Fall Up North in Michigan’s U.P.
Ever since the first day we landed in Wisconsin, we have had the plan to take a weekend trip up to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It is a very unique area of the country. It’s more Wisconsin than Michigan, with an Irish and mining history and some of the most scenic and remote areas of the continental United States. We set our sights on three areas to explore. We wanted to explore the Lake Superior shoreline, as that lake is unlike anything else we have seen. Amity had found a waterfall that runs a rich copper-amber color, and we wanted to compare how the fall colors on the U.P. compared to the colors we explored last year in New England. We packed our car full of camping gear and set out for a fall adventure “Up North” in the U.P.
Mile: 73,011
Quote of the Blog: “IT’S PRONOUNCED PASS-TY!!!” - Gram from Gram’s Pasties
Song of the Blog: “Sweater Weather” - The Neighbourhood
We had originally planned to check out the U.S. Ski Team Hall of Fame in Ishpeming, MI. When we hit the road, we decided to check the museum hours and learned that we would not be able to make it in time. We only had another four and a half hours to drive, so we adjusted our route to head north along the Lake Michigan shoreline of Green Bay before pushing more directly north to Marquette, MI. Before we left, Amity had learned from a patient of hers that we had to make sure to get a pasty while we were up there. The U.P. has a strong copper and iron mining history, which brought an Irish cultural element to the area. Pasties are very much an Irish staple. I remember them from Butte, MT, for the same exact reasons. We stopped at a place called Gram’s Pasties. It was a small establishment. When we walked in, an older, rough-looking woman came out from the back to take our order. Amity looked at her and said we would like to get some “pasties” (pronounced like the nipple coverings). The woman looked at her and, with the sternest face and harshest voice, declared, “IT’S PRONOUNCED PASTY!” We were both taken aback, as if our grandmother were yelling at us. We politely ordered our pasties and quickly left to continue our drive. We will laugh about this moment for a very long time! They were really good!
The next stop on the drive was Marquette, where we planned to do some urban exploring before heading to the area where we would camp for the night. Marquette is located on the northern shore of the Upper Peninsula, along Lake Superior. It is a really cool city! Built on a hill, we wondered what winters were like there, but the architecture and natural beauty of the city were amazing. We walked around town for a bit, down past the marina, and found a brewery downtown to sample the local goods. The brewery is called Ore Dock Brewing Company. It was a beautiful day, so we took full advantage of their patio for a relaxing beer after a long day in the car. We headed back to the car, did some driving around the city to explore the area a little more, and wondered what it would be like to live up there. You are pretty secluded from anything—just like being in Montana. We made our way eastward along the Lake Superior shoreline. As the sun began to set, we found a place to pull over and take some pictures. The leaves were in peak color, and the lake was super calm. This made for an amazing sunset, and we got some great pictures!
We had a campsite for two nights at the Munising/Pictured Rocks KOA just outside of Munising, MI. We pulled into Munising just after dark. It’s getting dark so early in the evening now! We made a quick pit stop at another brewery in Munising to grab a couple of beers for the campsite before heading out. We ended up loving the spot we walked into. It’s called By George Brewing Company. The beer was good, and the prices were amazing! It was refreshing to go into a microbrewery and spend under $6 on a beer. After a quick pit stop, we finished our day in the car by getting out to our campground. We quickly set up our tent and built a fire. The entire campground was covered in leaves that had freshly fallen to the ground. It was a great camp spot, except in the morning when the logging trucks and their loud “Jake Brakes” would fly down the highway less than a couple hundred yards from our tent. This just made getting up early in the morning that much easier.
The next day we had a couple of different plans. We had initially planned to spend the day hiking to Tahquamenon Falls and then exploring the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline the next day. We were worried about weather coming in on Sunday, as the forecasts were calling for rain, very strong winds, and shoreline waves of 10 to 16 feet. So, we ultimately decided to do both in the same day. This made for a long and adventurous day! Tahquamenon Falls was just over an hour’s drive from Munising. With our early start, we were able to get into the state park and find parking without an issue. There are two major falls in Tahquamenon Falls State Park. We started by hiking around the Lower Falls. There are several different styles of waterfalls in this section. We logged just over four miles of hiking around the falls and an island out in the middle of the river. The fall colors mixed with the amber color of the water made for an amazing combination. The Upper Falls section is a short drive from the Lower Falls. We planned to do this one second, as we had learned in our research that you can get a beer and some food at a park facility there. We quickly made it up to the Upper Falls trailhead and set back out. This was a much shorter hike with fewer waterfalls along the way. The falls here were also much larger and more dramatic. It was a beautiful area to spend the day exploring. At the end of the hike, we enjoyed some almond butter sandwiches and grabbed a beer from the park store. They even had their own brewery here called the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery. This is the first state park we’ve found that has a brewery. Way to go, U.P. and Michigan!
We then pushed on toward Munising and the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline. This was just over another hour of drive time to get to the trailhead. There are endless miles of trails here. We set out with the plan to reach Chapel Rock and Chapel Beach. This added another seven miles of hiking to our day. We are killing it! During this hike, we came up with a new game. The leaves were falling through an amazing canopy of trees, and we started trying to catch them as we walked. The only rule was that you couldn’t stop and wait for the leaves to fall—you had to keep walking and only catch the ones falling in front of you. We both managed to catch one each, which was quite the feat on its own—and very funny! Not only was the hike full of good laughs and fun, but it was beautiful. The golden fall colors mixed with burnt oranges and lingering green leaves were enough on their own. Then we came across several water crossings, waterfalls, and eventually made it down to Chapel Rock and the beach. Every time we’ve hiked along the Great Lakes and come down to the shoreline, it never feels like we’re looking at a freshwater lake. We always expect to see a whale, or seals, or some kind of marine life—but in the end, it really is just a lake. Well, it’s the largest lake on the western half of the entire planet! Pretty cool that we got to spend some time sitting on a beach taking it all in. Chapel Rock reminds me of the floating rocks from the movie Avatar. The power of the shoreline on Lake Superior is something to see! All of the sea caves and natural features are stunning. We spent some time relaxing on the beach, having a snack, and taking it all in. The sun was getting ready to set, and we didn’t want to be walking in the dark, so we had to leave this slice of paradise and hike back to the car. We capped the night off with some more brewery beers back in Munising. This time we headed into East Channel Brewing Company. We ended up chatting with a local there for quite some time about the area. He had some great insights and was a photographer, so we got to see some amazing shots he had captured of the northern lights and other sights in the area. After chatting with him for a bit, we headed back to By George Brewing Co. to grab a four-pack for the campsite. We couldn’t resist going back—it was so good! Once we hit the campsite, we were exhausted. Two and a half hours of driving and over 13 miles of hiking did the trick!
We woke up Sunday to some misting rain and light weather. We took our time getting breakfast and coffee in town before starting our drive. We had just over four hours of driving ahead of us. As the day progressed, we realized the forecasted weather did not completely come to fruition—it was just a slightly windy day. We were slightly let down but happy to be making our way back home. It ended up working out really well that we were driving through Green Bay right when the Eagles football game was starting, so we headed into Titletown next to Lambeau Field to watch the game at one of the bars there. This was super fun! We watched the game and explored the area. Since the Packers were playing out of town that weekend, it was really quiet and the perfect time to walk around and check things out. This would be a fantastic area to tailgate before a game! Once we had our fill, we made the final one-hour drive back to Fond du Lac. Sometimes we wonder why we even take our adventure gear out of the car when we get home, but out of habit we got unpacked and started to mentally prep for another week of work. If this were a school math problem, the story would be: “What do you get when you add 10 hours of driving, two states, and 13 miles of hiking to waterfalls and beaches, and multiply it by fall colors in the trees?” The answer: Living Rad!