The Upper Peninsula of Michigan

January 28, 2021

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan

We love visiting the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan. There are is so much beautiful nature to experience. To get to the U.P. from Michigan you have to cross the Mackinaw Bridge. The first town over the bridge is St. Ignace. I recommend staying here instead of Mackinaw City. The hotels are always cheaper and the lines to get to Mackinaw Island are a lot shorter. I have a Mackinaw Island post with more details on the island. We enjoy the best Western in St. Ignace. It's affordable, is in a great location, and they have a lot to offer. They have an indoor pool and hot tub as well as an outdoor heated pool and hot tub. The hotel over looks the lake and they have beach front property that you can enjoy a campfire on in the evenings. They also have a nice breakfast area in the morning.

Welcome to the U.P.

St. Ignace hotel

St. Ignace has lots of activities for families. One of our favorite is the deer ranch. For just a few dollars you can feed the deer they have there and they have a nice gift shop as well. It's an affordable fun activity. Their are so many deer at the ranch too. From St. Ignace you can go north east and head to the Soo Locks. These are pretty cool to see. It's fun to watch the locks work and they have a nice museum there. The other option is to head north west which will bring you to Tahquamenon Falls. These are really impressive and worth seeing.

Deer ranch

Tahquamenon Falls

We like to drive on US2. It takes you along the lake shore and is just beautiful. About 35 minutes on US 2 from St. Ignance is the Garlyn Zoo. They have some great animals. Our kids favorite part of this zoo were the peacocks that roam the property that you can feed. For a small fee you can feed the peacooks. It's a small zoo so it won't take you long to get through it, but it is alot of fun and worth the stop.

Another amazing animal encounter opportunity in the U.P. is the Oswald Bear Ranch in Newberry. It costs $20 for the whole car to enter and then if you want to get your picture taken with a bear the cost is only $10. They take it with your own camera so there's no additional fee for the picture. You can also buy a bag of apples to feed the bears. This place was so much fun. It's a little over an hour from St. Ignace and is pretty much on the way to anywhere you are heading to in the U.P.

Bear encounter

Feeding bears

From Newberry we went to Munising where we spent the majority of our time. The lake shore there is a national park and is called Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The best way to see the lake shore is by boat or kayak. There are several boat options. One takes you you on the national lake shore the other takes you in the opposite direction on the bay and is a glass bottom boat that will show you 3 ship wrecks. Both are wonderful!

National Lakeshore cruise

National lakeshore cruise

Glass Bottom Boat Tour

Glass Bottom Boat tour

waving to some kayakers

Munising has several fantastic beaches on Lake Superior. The first is Sand point beach. It is the closest beach to town. The parking lot puts you very close to the beach. The second is Miner's beach. This is farther from town and you have to hike a little to get to the beach. But Miner's beach is beautiful and there are tons of great rock formations to climb on.

Sand Point Beach

Miners Beach

One of the most beautiful things in this area are all the water falls! There are so many to check out. Some are right off the road while other's you have to hike a while to see. All are beautiful. Our favorite falls to see in the area are Laughing Whitefish Falls, Wagner Falls, Miner's falls, and Munising Falls.

Laughing Whitefish Falls

Wagner Falls

Miners Falls

Munising Falls

The trail to Munising Falls

Playing on the boulders near Munising Falls

Another unique thing that we like to do is visit the Eben Ice Caves in the summer. This is a very popular spot in the winter but if you make this hike in the summer you will be the only one on the trail. And it is just a beautiful in the warmer weather. There is something magical about being in the forest by yourself. The Eben Ice Caves entrance is through a famer's field. The trail is difficult and not for the faint of heart.

Trail to the Eben Ice Caves

Eden Ice Caves

Hiking down to the bottom

Another beautiful place to stop is Miners Castle. It is near Miners Beach and Miners Falls. You can easily see all three in one afternoon. There no restaurants near this area so make sure to pack a lunch. All three are worth seeing.

Miners Castle

The U.P. is an outdoorsman's paradise. In addition to the beautiful Lake Superior there are many inland lakes. We are very lucky to have a family friend that allows us to stay in his cabin for free when we go. Rental Cabin's are defiantly the way to go when you make your trip to the U.P. If you can get a cabin with a lake you can enjoy fishing, boating and beautiful sunsets to help make the most of your time in this picture perfect place.