
At the eastern end of the UP, Interstate 75 will take you straight north out of Lower Michigan across the Mackinac Bridge — www.mackinacbridge.org/ — to Sault Ste. Marie — www.saultstemarie.com/ — the border city settled in 1668. You can cross into Canada, watch ships going through the Soo Locks, and drop a few quarters in one of four casinos.
Just off the eastern tip of the UP in Lake Huron, Drummond Island — www.drummondislandchamber.com/ — offers 150 miles of shoreline, 34 of its own lakes, hunting, fishing, birdwatching and hiking.
Check out the snow photos from the Western UP — www.westernup.com/ — where the woods stretch off toward Wisconsin. Summers in this part of the peninsula are busy with fishing and boating, and in the winter they keep warm by skiing and snowmobiling. Take a look at the town of Watersmeet and the Cisco Chain of Lakes.
Before you go, you’ll want to check on fishing and hunting licenses from the state Department of Natural Resources — www.michigan.gov/dnr — and see what else they have to offer. Click on”Recreation & Camping” to find maps and sections where you can search for campgrounds and trails in the areas you plan to visit.
Along with state parks and preserves, the UP holds vast tracts of federal land. The Ottawa National Forest — www.fs.fed.us/r9/ottawa/ — boasts nearly 1 million acres where you can hike and camp in the western end of the peninsula. Farther east, the Hiawatha National Forest — www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/hiawatha/ — offer two huge blocks of forest plus about 100 miles of shoreline on three of the Great Lakes: Michigan, Superior and Huron. Keweenaw National Historical Park — www.nps.gov/kewe/index.htm — commemorates the copper mining that spurred development in the area more than a century ago.
If you”re heading south after exploring the UP’s lakes and forest, the state’s official Travel Michigan — travel.michigan.org/ — has tips on other sights to see and communities to spend time in.
