chimiler

I'm looking for suggestions on what to do and where to stay in upper Michigan in late July for a long weekend. There will be 2 adults and 2 toddlers. We love the outdoors but are now slightly limited with a 18 month old. Still, swimming is great and we love to walk around and see the sites. I'm not that interested in museums unless we need a rain plan. I'd prefer quaint over the crowds. Thanks for your help.

tinathetoad

Are you staying somewhere? Where are you going? Swimming in the lake, will be too cold in the U.P. in the summer. Will you have access to a pool?

SuzieTrue

Chimiler,

There are lots of fun things to do with toddlers. Which part of the UP are you looking at? Do you like to camp? There are great state park campgrounds throughout the UP. Quaint would be Grand Marais on the shores of Lake Superior. You have access to the eastern end of the Pictured Rocks with some nice waterfall and lighthouse hikes. It is also away from the crowds.

Give some more info and we can give you some more ideas.

placeu2

If you are considering the central part of the UP I have a great idea to go crayfish catching near Bond Falls which is just North of Watersmeet. Stick, line, hot dogs and catch crayfish by the bucketfull. Great fun for kids.

mollyJp

Hi, I have gone to the U.P every summer of my life> I now have two children 9 and 4. In their early days we enjoyed Almost everyplace near Marquette Ishpeming and Negaunee. We had a great time in Houghton with the light house and do nt forget to try the copper harbor strawberrys sooooooo big and full of flavor. I cannot recall the name but there are Monks on the trip to houghton from Ishpeming that have a wonderful shop. The water is cold but my kids never had difficulties with that (Ive been told that lake superior never thaws completely) In Munising, Pictured rocks twighlight tour is fantastic. They also have glass bottom boat tours that I have not tried. Whitefish pointe Light house museum is quit nice and so is watching the locks at the soo. But in a long weekend and not knowing where you are going to be It is hard to give great advice. the U.P. is big.

weimer

Pictured Rock is beatiful. Watch out for the horse flies the size of sparrows!

robhart

MollyJp, re the monks: are you thinking of the Jam Pot near Eagle Harbor? That's a great place.

chimiler

Sorry to be vague. I haven't been up the the U.P (or past central Mich) so figure why not check it out. It's more of an adventure sometimes to just pack up the car and go.... although with kids I'd like an idea of where. One year we packed up the car and drove south until we hit the beach. We ended up in Seaside Florida and now go back every couple years. You don't know what's out there unless you look. I'm just fishing for suggestions.

A pool is a good idea with the kids. Sounds like "heated" may be required. We haven't camped yet with the kids but have many times in the past. I'd probably opt for a cabin so we don't have so much equipment to carry.

Hanging out on the beach (maybe not in the water) would be fun -- so would a stop for strawberries. I'm not into museums and amusement parks. I'll take a local diner and day at the park over fast food and a crowded attraction any day.

robhart

Chimiler, it sounds like you'll really enjoy the U.P. I only know Eagle Harbor and the surrounding areas (spent a few summers there.) My family is up there so unfortunately I'm not up on hotels -- but in that area you have great places to pick berries (we always went blueberrying), visit lighthouses and the shipwreck museum, go on a mine tour, paddle around in the water (Eagle Harbor has a little beach and is very calm and mostly shallow), walk through tiny Pine Grove cemetery in the woods, go down to Calumet and tour the historic theater there ... the U.P. is a great place to while away some summer days. And it *is* big, so there's a lot more there than I've personally experienced.

tinathetoad

I would suggest Tahquamenon Falls. You can actually play in the falls and the kids would have fun, even the 18 month old.

I went there when I was a kid, about 7 and loved it.

I would suggest a place with an indoor pool as well.

Check out this site.

http://www.exploringthenorth.com/tahqua/tahqua.html

I suggest the Best Western. they have an indoor pool.

Not sure where you are driving from, but a good place the stay the night is Mackinaw City. It is about an hour and a half to Tahquamenon Falls.

Let me know what you think.

gbhost

After dozens of trips to the lovely northern lower peninsula (Traverse City, Leland, Charlevoix, Harbor Springs, Mackinac, et. al), we decided to take our first trip into the U.P. We stayed in Paradise at the Best Western (w/heated pool) near Tahquamenon Falls. I must say that the UP was much more back-woods, scrubby and desolate than we ever imagined. If you are seeking varied restaurant options, shopping, hotels, etc., you may be disappointed.

We did enjoy much of our time up there. We drove from Paradise to the Pictured Rocks which we loved, visited the the Shipwreck Museum, waded through the mosquitos in Paradise and Tahquamenon, but other than that there was little to do in the North Central area of the UP. I must say that we agreed that though nice, and Lake Superior is truly awesome (a word I don't use lightly), we probably would never plan another trip there just because its so scubby, flat and desolate (If I'm going to do desolate, give me some mountains). It was also very 'low-rent' in the couple hundred miles area that we visited. We enjoy a good meal from time to time (all we could find was simple diners or fast food), nice shopping areas, and other indications of civilization.

If, as you say, you've never been north of central Michigan, I'd suggest you first visit Traverse City, Petoskey or some of the other towns I listed above. Unless of course you enjoy flat desolatoion with a few modest little towns with little to do scattered about.

I imagine I will get some hate mail over my opinions, but I understand why some of you like it and hope you follow the "to each, his own" rule. We're glad we did it, but once was enough.

gbhost

Upon re-reading the initial post, I see that chimiler says "upper Michigan" which is not necessarily "Upper Peninsula" as most everyone has assumed. If you mean anywhere north of central Michigan, please take my suggestion to explore the Northern Lower Peninsula first. Do a search here on the boards and you'll find loads of suggestions for great things to do from Mackinac Island to the Sleeping Bear Dunes.

tinathetoad

Chimiler:

Do you mean the U.P. or just upper Michigan?

tinathetoad

The posting says the U.P. So I am assuming that when she says uppper Michigan, she is refering the the U.P.

gbhost

While in the body of chimiler it says "upper Michigan" I now see that it says U.P. in the title of the post. Ooops.