100 Things to Do in the Upper Peninisula Before You Die

Touring Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.) is like taking a two-week trip by station wagon. Not in terms of time---you can sample plenty if four days is all you have. It’s about stepping back and appreciating a place of raw scenic beauty dotted with roadside attractions, blinker-light towns, rustic cabins and hand-painted signs advertising smoked fish and homemade jam. With 100 Things to Do in the Upper Peninsula Before You Die, discover a land mostly surrounded by the Great Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior, linked to the state’s Mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula by a five-mile suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac. The U.P. surprises with Victorian-era and car-free Mackinac Island, millions of acres of forests, waterfalls, wildlife, remnants of the prosperous copper mining era, and 1,700 miles of spectacular shoreline. It’s home to about 320,000 hardy Yoopers (U.P.-ers), just 3% of Michigan’s population across a third of the state’s territory. Cell phone service can be spotty and the top speed along two-lane highways is 55 mph---all the better to slow down and embrace the U.P., whether you’re in search of extreme sports experiences, soft adventure or a simple slice of solitude.

Bi-peninsular Kath Usitalo grew up, attended college and worked in Detroit but vacationed every year in the Upper Peninsula, where her parents were born and she now lives. From her home in Naubinway, at the northernmost point of Lake Michigan, Kath writes about the Great Lakes State for a variety of print and online publications and her own e-zine, GreatLakesGazette.com.