Michigan’s spectacular Upper Peninsula

Michigan’s spectacular Upper Peninsula

We spent a week in Michigan’s UP (Oct. 8th – 14th). I have been to the UP numerous times, but never in the Fall, and this was Charlie’s first visit.

Our first stop was in the Porcupine Mountains, along the coast of Lake Superior. We enjoyed spending a day driving through the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, taking in all of the beautiful Fall colors.

At the end of the day, we visited the popular overlook at Lake of the Clouds.

We returned to the overlook the following morning to capture the sunrise.

Our next stop was in Munising, for a boat tour of the Pictured Rocks. While I have been to the UP numerous times, I have never taken the boat ride out to see the Pictured Rocks, so I was looking forward to it. Surprisingly, at this time of the year, we were blessed with temps in the 60s and no wind. So, we had a great ride. Below are some of my favorite photos.

The East Channel Lighthouse, built in the late 1800s:

Indian Head Rock. Can you see why they named it this?

Lover’s Leap:

Chapel Rock:

Scenic Pictured Rocks:

While not a photo of the pictured rocks, I thought this was a nice setting, with the Fall colors in contrast to the light buildings.

We enjoyed a scenic car drive from Munising to Grand Marais, along the back side of the Pictured Rocks. I had a lot of “wow” moments, as the Fall colors were just spectacular.

And the backroads were picture perfect.

We stopped to eat our picnic lunch at the scenic Log Slide Overlook. You see this amazing sand dune when you look to the right while standing at the lookout point.

When you look to the left, you get this beautiful view:

One last photo, taken from the Upper Overlook at Miner’s Beach

Our last stop in the UP was at Tahquamenon Falls. The weather was changing to cold and wet. The Falls are still picturesque, even in the rain.

The Lower Falls
Upper Falls

We also visited the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, in Paradise. No photos though, as it was very windy and pouring rain! Thank goodness most of the exhibits are indoors. We really enjoyed the museum, and would recommend it.

There was a break in the rain, long enough to trek out to Crisp Point Lighthouse. Getting there is a journey, as you bump along 20 miles of rough dirt road. The journey was worth it though.

While the skies look clear, don’t be fooled. It started pouring rain shortly after I took this picture.

I love how the shores of Michigan’s Great Lakes have such colorful rocks. This picture will make a great puzzle!

After our tour across the UP, we headed to Traverse City for a couple of days. The weather was so poor that we didn’t get out to do much. We were glad that we were no longer in the UP though, as they were getting socked with over a foot of snow!

We did spend one afternoon taking a car drive around Torch Lake. The weather cleared up enough to get out the drone, allowing us to capture this colorful landscape.

Torch Lake

Eventually, we made our way back to Georgia, where we are now. In a couple of weeks, we will be heading to Antarctica. I’m sure I’ll be posting lots of penguin pictures. Stay tuned….

14 thoughts on “Michigan’s spectacular Upper Peninsula

  1. Hello Kelly and Charlie! Kevin and Renee Bouchey here from the Antarctic cruise. Love your past posts. We have been to a few of the places about which you have posted and your photos are gorgeous. I look forward to seeing your images of the Octantis trip. Stay well and keep on traveling!

    1. Great to hear from you Renee. We will finally make it home tomorrow, after visiting with family this past week. I’m looking forward to sitting down and going through all of my photos. Hope to update the blog and photography website next week. Stay tuned 🙂

  2. Enjoying your trip by way of your photos is the next best thing to being there. These words and shots of absolute beauty are just wonderful to see. Enjoy and thanks for sharing! Hope you two have a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – Be safe! Love, Betty

    1. Thank you for the note Betty. We are cruising the coast of Chile at the moment. We hope that you have a wonderful Christmas!

  3. I just found your blog through our friends at Chapter 3 Travels. Your photography is spectacular! We spent last summer/early fall in the Great Lakes and visited the same places you did. I sure wish we had seen the colors like you did! I look forward to following along with your travels.

    1. Welcome to our blog Laurel! I hope you enjoy browsing through some of our old posts. Hopefully, you will find some new places of interest to visit. With regards to our UP visit, I thought for sure that we would be too late for the colors. Boy, was I wrong. We timed it just right. Very thankful.

  4. Sorry Traverse City was a bit of a bust, but the rest of it looks like you were there at the perfect time. The colors are just spectacular, like you said – even in the rain.

    Now… bring on the penguins!!!

    1. We had such a great time touring the UP. Fortunately, we’ve been to Traverse City numerous times and will return in the future. We are excited that our Antarctica trip is fast approaching. We head out next Friday! I hope you guys are doing well. I can’t wait to hear all about Portugal!

    1. I agree Sally! I would have a hard time not experiencing the various seasons. I love the snow-covered landscapes of winter, the colorful flowers of Spring, the lush greenery found in the summer months, and of course, Fall colors!

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