Upper Peninsula Michigan

Old Jan 21st, 2014, 10:11 AM
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Upper Peninsula Michigan

We are interested in touring the UP of Michigan. Does anybody have suggestions for the best route in 9 days. Where do you fly into? Any highlights? What shouldn't we miss? How is Traverse City? Should we drive from Traverse City to Mackinac Island? From there what is the best route to take? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 10:54 AM
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Are you going in summer? I went there with a friend this past summer and absolutely loved it. I blogged and posted photos about the trip here: http://thefreelanceadventurer.blogsp...s-another.html

We spent most of the time on the UP at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. If you go there, I recommend you...

1. Hike/walk the Lakeshore Trail
2. Take the Pictured Rocks Boat Trip
3. Go to the beach/walk the shoreline
4. Visit the Au Sable Lighthouse (at sunset is beautiful!)
5. Hike the Chapel Rock Loop

We also LOVED Traverse City for the friendly vibe and good food. I blogged about that and posted photos of the area here:
http://thefreelanceadventurer.blogsp...dventures.html
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 11:08 AM
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The last couple of times we went to the UP, once we flew into O'Hare (from NYC) and drove all of the way to Houghton in one VERY LONG day. I don't recommend that but it is possible even from as far away as Chicago. The next time we flew into Duluth and drove to Ontonogon, much less driving but with plane connections and delays it ended up burning just as much time. In the future I'd probably try MSP over Duluth for the western UP. I think we've also done flights into Detroit with a same-day drive to Mackinaw City. Certainly Traverse City would be much closer if you can get a decent airfare. I know I've driven through Traverse City at least a couple of times, but it didn't make any real impression either way so I'll leave it to others for their suggestions.

Much of the UP is pretty empty, so if you like uncrowded never-ending northern forests (I do), it's gorgeous. Most of my most memorable things (weird pizza in Ishpeming, an old copper mine near Hancock, a cool really old street sign) we stumbled on by accident. The shores of both Superior and Lake Michigan were very pretty. The locals we met in many different towns were very friendly and always happy to give advice on where to eat and visit. I'd pretty much try to loop the UP more or less along the shorelines, and just take time to stop in small towns and talk to people, they're really pretty cool.
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 07:15 PM
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`TRaverse City is not in the UP but Delta flys there from MSP, DTW, ORD..Beautiful country with Mission Penn, Great Bear Dunes. Mac.Island is across the state and you must leave yout car in a parking log. the Grand hotel is exacty that and there are lots of smaller places amd many, many B&Bs.in Mac. City on the main land. The color is not there like on the island. there are ouse drawn carriage tours that followed the sitrs a nd were charming. The fort sees the offishal flags that are flown during the daylighy hours and is a lastimg souvenier..Very well made and gov't issues.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2014, 02:30 PM
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Of all the airports mentioned either TC or Detroit makes the most sense. It is easy to make a loop of the UP starting with Mackinaw Island, Whitefish Point/Tahquamenon Falls, Pictured rocks/Munising, Marquette, Houghton/Hancock, Porcupine Mts, Escanaba, back to Mackinaw. There are so many things to see in these locations that you would want to narrow down exactly what you are interested in.

There are many falls throughout the UP as well as hikes. If you are interested in history, there a numerous mining museums and exhibits. Whitefish Point has the Edmund Fitzgerald museum.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2014, 08:52 AM
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Traverse City tends to be expensive and have poor flight times. That aside, it is a good location. Try Marquette.

Escanaba would be a nice location but rental cars are very expensive. Pelston air fares and rental costs are high. I've never been able to find something afordable to Sault Ste Marie.

Flint or Grand Rapids usually have the best combination of flight times, fares & rental cars for me. Green Bay can also be good.

Lansing & Saginaw are also good locations, but again the fares tend to be higher.

We really need to know what you are wanting to do on your trip to recomend the route. Are you mainly site seeing or hiking? If hiking, how far?

Approximate dates would also be useful.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2014, 08:52 AM
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Oh, for most people, the best way from Traverse City to Mackinac Island would be rental car.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2014, 10:48 PM
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If I was going to the UP I would fly into Duluth and drive from there. Duluth has quite a few flights from both Mpls. and Chicago and you should be able to find one that works. It is a closer drive to start from there than either Mpls or Detroit. Some of the Northern MI airports might be okay but flights tend to be expensive.
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Old Jan 24th, 2014, 11:59 AM
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uh, Milwaukee has an airport, too.
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Old Jan 28th, 2014, 01:28 PM
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We will be going the middle of June and are planning on flying in and out of Chicago. Will be driving up to Traverse City, Mac Island, staying in each of these locations for 1 night. Then onto the UP where we will be staying for 3 nights. We will drive back down thru Wisconsin. Rental cars in Chicago were the best deal (we need an SUV with 6 of us) and we all love Chicago and want to go to a Cubs game while we're there. We thought we would spend a couple of nights in Madison on the way back down to Chicago. Thoughts??
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Old Jan 28th, 2014, 02:29 PM
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Are there kids involved? If there are they may already know about that waterpark center of the universe called the Wisconsin Dells.
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Old Jan 30th, 2014, 08:52 AM
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Obviously you can't see all of the UP in three nights.

Depending on your interests, I would start with Sault Ste Marie and the Soo Locks. At a minimum, visit the locks and see some boats lock through. If you have more interest, take a boat ride through the locks. You might also consider a few hours visit to Canada and the much larger Canadian Sault.

Head west, stopping at the Point Iroquois Lighthouse, just west of Bay Mills, then up into Whitefish Point and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Than back down part way and stop at both the Upper and Lower Tahquamenon Falls.

Staying along the northern part of the UP, I would then visit Grand Maris and turn west along the shore into Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Stop at Sable Falls and the dunes, then go farther west to Munising. Definitely take a cruise along the Pictured Rocks and also visit some of the nearby waterfalls.

With the time you have, I would then turn back to the east, now on M28, then south on M77 with a stop at Seney National Wildlife Refuge.

Continue south to US-2, then turn west along (at times) the north shore of Lake Michigan. There can be other stops along the way, but the two that I think really stand out are Kitchitikipi Big Springs and the Ghost Town & State Park at Fayette. US 2 goes on to Escanaba, where you will turn south along the shore to Wisconsin.

At Menominee on the Michigan/Wisconsin border, I like to turn off down to the River and see if there are any boats awaiting launch across the river at Marinette Marine Corporation. The boats may be 200' or longer and look impressive standing out of the water. It there happens to be splash launch during your trip, it is worth changing your schedule to see one.

Depending on how much you do at various stops, this could use your time. There are other attractions along the way including several more lighthouses and casinos. You could detour a little farther and go to Drummond Island or Christmas.

Sometime when you have another 3 nights, you can see highlights of the western Upper Peninsula.
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Old Jan 30th, 2014, 03:10 PM
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Thank you all for the suggestions!
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