A Tour of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
The colors in the Upper Peninsula in the fall will be well worth the trip to see. There are nine different areas that are suggested. The first is a trip of 105 miles from Hancock to Lake Linden, on to Lac La Belle, Bete Grise and then to Copper Harbor. Leave Copper Harbor and go to Eagle River and on to Calument and Laurium and back to Hancock. The route covers Mackinac County with the peak color expected in mid-October, Chippewa County with the peak color expected the first two weeks of October, Luce County with peak color expected the first two weeks of October and Schoolcraft County with the peak color also being the first two weeks in October. This is called the Eastern Upper Peninsula tour.
Visitng the Central Upper Peninsula your tour would go from highway 107 to 64 where you begin at Silver City and on to Ontonagon. Now go to Highway 45 to Rockland and Victoria. Now you will have to backtrack a bit to highway 26 and on to Greenland. At Greenland you take highway 38 to Baraga and then hwy 41 to Chassel and Houghton. Now you take hwy 26 to Twin Lakes and back to Greenland. This tour will be approximately 200 miles. The season for you to see the peak colors of fall begins the first week of October and runs for about three weeks.
Now you can take the third tour which takes you on hwy 2 from Ironwood and Wakefield to Watersmeet, Iron River and Crystal Calls on the Western Upper Peninsula. Then take hwy 141 to Covington and then to highway 28 to Bruce Crossing and back to the beginning at Wakefield. Peak season for seeing this colorful route is the last week in September and the first week in October.
The 4th tour starts in Ishpeming on highway 29 and goes to highway 510 to Nagaunee and Huge Bay, take highway 550 to Marquette and then 29 to Munising, on to highway H 58 to H 15 for a drive to Singleton and then highway 28 to highway 94 to Chatham, Gwinn and then on 35 to Palmer and back to Ishpeming. All toll this route is 165 miles long.
Tour 5 is a little shorter beginning at Iron Mountain and Norway on Hwy 2 to Spalding, hwy 41 to Menominee and Hwy 35 to Cedar River and Escanaba. This is 125 miles long.
Now on to tour 6 which is from Esdanaba on highways 2 and 41 to Rapid River. Turn onto highway 2 and go to Manstique and Saint Ignace. Even though this tour is 183 miles it runs quite straight along the bottom area of the peninsula.
Tour 7 is form Whitefish Point to Paradise on hwy 123 then to Newberry and hwy 28 to Seney where you take 77 to Grand Marais and H58 to Deer Park and back to hwy 123 and Paradise. This is 150 miles long.
If you thought you had taken all the tours of this area you are wrong, there are two more stunning experiences for you to enjoy. Tour 8 starts at Saint Ingace on hwy 75 and toes to Kincheloe and Sault St. Marie. Now head south to highway 129 and Pickford to highway 48 for a visit to Goetzville and De Tour Village where you’ll get on 134 to Cedarville and then back to Saint Ignace. Another trip of 150 miles.
The ninth tour opportunity is off hwy 28 where you go to highway 123 and enter Eckerman. Following 123 north you will go to Paradise and then back to the intersection where you turn east toward Curley Lewis Scenic Hwy and follow that to Bay Mills and Brimley. This is the shortest route suggested for the fall viewing of just 90 miles.