The Upper Michigan Peninsula in April is not a common vacation spot. Frankly, most businesses were still shutdown for winter. So how did Erika and I end up going there?
Erika and I have been trying to find an adventure for 2019. Erika was in the mid-west for business. I flew into Wisconsin to join her on a recycling facility tour. She had friends who’s families spent summers on the Upper Peninsula so we were off.
After a night in Madison, Wisconsin, we head up to tour a plastics recycler, actually very fascinating. Then we headed to Green Bay for pictures at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, and lunch.
As we started our 4 hour drive to the Upper Peninsula, we were pleased to be enjoying 60+ degrees and sunshine. We really wanted to take a boat cruise to see the Pictured Rocks from the water so Erika called one of the charter companies (actually we wanted to do some kayaking but 60 degrees seemed a bit cold).
We quickly found out that not only were there not any open cruises that night but the ice had just started to recede from the bay 3 days ago. No one had any boats in the water. Oops! Time for plan B, a driving tour of the Upper Peninsula’s waterfalls.
When we got about 40 miles from the Upper Peninsula Lakeshore, Lake Superior, the temperature started to drop rather quickly. Soon there was tons of snow still on the ground. I was instantly pleased that the rental car agency ran out of compact cars and gave us a Toyota Tacoma 4X4. The gas mileage stunk but we were not going to get stuck.
We arrived Munising, Michigan before dark. The town was pretty much closed up accept for a few locals and the open grocery store. All we needed. Our Bed and Breakfast was on Lake Superior but we definitely weren’t going to be going for a swim.
We ended up with the entire downstairs of a house. Newly remodeled. They were working on the true Bed and Breakfast on the upper levels. We had 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, full kitchen, big screen tv, 2 sitting areas, and a view of the lake for $105 a night. It does pay to vacation in the off season.
The Upper Peninsula is known for their waterfalls so that was our new sightseeing goals. The next morning, we took our time getting out. It was still 35 degrees at 10am but we had to get touring.
First stop, Miner’s Castle. Sea cliffs cut away by the waves and wind.
If we wanted to go for a beach walk, we would need to return in a month since we did not bring ice axes.
The hike to Miner’s Falls was uneventful until we hit the stairs which still had several steps covered with snow and ice.
The falls were pretty but Erika and I spent most of our time trying to photograph the ice sickles hanging on the trees.
Along our drive, we came to a spot with beach access. We had to check out the quarts crystal balls. They turned out to be very large ice balls.
Our next stop was the Log Slide. Part of the Peninsula is sand dunes. When this was a logging community, they would slide the logs down the sand dunes. There were warnings everywhere not to slide down the sand dunes. It would take minutes to get to the water and well over an hour to get back up. The dunes were truly that soft.
It was fascinating to explore the dunes but the wind was blowing so cold that your teeth would freeze if you smiled to long for the camera.
We both needed a hot drink when we got back in the car. There was a town up the road, first one within 50 miles. Something had to be open. The tavern in town was the only thing open. They had chili and homemade pizza so we were set.
After lunch, we did want to see Michigan’s widest waterfalls at 200 feet across so we drove another hour plus. What else can you do in 35 degrees and bitting wind?
We did walk the mile and half to get to the upper side of the falls. There was so much water rushing over the edge that you could barely hear each other.
Our last falls of the trip would be Laughing Falls which ended up looking like a wedding dress from the base.
On our way back to the Bed and Breakfast, we got a few groceries for dinner and returned to the big screen tv and a pile of blankets. Halfway through dinner we noticed the sunset. It was beautiful on the ice. You could see the colors reflecting off the water in the ice. You could also hear the ice refreezing. Spectacular!
We only had a few hours on Sunday before we had to head back down to Wisconsin. With blue skies and 55 degrees, we headed for Marquette and their boardwalk. Much busier town if there is such a thing on the Upper Peninsula in April.
This post is probably not going to inspire any of you to book a trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula but I had a wonderful time. Spending time with Erika is always a hoot!
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