Looking for the best places to visit in an upper peninsula Michigan travel guide? Listed below are some of the most recommended places to visit on the east side of the upper peninsula.
Planning a trip to the upper peninsula is super exciting! If you’re anything like me, you’re here because you love to research and plan your trip ahead of time. As a Michigander, I am giving you the best places in an upper peninsula Michigan travel guide.
You are going to learn about places to visit like Sault Ste. Marie, Tahquamanon Falls, Munising, Pictured Rocks, and more. After learning about these places, you are going to be ready for your next Michigan travel adventure!
This post is my 3 day upper peninsula Michigan travel guide.
Day 1: Sault Ste. Marie, Whitefish Point, and Tahquamanon Falls
Sault Ste. Marie
We arrived a little after 12:00pm, parking along Portage Street in front of the Soo Locks. We entered The Soo Locks Park and headed into the visitor center. There you can learn all about the locks and how they function, as well as a daily schedule of when boats are coming in and out of the locks. Luckily for us, there was a boat coming in at 12:45pm. On the other side of the visitor center, you’ll find a set of doors that leads you outside to their observation deck. I recommend getting a spot on the top of the deck for the best view. It was really cool to see the boats rise and fall with the water as they entered and exited the locks! This experience is completely free too!
Lockview Restaurant
From the locks, we made our way back onto Portage Street and decided on Lockview Restaurant for lunch. Like the name states, they have fabulous views of the locks. I recommend sitting upstairs and getting a table close to the window. They are famous for their whitefish dinner, but everything here was SO GOOD. One of our favorite meals from the trip. We started with the whitecaps spread and sea sweet fried clams. The spread was very creamy and the clams were a delicious appetizer. For our main course, we had the lemon pepper white fish, and wow it was incredible! I am not a big fish and seafood person, and I can honestly say I enjoyed this fish. Tender and flakey with no fishy taste. I would definitely order it again.
After lunch, we continued walking down Portage Street to check out the other shops. We stopped in Oh Crepe!, a cute coffee and crepe shoppe. Next, we visited Zak and Mac’s Chocolate Haus, we had to get some fudge! They also sell other chocolate candies and ice cream. Other recommended restaurants that we did not have a chance to check out were The Palace Mexican Restaurant and Saloon, Karl’s Cuisine, and Zorba’s Greek American. I think this cute little town doesn’t need more than a day to visit.
Paradise
We had every intention of taking the scenic drive to our next stop, Paradise! However, we were on a tight schedule and ended up taking the fastest route instead. If you have a chance, I would encourage you to take the scenic route along “Mackinac Trail” US-2 to M-123. Along the way you’ll be able to see the Point Iroquois Lighthouse and some smaller, quaint towns.
Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
Following Sault Ste. Marie, we made our way straight to Whitefish Point Light Station and experienced the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Admission is $14 per adult, $10 per child 5-17 years old. They also offer package options for families. This is a self-guided tour throughout the Whitefish Point Light Station. We learned about several different shipwrecks that occurred on Lake Superior, including the infamous Edmond Fitzgerald.
Whitefish Point
We really enjoyed our time in Whitefish Point. It’s a beautiful location, the beach is beautiful, and there is a small trail that leads to an overlook of Lake Superior.
Tahquamanon Falls
Next up in the upper peninsula Michigan travel guide is Tahquamanon Falls State Park. From Whitefish Point, it’s about a 35 minute drive. The cost to enter the park is $17 per vehicle, or included if you have a Michigan recreation passport vehicle tab.
To get to the Upper Falls, it’s a short, quarter mile walk from the parking lot. It’s a paved trail and very walkable, making it easily accessible. One of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River, it’s a breathtaking view of a 50 foot drop, 200 feet wide fall. There are multiple lookouts and vantage points to soak it in. Climbing down and back up the flight of stairs leading to the close up view of the Upper Falls is totally worth it.
Not nearly as striking, but worth checking out are the Lower Falls. Drive 4 miles downstream to another park entrance. I like this park because of its calm, more relaxing atmosphere. It’s a great place be surrounded by nature and maybe see some wildlife.
From Tahquamanon Falls, we drove to Newberry where we would be staying for the night. Due to some unforeseen GPS issues, we experienced Tahquamanon Falls later than we planned, so by the time we made it to Newberry, most of the restaurants were closed for the night. It is a small town, so many establishments close at 9:00pm or 10:00pm.
We stayed at the Quality Inn & Suites in Newberry. They make it feel very cozy and like a lodge in the middle of the woods. It’s a nice, middle price range hotel and offers typical amenities, including continental breakfast.
Day 2: Newberry, Munising, and Miners Falls
Oswald’s Bear Ranch
On the second day of the upper peninsula Michigan travel guide, we started at Oswald’s Bear Ranch in Newberry. The largest bear ranch in the United States, the bears have been rescued from being abused, neglected, or injured. The entrance fee is $25 per vehicle. Note that they are closed October 11th until Memorial Day weekend. We purchased bags of apples, $4 per bag, to feed the bears. We started at the female area, where we were able to take photos and videos and feed the bears through small holes in the fencing. There is also a lookout to see the bears from above.
Next, we checked out the yearling section. They recently added a pond and waterfall area for the bears to play in. It’s so cute to see them frolicking in the water and climbing trees. The male section is surrounded by a walking trail. Of course, these black bears are much larger, and some of them will “sit pretty” in order to get a piece of an apple. So cute!
Lastly, the cubs are located in the middle of the ranch. They are just adorable! Some of them were climbing the fence and trying to escape, they had so much energy! For an extra $10, they offer a photo op with a baby cub!
We enjoyed walking through the ranch and admiring the scenery and watching the bears interact with each other and their sanctuary. It’s a great family friendly activity.
Munising
From Newberry, we drove just over an hour to Munising. We were ready for lunch and headed straight for some fish!
Matson’s Fisheries and Cap’n Ron’s Food Truck are located on Commercial Ave. Typically, this fish market area sells fish by the pound or per fish, not really offering a restaurant to sit down and eat. However, Matson’s Fishery recently opened a food truck serving fish and chips. This place was hopping! We ordered the trout basket and whitefish sandwich. The fried fish is not what I expected, in a good way. It is lightly battered, allowing the flakiness of the fish to come through. I really enjoyed the trout over the whitefish. I highly recommend trying it, you won’t find fresh lake fish like this anywhere else!
Glass Bottom Boat Shipwreck Tour
After lunch, we had a reservation for the Glass Bottom Boat Shipwreck Tour. This tour took us through the South Bay and around Grand Island. The bottom of the boat is made of glass, allowing us to have an up close view of the shipwrecks below. It was amazing to see and learn that because of Lake Superior’s frigid temperatures and lack of invasive species like zebra mussels, these shipwrecks are beautifully preserved. During the tour, we saw two different shipwrecks. I would have loved to see more, but understand that it takes awhile to cruise out to each site. Tickets are $36 per person, $12 per child 5-12 years old, and $1 for children 5 years old and younger.
Muldoons Pasties
Next, we went to Muldoons Pasties. These were so good we ate here twice! Pronounced “past-e”, these pastries are filled with potatoes, meat, and vegetables. I had the veggie pasty and enjoyed it with ketchup. For dessert, we ordered an apple pasty on the first day, and blueberry on the second. Both are super yummy!
Later, we drove to a Pictured Rocks lookout park and Miners Falls, just north of Munising. The views are breathtaking and made me feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful state. I highly recommend going to Miners Falls. It’s a short hike in, with some stairs leading down to the falls. There’s just something so mesmerizing about waterfalls! This was my favorite waterfall that we saw on this trip.
Once we were ready to settle in for the night, we checked in at the Beach Inn Motel. This is such a cute motel! The rooms themselves are pretty basic, but each room has a direct view to the bay, with a shared balcony in the back. Watching the sunset here is a must! At a reasonable rate of $150/night, I highly recommend this motel for the view alone. They offer continental breakfast in the morning.
Day 3: Pictured Rocks and Kitch-iti-Kipi
Pictured Rocks
On the last day of the upper peninsula Michigan travel guide, we made a last minute decision to book a boat tour with Pictured Rocks Cruises. I am so glad we did, because this was our favorite activity of the trip. We snagged a 10:00am tour by arriving an hour early and purchasing tickets in person. Tickets can also be purchased online.
If you plan to do a tour with them, arrive early and get in line as soon as you can in order to get the best seat on the top deck. This tour took us along the lakeshore, seeing the rock formations up close. Some highlights include Chapel Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Miner’s Castle, Lover’s Leap, and Battleship Rocks. Cost of the tour depends on which one you reserve. They also offer a sunset cruise, which I imagine would be stunning!
Kitch-iti-Kipi
Along our way home, we stopped at the Kitch-iti-Kipi park in Manistique, Michigan’s largest, freshwater spring. This is a fun little detour. There is a self-guided boat that takes you across the spring. Below we saw several large trout fish as well as the movement of sand from the gushing spring. Again, this park requires a day pass or the Michigan recreation passport vehicle tab.
This was such a great Memorial Day Weekend trip! We were lucky enough to have perfect weather, minimal rain and high 60 degree temperatures. This trip can easily be done in three full days, however, if you want to go at a slower pace, I would recommend four days. It’s a great trip to soak in the natural beauty that Michigan offers.
Note that there is often minimal internet/data reception once you are up there. I would recommend downloading maps to your phone prior to departure or once you are in a hotel with wifi. Have a paper map on hand just in case.
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