The Mrs. and I are planning a camping/fishing trip to Michigan, primarily the UP, this fall and would appreciate some suggestions for some additional things to see/do/eat to get the full cultural experience of the region. We will be camping at various State Park and National Park Service campgrounds, fly fishing the local rivers and streams for trout (especially brookies) and are mostly, but not exclusively, interested in things of natural and/or historical interest. We’re also interested in experiencing the local cuisine, especially pasties and smoked trout or whitefish, and whatever else we should try to get a true sense of the area.
We will be starting the UP portion of the trip with a couple of days at Tahquamenon Falls State Park near Paradise. In addition to hiking out to the upper and lower falls and doing a bit of fishing, we also have the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum on the agenda. Anything else we shouldn’t miss while we’re there?
From there we head over to explore the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and will probably stop by the Au Sable Light Station on the way. We’ll spend the night at the Twelvemile Beach campground on Lake Superior, then continue on to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. Would it be worthwhile to make a short detour to Marquette to visit the Maritime Museum and Lighthouse and/or Presque Isle park?
After hiking and fishing in the Porkies for a couple of days, we then turn south and work our way down to the Fayette Historic State Park on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula. Then continue down to the lower peninsula and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore before heading home.
On the food front, I’ve read good reviews for Lehto’s Pasties in St. Ignace, Jean Kay’s in Marquette, and Muldoon’s Pasties in Munising. The top reviews for smoked fish all seem to have Manley’s Fish Market in St. Ignace, Brown Fisheries Fish House in Paradise, and Gustafson’s Smoked Fish in Brevort listed at or near the top. Any lesser known gems that are personal favorites of anyone’s? Any other dishes that maybe aren’t as iconic as pasties and smoked fish but really shouldn’t be missed while we’re there?
Any and all recommendations for places to go, things to do, and food to eat are all welcome and appreciated. I’m really looking forward to experiencing all the UP has to offer as it’s been on my list of places to visit for a long time now. TIA!
Sounds like you’ve already done your homework! I’ve camped all over the UP, mostly around the northern part, close to the shore of Superior from Paradise to Porcupine Mountains.
A big second vote to Gustafson’s in Brevort for smoked fish and jerky. I’ve bought smoked fish and jerky in many places, and that is hands-down the best I’ve ever had. No trip to the UP is complete for me without a stop to Gustafson’s to stock up. I make a killer smoked trout chowder with it.
You said you’re going in the Fall-- if it’s peak color season, as a bonus when you head up U.S. 2 after the Bridge to get to Brevort, it’s a beautiful drive along Lake Michigan, and a spot at the Cut River Bridge just off U.S. 2 between the Bridge and Brevort has a valley with a lot of hardwoods that turn amazing colors.
We took a family trip to the Munising area a few years ago and did some family touristy stuff like a glass-bottomed shipwreck tour that was cool, a guided tour of Grand Island that was very interesting, and a boat tour of the Pictured Rocks that was nice, but I really would rather have been one of the kayakers under the arch that day in this pic I took from the boat:
Speaking of kayaking / canoeing, when I camped in Porcupine Mtns. with a friend years ago, Lake Superior was as calm as glass one day, so we rented a canoe and paddled for miles along the shore. The water was crystal clear, and you could see down 20 or 30 feet and view giant boulders the size of RVs. It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had up north. So if you luck out with nice enough weather and a calm lake, I’d highly recommend renting a canoe or kayaks and going along the Superior shore.
Fantastic hiking in Porcupine Mtns. I’ve hiked a 12 mile or so loop from the Escarpment Trail next to Lake of the Clouds to Mirror Lake and back. I remember it being fairly tough hiking- a lot of elevation and slippery rocks. I did fine in my 30s, not sure how I’d fare in my late 50s. Watch out for black bears! Had one come right up to us, back us up to the shore of Mirror Lake, and check us out before taking off.
I’ll post again as I think of other recs, or feel free to ask or PM me with questions.
Oh yeah, one more thing (missed the edit window): Personal preference, but rather than the State Park campgrounds, which are much more built up, paved over, clear of trees so there’s not much privacy, and crowded, I much preferred the State Forest campgrounds, which were often much less crowded, in more scenic areas, more private, and a lot more rustic- you get a picnic table, a place to park, and a fire ring. there’ll be a manual pump on site and outhouses. But I understand sometimes State Park campgrounds are sometimes the best choice proximity-wise to what you want to see.
Across the road from the Shipwreck museum is a bird sanctuary.
T falls also has the Rivermouth campground – nice but not a must-see
(I stayed at Andrus Lake)
I ate at the Wheelhouse – only place open Monday nights in Paradise
Pictured Rocks you should go to Miner’s Falls/Miner’s Castle
Alger Falls and Munising Falls are worth visiting as long as you are in the area
(I stayed at Island Lake campground which doesn’t have very many campsites but some have lake access)
There was a wood fired pizza p[lace in Munising… I ate at the Buckhorn Resort since it was within bicycling distance from my campsite – fine but not spectacular
Marquette has many places to eat – I enjoyed Lagniappe
Porkies of course Lake of the Clouds but also the mouth of the Presque Isle River and the lookout tower.
The Keweenaw is nice as well – you have to drive (or bicycle) Brockway Mt Drive
I agree that Michigan Sate Park campgrounds are in general not private (no separation between campsites)
Andrus Lake State Forest and Island lake National forest had more separation.
I stated at Presque Isle at the porkies but luckily it wasn’t crowded (some empty sites) – there wer a few sites with a bit more privacy but they were taken.
@solost - I agree with you regarding State Park vs State Forest campgrounds, but the Mrs has to have someplace to shower from time to time, and our small camper doesn’t have enough fresh water & grey water capacity to meet her needs. And we may be there a bit early for peak colors. We’ll be up there the last week of Sept-1st week of Oct. Hopefully that will be late enough in the season that the bugs will be less of a problem, but I’m expecting the colors to be iffy. Of course, I’m willing to be wrong on that count!
@Two_Many_Cats2 - Unfortunately, Isle Royale will have to wait for next year. We’re doing the eastern side of Lakes Michigan & Superior this year, but are planning to do Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Driftless Region next fall. Even though Isle Royale is part of MI, we’ll be accessing it from Grand Portage, MN. We’ll also be doing the Apostle Islands and Voyageurs NP on that trip. And I’m sure I’ll ask for similar recommendations for that one when the time comes.
As for the Keweenaw Peninsula, I just didn’t have enough time in this trip to fit in all I wanted to do and something had to get cut. Sadly, that’s what didn’t make it. But on the plus side, that gives me an excellent reason to return to the UP once we get our 1st lap around the lower 48 done!
I don’t know if you have had a pasty (rhymes with nasty, does not rhyme with tasty) before, but prepare yourself for the possibility that you may be underwhelmed, not everyone loves them. To me they are ok, and I certainly grab one when I am in the UP. I like them from Muldoon’s in Munising. There is controversy regarding the proper topping for a pasty, ketchup vs. gravy. The closer you are to the Mackinac Bridge, the more likely you will see gravy as the preferred topper. As you head north and west from the bridge you will see ketchup and ketchup only. If you are as far northwest as the Keweenaw Peninsula and you ask for gravy you will be tossed into Lake Superior.
The best fish and chips I’ve ever eaten were from Brown’s in Paradise. It’s a bit of a hole-in-the wall. Cash or check only. Go early; the joint closes when they run out of the day’s catch of Lake Superior Whitefish.
Finally, listen up. This is worth seeking out and has the Mustard Stamp of Approval. Do the Mosquito Beach Loop hike (don’t let the name deter you) near Pictured Rocks. It was a 4 mile round trip moderately challenging hike (but then, I was 60 when I did it) that takes you to a pristine, isolated, soul-cleansing beach on a lake. We were the only people there and it felt like we discovered an uncharted oasis. Heads up for bear (we did not see any).
NOTE: This link says Mosquito Beach gets pretty busy in late summer/early fall. Maybe we were just lucky.
My wife and I honeymooned in the UP, way back in 1996. The funny thing is that we did zero planning; just took off in the car and headed north. All we had was a paper map.
A few things I remember:
As mentioned by others, the museum at Whitefish Point is nice.
We went to a park with a small waterfall. I forget where.
As we travelled west along the southern shore of Lake Superior, we stopped and walked down the big hill at the Lake Superior Overlook. That was fun.
We spent one of the nights at a hotel in Grand Marais. Interestingly, that’s probably the thing I remember most about the trip. It’s such a nice, quaint town. I want to go back.
Drove through a tiny town called Melstrand on the way to Munising. Its motto is, “Conveniently located in the middle of nowhere.” I bought a mug at the general store.
We spent another night in Munising. Took a boat tour to see the Pictured Rocks. That was nice.
We drove along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on the way back. We stopped by Silver Lake and rented a Jeep for an hour and drove up and down the sand dunes. That was a blast! Definitely do that.
Don’t know anything about the landscape, but do yourself a favor and read some Jim Harrison, IMO the UP’s greatest gift to the world. And watch Escanaba in the Moonlight - one WEIRD movie! (“Ya buckles Yooper!”)
I’ve never had a pasty, but I have eaten meat pies in Ireland and plenty of empanadas from various Latin American venues, and I’m thinking the pasty will be somewhat similar but most likely much lighter on the seasoning than the empanadas. I would expect that the addition of rutabaga, potato, and/or carrot will require some additional salt and pepper (or maybe even some Tony Chacheres!) to brighten it up a bit to suit my personal tastes (I’m originally from south Louisiana), but it’s meat and stuff wrapped in a flaky crust. How bad could it be?! As for the ketchup vs gravy, I can see either way working. I’ll likely try one (or more) with gravy on the way in from the lower peninsula, and then try some with ketchup when I get up to Lake Superior. Thanks for the heads-up on the cultural impact of that decision!
I’ll also look into the Mosquito Beach hike. That definitely sounds like something we would enjoy if it’s not too crowded.
Or Ernest Hemingway’s two-parter short story ‘Big Two-Hearted River’. A quick read, and it should get you in the camping, trout fishing, UP exploring mood, even if you’re not in the process of recovering from the horrors of war.
I’m a gravy guy- never tried a pasty with ketchup, but I can’t imagine it would be an improvement over gravy.
Man, that was my bane in a college short story course 40 years ago. Stupid me - I thought it was about fishing! But I guess there wasn’t a fish in the whole damned story!
(No, I did not do well in that course. Simply had to repeat whatever my teacher and classmates said, instead of anything I derived from reading the assigned material.)
Well, it was about more than just fishing in the metaphorical sense I suppose, in the same sense that ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ was not just about an old guy catching a fish.
But there was fishing, trout fishing specifically. Are you maybe thinking of a different Hemingway story?
“Big Two-Hearted River” and the other Nick Adams stories were one of my first exposures to the wilds of the UP, oh let’s say almost 50 years ago. It was certainly one of the things, along with John D. Voelker’s stories written for Field and Stream magazine under the name Robert Traver, that planted the seed of longing to see the UP for myself. As a boy growing up in the bayou country of south Louisiana, the UP, the Adirondacks, and Montana were all what I imagined Heaven to be here on Earth.
All righty then. We found and watched “Escanaba in the Moonlight” last night and it was quite an experience! My biggest take-away was, if we see strange lights in the woods at night, don’t assume it to be the aurora borealis! Very entertaining, though. The best part was when we turned on closed captioning because my slightly hard of hearing wife was having trouble following the heavily accented dialog. It was obvious that the captioning was done by a speech-to-text computer program which couldn’t decipher the Yooper-speak at all either. It appeared to be going with random words that sometimes had the same consonant-vowel combinations and calling it good. The massive disconnect of the captioning made the already entertaining movie even more hilarious. Thanks for the recommendation. Now if I ever get an opportunity to spend some time in a Yooper deer camp, I’ll have a better idea of what to expect!
And we may be there a bit early for peak colors. We’ll be up there the last week of Sept-1st week of Oct. Hopefully that will be late enough in the season that the bugs will be less of a problem, but I’m expecting the colors to be iffy. Of course, I’m willing to be wrong on that count!
Glad to spread the joy. The second half of that movie os one of the wildest things I’ve ever seen on film.