Michigan Upper Peninsula

[H&B Adventures]

Looking to do a trip in the middle of Feb. to the Upper Peninsula, the Whitfish Point area, any recommendations? I know that is probably a chilly and harsh time of year for that area, but we are looking for some great photos!

 

[BlackDog1]

head on a swivel. The UP is beautiful.
Tehquamenon falls
Paradise MI
Lighthouse in Paradise-might be closed?>?>?> not sure
Shipwreck Museum in Paradise-not sure it'll be open.
Take the snow shoes.
Check out Pictured Rocks National Lake shore-lots of drive up and look spots but there's some great hikes in there-lots of waterfalls. its between Munising and Grand Marais, MI
Take some food because lots of places close for the winter.
You will be close to Hiawatha National Forest-not sure of any trails or off roading in there
Download the Aurora App-Till let you know when the Northern Lights will be active-great viewing all along M-28
Check out Marquette-great northern town. Brews food and lots of outdoor stuff to do.
Machinac City is a touristy town
Sault Ste Marie is great but might be a bit out of the way-not bad though.
Bald eagles, moose, elk, deer wolves and coyote all up there.
there's a restaurant in Christmas, MI that's west of Munising that stays open for snowmobilers that good. Steaks chops salads and beer-main staples up there.

 

[BlackDog1]

That time of there year up there is Harsh. Its the kind of cold that makes you hate cold. The kind of cold that makes your face hurt. It'll freeze boiling water in a millisecond. It'll make you tough and soft at the same time. I lived there for 5 years and I saw stuff like Lake superior froze coast to coast for the first time in 250 years, I got 5 feet of snow within 24 hours when in college, I saw 80 mph winds on the Mackinac Bridge just to be told I was the last car permitted to cross. Yeah 80 mph winds while driving an 83 Buick Regal 180 feet above Lake MI. White knuckle shit your pants type stuff. But I lived and have cool stories. Just be ready. Dress warm and have comms. Not every place up there has cell service. You'll be fine.

Take notes, post pics. It really is a special place and I hope people forget its there.

 

[RatAssassin]

Bring a shovel. A big shovel.

 

[BlackDog1]

And either a bag of sand or box of kitty litter.

 

[H&B Adventures]

That time of there year up there is Harsh. Its the kind of cold that makes you hate cold. The kind of cold that makes your face hurt. It'll freeze boiling water in a millisecond. It'll make you tough and soft at the same time. I lived there for 5 years and I saw stuff like Lake superior froze coast to coast for the first time in 250 years, I got 5 feet of snow within 24 hours when in college, I saw 80 mph winds on the Mackinac Bridge just to be told I was the last car permitted to cross. Yeah 80 mph winds while driving an 83 Buick Regal 180 feet above Lake MI. White knuckle shit your pants type stuff. But I lived and have cool stories. Just be ready. Dress warm and have comms. Not every place up there has cell service. You'll be fine.

Take notes, post pics. It really is a special place and I hope people forget its there.

head on a swivel. The UP is beautiful.
Tehquamenon falls
Paradise MI
Lighthouse in Paradise-might be closed?>?>?> not sure
Shipwreck Museum in Paradise-not sure it'll be open.
Take the snow shoes.
Check out Pictured Rocks National Lake shore-lots of drive up and look spots but there's some great hikes in there-lots of waterfalls. its between Munising and Grand Marais, MI
Take some food because lots of places close for the winter.
You will be close to Hiawatha National Forest-not sure of any trails or off roading in there
Download the Aurora App-Till let you know when the Northern Lights will be active-great viewing all along M-28
Check out Marquette-great northern town. Brews food and lots of outdoor stuff to do.
Machinac City is a touristy town
Sault Ste Marie is great but might be a bit out of the way-not bad though.
Bald eagles, moose, elk, deer wolves and coyote all up there.
there's a restaurant in Christmas, MI that's west of Munising that stays open for snowmobilers that good. Steaks chops salads and beer-main staples up there.

Thanks for the advice! Looking up the App now. I hope we can get up there, I have heard everything will pretty much be closed, but that is ok.

 

[H&B Adventures]

Bring a shovel. A big shovel.

Kinda figured, but all part of the adventure. We will see how it goes though.

 

[RatAssassin]

Kinda figured, but all part of the adventure. We will see how it goes though.

The UP on winter is absolutely beautiful.
Pictured Rocks in winter is something to be experienced.
As stated before. Lots of places are closed seasonally.
It will take some planning and a little luck with the weather, but you will be rewarded with views, scenery, wildlife and solitude.

 

[BlackDog1]

Foggy's Steakhouse in Christmas MI just west of Munising is really good. If they are open then you're good to go-its right across from the casino if thats your thing.
There is gas, lodging and grocery in Munising-Maybe a restaurant or 2 as well, Marquette is a modern town from grocery to Lowes and Home Depot. Meijer is the major grocery store that is a "Michigan Walmart." I think there's a walmart there too. Machinaw City will be pretty basic but will have gas, food and there should be grocery as well if not there will be one in St Ignace. Mackinac and St Ignace are approx an hour from Sault Set Marie Straight north up I75 but if you want a little test of the UP then you can hit H63 out of St Ignace which becomes Mackinac Trail-(rd conditions vary) all the way to the Sault which is known as "The Soo."

The Soo is mostly modern though opinions vary-no really its fine-food gas and groceries and multiple hotels.

 

[H&B Adventures]

The UP on winter is absolutely beautiful.
Pictured Rocks in winter is something to be experienced.
As stated before. Lots of places are closed seasonally.
It will take some planning and a little luck with the weather, but you will be rewarded with views, scenery, wildlife and solitude.

Unfortunately we do a lot of winter and late fall traveling and are used to the seasonal experience.

 

[H&B Adventures]

Foggy's Steakhouse in Christmas MI just west of Munising is really good. If they are open then you're good to go-its right across from the casino if thats your thing.
There is gas, lodging and grocery in Munising-Maybe a restaurant or 2 as well, Marquette is a modern town from grocery to Lowes and Home Depot. Meijer is the major grocery store that is a "Michigan Walmart." I think there's a walmart there too. Machinaw City will be pretty basic but will have gas, food and there should be grocery as well if not there will be one in St Ignace. Mackinac and St Ignace are approx an hour from Sault Set Marie Straight north up I75 but if you want a little test of the UP then you can hit H63 out of St Ignace which becomes Mackinac Trail-(rd conditions vary) all the way to the Sault which is known as "The Soo."

The Soo is mostly modern though opinions vary-no really its fine-food gas and groceries and multiple hotels.

Thanks for the input, it helps out a lot for planning.

 

[RatAssassin]

Unfortunately we do a lot of winter and late fall traveling and are used to the seasonal experience.

I don't think there's anything "unfortunate" about a winter UP trip.

I know that you know that there's a certain reward for going when most others won't. With my business, We find ourselves doing much of the same. From May to October, we're crushed.
So yes. there's two ways to handle it. Travel to places with the weather you want (which for us means extra travel days to build in)....Or........enjoy the solitude of winter. Its nice to hear others taking advantage of the snowy season.

 

[H&B Adventures]

I don't think there's anything "unfortunate" about a winter UP trip.

I know that you know that there's a certain reward for going when most others won't. With my business, We find ourselves doing much of the same. From May to October, we're crushed.
So yes. there's two ways to handle it. Travel to places with the weather you want (which for us means extra travel days to build in)....Or........enjoy the solitude of winter. Its nice to hear others taking advantage of the snowy season.

The only thing we find unfortunate are some of the museums and attractions are closed, which can be a bummer. However, we do enjoy not dealing with the crowds.

 

[RatAssassin]

The only thing we find unfortunate are some of the museums and attractions are closed, which can be a bummer. However, we do enjoy not dealing with the crowds.

I can remember a few times, it was a blessing in disguise.
Like when we went to Wind Cave out of season and were invited to join researchers, from Germany and the Ranger ( for safety, they need so many people to go in) to check on equipment they had placed in places they never take the public. Once I explained to them I was a former Environmental Resource Manager and would love to go....we spent the better part of the day with them.
But yeah....it sucks when places are seasonally closed.

 

[NMBruce]

Looking to do a trip in the middle of Feb. to the Upper Peninsula, the Whitfish Point area, any recommendations? I know that is probably a chilly and harsh time of year for that area, but we are looking for some great photos!

Hope you stay warm and enjoy

 

[H&B Adventures]

I can remember a few times, it was a blessing in disguise.
Like when we went to Wind Cave out of season and were invited to join researchers, from Germany and the Ranger ( for safety, they need so many people to go in) to check on equipment they had placed in places they never take the public. Once I explained to them I was a former Environmental Resource Manager and would love to go....we spent the better part of the day with them.
But yeah....it sucks when places are seasonally closed.

We went out of season to wind cave a couple of years ago, the park had virtually no one and it was great.

 

[utvboondocker]

The UP is my 'go to' place. I've been boondocking/overlanding up there for the past 5 years and there is so much to see. I've got some videos of the places we've gone on my youtube channel but to be honest, we all ride UTVs. Below is a link to our first trip in 17 and it was focused on the east side (near whitefish point). So far, all of my videos were for friends so I've updated them and put stock music in them. I will be doing more starting this year that will show more of what we bring and how we roll overall. If you have any questions on places to go, let me know.

 

[NMBruce]

When you use the UTVs, do you follow the snow machine routes?

 

[H&B Adventures]

The UP is my 'go to' place. I've been boondocking/overlanding up there for the past 5 years and there is so much to see. I've got some videos of the places we've gone on my youtube channel but to be honest, we all ride UTVs. Below is a link to our first trip in 17 and it was focused on the east side (near whitefish point). So far, all of my videos were for friends so I've updated them and put stock music in them. I will be doing more starting this year that will show more of what we bring and how we roll overall. If you have any questions on places to go, let me know.

Thank you for the information