Roadtrip - Michigan Upper Peninsula

Hi everyone, I'm a college student planning a 3-day roadtrip across Michigan's upper peninsula in June 2011. I plan to start from Marquette and end at Sault Ste Marie.

I'm using Google Maps to plan my route, but it tends to take me away from driving along the shoreline of Lake Superior.

A few questions I have are:

1) Is it possible to drive through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore close to the lake? Instead of driving along highway 28/94.

2) Is it worth heading to Grand Marais?

3) Should I drive through Tahquamenon Falls State Park along route 123 and visit the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum? Or should I skip it and drive straight to Sault Ste Marie via Lakeshore Drive along Whitefish Bay? Ideally I would like to do both, but time constraints mean I can only do one or the other.

4) Lastly, any recommendations on things I should do/see along the way? I intend to simply see the sights, and not to hunt/hike/fish.

Thanks very much!

Welcome!

1. Kinda sorta. You can download a park map.

2. I've never been there, but if you do want to drive close to the lake, you will be right there.

3. Looking at a map, I don't see why you couldn't do both.

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I really do love spending time in the UP and I think you've got a great trip in front of you. I'm guessing you're a NMU student?

There really isn't a road that goes along the lake shore, but as you can see in the GLC's link, there are closer options. There are also some great gravel roads if you just want to get off the beaten path (although some of the main roads are gravel in these parts too).

Grand Marais what I'd call pretty typical for a small town in the UP. Its got a few small stores and places to eat. Gas pumps where they multiply the price by 2, because they max out at $1.999. I stopped there because I was visiting that end of Pictured Rocks, and there is plenty to see in that regard, but the town itself isn't something I'd go out of my way for.

Unfortuantly, Grand Marais was as far as I got. I was hoping to get out to the Shipwreck Museum, but I wound up taking too much time at Pictured Rocks, so that's still on a "next time" list.

Thanks glc, that map link certainly helps. And yes I realised that I can certainly do both, I had the impression they were quite far apart!

Hi Michael, I'm actually studying in Chicago. I saw a National Geographic article on the Shipwreck Coast drive and decided it would be a good roadtrip. So I'm going to drive 8 hours from Chicago to Marquette, spend the night there, and start across the upper peninsula the next day. I intend to spend two days doing that, then another two days driving down the east side of lake Michigan back to Chicago.

How did you find out what to do/see at Pictured Rocks? There doesn't seem to be much information on that online.