Tour da U.P is a multi-day bicycle tour in Michigan’s UP
It is a different route every year (well, eventually there are repeats)
This year it is the Pictured Rocks area.
Day 1: Marquette (closer to Harvey) -> Christmas (near Munising)
Day 2: Munising -> Grand Marais
Day 3: Day off in Grand Marais
Day 4: Grand Marais -> Wetmore (near Munising)
Day 5: Munising -> Marquette
That’s gonna be a gorgeous route. We did the first 15 miles of that new trail heading out of Marquette to Munising last summer, and it’s really nice.
If you do it, and end up with an extra day, bike around Grand Island, right outside of Munising. We try to do this every year, and it’s really, really nice. Highly recommended.
How bad are the roads on Grand Island? Can I reasonably bike them with a touring bike (32mm tires), or is a MT bike really needed? (In which case I’d probably just hike)
They’re dirt roads, but they’re pretty nice dirt roads. If I’m remembering right, they’re nicely packed and mostly 2-tracks. But they can be different every year. Personally, I’d want a mountain bike, but if you’re comfortable riding on dirt with your touring bike, it might work.
If you end up hiking, there’s a gorgeous beach an easy 3 mile hike in. Most of the times I’ve been there, it’s been totally empty, and you have an amazing view of pictured rocks. We usually stop there for lunch after circling the island on our bikes, and wonder why we didn’t just pack a cooler full of beer and snacks and sit on our butts all afternoon instead of biking
