The Upper Peninsula
The Upper Peninsula
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula isn’t a place you come to accidentally. It’s a vast, unspoiled landscape, waiting for travelers to experience the slower pace of living only found in an area once dominated by copper and iron mines. Today, the remote, wooded peninsula welcomes anyone looking for a quiet retreat into history, outdoor sports, and stunning lake views.
The Upper Peninsula (or the UP, as it's commonly known) can be separated into three major sections. In the west, a mountainous paradise awaits, with lakes that seem to float among the treetops and hundreds of miles of skiing, biking, and hiking trails. Copper and iron booms brought miners from around the world to find work, but the Finnish and Scandinavian populations are the ones that took hold, and you can still find ample...
Read MoreMichigan’s Upper Peninsula isn’t a place you come to accidentally. It’s a vast, unspoiled landscape, waiting for travelers to experience the slower pace of living only found in an area once dominated by copper and iron mines. Today, the remote, wooded peninsula welcomes anyone looking for a quiet retreat into history, outdoor sports, and stunning lake views.
The Upper Peninsula (or the UP, as it's commonly known) can be separated into three major sections. In the west, a mountainous paradise awaits, with lakes that seem to float among the treetops and hundreds of miles of skiing, biking, and hiking trails. Copper and iron booms brought miners from around the world to find work, but the Finnish and Scandinavian populations are the ones that took hold, and you can still find ample evidence of both their mines and their cultures throughout the area.
In the central Upper Peninsula, forests, cliffs, and natural springs call out to travelers looking for a serene outdoor experience. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the country's very first national lakeshore, is here, with multicolored sandstone cliffs soaring above Lake Superior. Just across the water, you'll find a remote island full of adventure at Grand Island National Recreation Area. Interested in fresh water and fall colors? Stop by Kitch-iti-kipi, a natural marvel tucked into the middle of the woods near Manistique, one of the Upper Peninsula's quaint and historic lakeshore towns. The central Upper Peninsula is also home to the biggest city in the non-Mitten part of Michigan, the university town of Marquette. This is maritime shipping country, with a long history of iron ore running through massive lakeside structures and pouring into freighters.
The eastern portion of the Upper Peninsula gets a little beachier, with resort towns like St. Ignace, which is the gateway to Mackinac Island (located right between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan). You'll also find Sault Ste. Marie, an international border town with Canada and home to a massive set of parallel ship locks at the Soo Locks. In this region, dive into the Ojibwa culture of the Upper Peninsula's original residents before the French fur traders came, and then set out on a waterfall excursion to see Tahquamenon Falls, the largest waterfall in Michigan.
No matter where you go in the UP, though, you'll have access to nature in all its splendor—whether that means you're rock hunting for agates or the fluorescent Yooperlite (a rock that can only be found on the shores of Lake Superior); skiing, snowmobiling, or snowshoeing across trails through woods and over frozen lakes; or heading deep underground into one of the many mine museums throughout the region.
Life here is laid-back and extra friendly, so make some new buddies, sit in a sauna, and enjoy the natural landscape you can only find this far north.
