A Roadtrip in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

In July 2023 I travelled around Lake Michigan from Ann Arbor to Chicago, and I stopped at Mackinaw Island, Pictured Rocks, Marquette, Green Bay, and Milwaukee along the way.

Here’s an overview of where I slept:

Thursday July 27 – Home in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday July 28 – Random parking lot outside St. Ignace, Michigan
Saturday July 29 – N. State St. in St Ignace, Michigan
Sunday July 30 – A forest near Gemini Lakes, outside of Pictured Rocks
Sunday May 21 – Green Bay, Wisconsin
Monday May 22 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Tuesday May 23 – Chicago, Illinois

…and here are some of the best moments!

St. Ignace

St Ignace was mostly just a staging ground for getting to Mackinaw Island, but it’s still a cute coastal town with awesome views of the Mackinac Bridge.

I first explored Straits State Park, a campground that has a beach with decent views of the bridge (see below).

For those who aren’t camping, Bridge View Park actually has better views, and also has good swimming if you don’t mind larger rocks.

Mackinaw Island

From St. Ignace, I took a 25 minute, $32 ferry to Mackinaw Island. Probably the most defining feature of the island is its motor vehicle ban (seriously, even trash trucks are pulled by horses). Because of this, bicycles are everywhere. Some people bring them on the ferry, but most rent them on the island. Me being me, I stuck with my pennyboard.

My first impression of the island was mediocre, as the main downtown strip is suuuper touristy (fudge shop, t-shirt shop, ice-cream shop, souvenir shop, repeat). However, one of the main attractions of the island is Michigan-185, the bike-trail-that’s-technically-a-highway that follows the 8 mile perimeter of the island. It took me about 2 hours to skate the whole thing, but I stopped to admire the beautiful natural attractions along the way (Arch Rock being the coolest):

After skating the perimeter, I explored the island’s 18th century fort, and I hiked to the tallest point on the island. Soldier’s used that exact point as a military lookout 200 years ago, but apparently they were snuck-up on and lost the island, so I guess it’s not that good ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

One last note, the island is full of signposts featuring random classical paintings. The paintings themselves are kinda cool, but I really like how this picture juxtaposes classical 1800’s Venetian gondolas with a modern day shipping behemoth and the massive Mackinac Bridge.

Pictured Rocks

After returning to the mainland, I continued west towards the small town of Munising, just south of Pictured Rocks. The plan was to stay there for the night and go to the park in the morning, but after seeing multiple anti-vanlife road signs, I entered the park early. I knocked out Munising Falls, Miners Falls, and Miners Castle (all in the the southern part of the park) before retreating into the Lake Superior State Forest for the night.

The drive into Lake Superior State Forest was somewhat challenging. The road was long, rocky, and narrow, and the campsites that I thought were free required payment and a membership.

I didn’t transform my car into an off-grid beast just to pay for campsite luxuries, so I left the campsites and explored the backroads until I found a secluded clearing where I could sleep.

I’m pretty sure some of the trails I drove down were for snowmobiles…lol

When the morning came, I had to decide which major hike to tackle. There are two main loops: Beaver Lake Loop and Chapel Loop. Both trails have stretches that follow the shoreline, but Chapel Loop has more of the huge cliffs that the park is known for. Choosing Chapel Loop was a no-brainer, but I still drove out to the Beaver Basin Overlook to get a taste of what I would miss:

Definitely pretty, but I think my shots from Chapel Loop blow that out of the water…

Black Rocks Cliffjumping

Before leaving the UP, I had to explore a tip that someone gave me about Black Rocks–“well known” cliff jumping rocks in Marquette, about one hour west of Munising. The rocks are in Presque Isle Park, exactly where the red pin is below. It’s definitely worth visiting; the cliffs aren’t huge, but the water is deep and the summer crowds create an exciting and inviting atmosphere.

And that’s it! Thanks for hanging, and stay tuned for my next adventure–I’m heading to Acadia next!

Chris Monteferrante