Upper Peninsula is by far one of the most beautiful places in America. While it just to be in our home state, it's still about a 4-8 hour drive to these locations.
Day 1 Mackinac Island- Plan your drive (about 4 hours from Holland, MI) to Mackinac Island.
Star Line Ferry $25 for adults (13 and over) $14.00 for under 13. (buy tickets ahead of time here) Be sure and plan a little extra time for parking and figuring out where to go. Boat leaves every 15/20 minutes. Enjoy the beautiful ride over!
Ryba's Bike Rental- Once arriving at the Island feel free to walk the streets and grab some fudge & starbucks. Then go grab a bike like we did! We did the 4 hour bike rental ($6.00 a hour) and biked the entire island. There are a few different routes and so much to see along the way so a day bike rental might be more what you want! We stopped for ice cream along the way and a few beach fronts. Also we stopped at the well known Arch Rock which was so worth the steps up to it! If you hit weather & day right... this could be the most beautiful bike ride you've ever taken!
Smokey Jose's - Once back to town we sat and ate here watching the ferry's come and go. We made sure not to miss the last one of the day this way as well! Delicious food, kind service and delicious rum runners for drinks!
Other things to do on the Island: Take a Carriage Ride Learn the Legends and Lore Explore by Kayak Sample Afternoon Tea Golfing at at Mission Point Resort Tour the Governor's Summer Home .Fly around the Butterfly House(s)
The Hidden Outpost- our glamping spot for the night!
Our goal was to make it back before sunset and we called our Airbnb for a late check in! After getting settled we grabbed a bottle of wine and headed out on the doc. It was just stunning to watch with the Mackinac bridge in view as well! - Jim was a great host and had all kinds of info on the area. Also they had a few different options there at his location to stay! Other places to stay & save money near this area check out our ideas here on Hotwire or here on Airbnb!
Day 2 Taquainanin Falls -
Sleep in a bit or get up and enjoy the sunset on the doc! We had packed our breakfast for this morning and so hit the road up to
Point Iroquois Lighthouse. A great stop to see the lake and read about some amazing history about Lake Michigan!
Brown Fisheries Fish House This was our main reason for heading up this way! This quaint place has the most amazing Whitefish ever. They get it fresh everyday and whatever amount they get is what they sell. If they run out of fish- they close the restaurant for the day. If they didn't catch anything, they don't open up! So cool to know your getting the most amazing quality and taste in such a unique spot!
Tahquamenon Falls -upper & lower Next we made our way up these beautiful falls! We started near the lower section (see map here) and hiked the trail to the water. Perfect place to swim around in the falls and refresh. Some even brought lawn chairs and made a day out of it! We grabbed some ice cream the the shop, dried off and made our way to the upper falls area (see map here). This was so fun to hike around and see such a powerful waterfall right in Michigan! We booked our hotels pretty late in the year so ended up stay in Marquette (instead of or next day plans near Pictured rocks). When we were checking into our hotel there was another couple trying to find a place to stay (they had been driving around looking for 3 hours already) She said they were plum out of luck in the upper part of the state. so make sure and book ahead where you want to stay especially in the summer!
Mackinaw Trail Winery & Brewery (would be find to have children out on the lawn area) -
We had a bit of sunlight left so found the coolest little winery house, listened to live music and just relaxed!
Day 3-
We decided pictured rocks was what it was all about today! We grabbed a map at the Grand Stable Visitor Center which was perfect to start out trip down making our favorite spots to get to our cruise in time that evening.
Our favorite stops along the way:
*Twelve Mile Beach Overlook
*Log Slide Overlook
*Spray Falls
*Miners Falls
Had dinner in Munising before our cruise: TOP 10 BEST RESTAURANTS IN MUNISING HERE
Day 4-
Mosquito Falls and Chapel Falls Trail -
Tired to say the least after so much adventuring we decided to get a early start and head up to this beautiful trail. It is a 10.1 round trip trail with no bathrooms at the trailhead but free parking.
This trail is filled with special gems around every corner. When you get about halfway through you get to the pictured rocks area and be able to see all the best Picture Rocks spots up close and personal! Probably one of our families favorite hikes to date.
