3 Days On The Upper Peninsula - The Well Worn Shoes

Are you planning a visit to the Upper Peninsula? That’s exciting! Wondering how many days you should set aside for your visit? Honestly, the Upper Peninsula has something for everyone, and you could spend weeks there without experiencing all that this amazing place has to offer. But a long weekend is the perfect amount of time to explore this wild and wonderful part of Michigan. But what should you do with 3 days on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan? I’ve got you covered…

3 Days On The Upper Peninsula

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The Basics: Upper Peninsula Of Michigan

Where Is The Upper Peninsula Of Michigan?

Exactly where it sounds like – The Upper Peninsula is the northernmost portion of Michigan. It is a forested region bordered by 3 of the Great Lakes (peninsula), and it extends outward from Wisconsin.

How Do I Get To The Upper Peninsula?

Your best bet for the Upper Peninsula is driving because you will need a car once you are there. Everything is incredibly spread out.

Driving:

The UP is connected to Michigan’s Lower Peninsula by the nearly 5-mile-long Mackinac Bridge, which spans the Straits of Mackinac.

Cost: $4 toll per car

Air:

There are several airport options, but all will be costly, and most are small. On the UP, you can fly into Marquette Airport (MQT), which is roughly 50.5 miles away from the Mackinac Bridge.

Other nearby options include Escanaba (ESC), 50.8 miles, Sault Ste Marie (YAM), 90.4 miles, and Traverse City (TVC) at 110.2 miles.

Yes, you will need a rental car in the UP.

*Keep in mind – I stayed in Newberry on this trip.

Day 1: Crossing The Bridge & Eastern Region

Stop at Michilimackinac State Park

Michilimackinac (say that even 1 time fast, haha) sits on the northernmost point of Michigan’s lower peninsula. This state park offers arguably the best views of the Mackinac Bridge. It’s a great idea to stop here to take in the views of the bridge.

Cross The Mackinac Bridge

As mentioned above, the U.P. is connected to Michigan’s Lower Peninsula by the nearly 5-mile-long Mackinac Bridge, which spans the Straits of Mackinac.

Cost: $4 toll per car

Otherwise known as the “Mighty Mac,” this impressive bridge spans 26,372 Ft (approx 5 miles). The main towers stand a staggering 552 ft, and it took about 350 engineers and 3,500 workers to complete the build of this behemoth of a bridge.

Stroll Around St. Ignace

St.Ignace is right over the Mackinac Bridge and a must-stop on your trip to the Upper Peninsula. A charming town with tons of cute shops and restaurant options.

Now that you’ve driven over the “Mighty Mac ” if you missed a photo on the lower peninsula, you can check out the Mackinac Bridge view from Straits State Park Scenic Overlook, but you’ll get a much closer view on the lower peninsula side of Michigan.

Shop In St. Ignace:

Murdick’s Fudge

204 N State St, St Ignace, MI 49781
9 am – 5:30 pm
Murdick’s has a great selection of fudge and other treats. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, you must stop here!

Mackinac General Store

251 N State St, St Ignace, MI 49781
11 am – 8 pm
A brand new store opened in May 2021 with gorgeously curated merchandise. The store offers a bit of everything, including accessories, food, and jewelry.

Horn’s Odds & Ends

435 N State St, St Ignace, MI 49781
10 am – 5 pm
This place is awesome; if you are into antiques, it’s the place for you. You can spend hours perusing all of the fun “odds and ends” in this cool shop.

Check Out The Wawatam Lighthouse

You’ll see the lighthouse as soon as you come into St Ignace. It sits on the same dock that the ferry used from 1911 to the 1980s. You can find the lighthouse straight out east of McCann Street.

Fun Fact: In the winter, the lighthouse is lit to help guide snowmobilers across the ice bridge of the Mackinac Straits.

Take In History At the Museum Of The Ojibwa Culture

500 N State St, St Ignace, MI 49781
Cost: A donation to the museum

Here you can learn about the history of the 17th-century Huron Native American Village. As well as Father Marquette’s French Jesuit mission and the local Ojibwa traditions and culture.

One of my favorites from the museum was the Ojibwa legend of “The Great Turtle.” It tells the story of a great flood that covered the entire earth. After the flood, the ground was recreated on the back of the great turtle, forming what is known today as Mackinac Island.

Food Options In St Ignace:

Clyde’s Drive-In

178 US-2, St. Ignac, Michigan 49781
Currently Closed For Winter Season

Day 2 – Eastern Region

Take In Tahquamenon Falls

Tahquamenon Falls State Park

41382 West M-124, Paradise, Michigan 49768
Cost: Michigan Resident Recreational Pass – $11
- Non-Resident – $9 Entrance Fee
Dog Friendly

One of the most famous destinations on the Upper Peninsula is Tahquamenon Falls. The upper portion of the falls are actually the 2nd largest waterfall east of the Mississippi River. It drops nearly 50 feet and is 200 feet across.

Fun Fact: The maximum water flow is about 50,000 gallons per second.

There are 2 different areas within this state park that encompasses an impressive 50,000 acres – the Upper and the lower falls. You can drive between the two because hiking between them is approximately 10 miles round trip.

The Upper Falls –

A paved pathway (around .4 mile) leads from the parking lot at the Upper Falls, through an old growth forest to the observation platforms at the crest of the falls, and handicap accessible. Steps lead to the bottom of the falls, where the water crashes into the Tahquamenon River.

If you hike, it’s about 4 miles downriver to the Lower Falls.

The Lower Falls –

The Lower Falls is a series of five smaller falls cascading around an island. This area is not as dramatic as the Upper Falls, but they are equally beautiful.

If you’ve only got time to visit one, I recommend the upper over the lower falls. But if you’ve got time for both, then absolutely visit both.

Did You Know?: That this is the land of Longfellow’s Hiawatha? Longfellow’s poem recounts how Hiawatha built his canoe “by the rushing Tahquamenaw.” Longfellow loved this area of the Upper Peninsula and wrote several short stories and poems about it.

Food Options At Tahquamenon Falls:

Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub

24019 Upper Falls Drive, Paradise, MI 49768
Currently Closed For Winter Season

Drive Time To Next Destination: 30 minutes

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

18335 N. Whitefish Point Road, Paradise, Michigan 49768
10 am – 6 pm
Cost: Adults – $14, Children 17 and Under – $10, Children Under 5 – Free

Here you can learn about the perils of maritime transport on the Great Lakes at the Whitefish Point Light Station. Your admission ticket gets you into the museum and then outbuildings set up so that you can explore what life would have been like during different periods.

Whitefish Point Lighthouse

In the same location as the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, Whitefish Point is located at the southeastern end of Lake Superior. The lighthouse was established in 1849 and has been a life-saving beacon since then. Today, it is the longest operational lighthouse on Lake Superior.

Take Some Time To Explore The Shores Of Lake Superior

After visiting the museum and taking in the lighthouse, make sure to take some time to explore the shores of Lake Superior. You could spend hours taking in the driftwood and rocks on the shores. It’s truly beautiful.

Drive To Dinner: 1 hour 18 minutes

Dinner At Chamberlain’s Ole Forest Inn

N9450 Manistique Lakes Road (Hwy 33), Curtis, Michigan 49820

This casual fine dining gem is located a bit out of the way but is well worth the drive. The house itself is gorgeous, and while you are waiting for a table, you can wander around the property and take in Manistique Lake. Or sit on the porch swing and enjoy the beautiful view.

The food itself is phenomenal. I can recommend the baked brie, the garlic cheese bruschetta, stuffed whitefish, and coconut shrimp. It was all amazing.

Day 3: Chasing Waterfalls – Central Region

Most of Day 3 will be spent in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. For more, check out One Day Of Chasing Waterfalls On The Upper Peninsula

Start With A Hike To Sable Falls

Sable Falls Trail

Distance: .6 Miles
Rating: Easy
Elevation Gain: 101 Ft
Dog Friendly

This trail is good for all skill levels, and this short hike’s payoff was one of my favorite waterfalls of the day! Sable Falls tumbles over 75 feet on a cascading slope of sandstone formations on its way to Lake Superior. The trail features roughly 168 stairs (as many of the trails on today’s list do), but they aren’t difficult to navigate.

The Sable Falls trail continues past the falls for a short walk to a rock beach where Sable Creek flows into Lake Superior. This lakeshore of Superior is gorgeous, and you can spend hours looking at the smooth stones that tumble up with the tide.

Head To Grand Sable Dunes

Distance: .6 Miles
Rating: Easy
Keep In Mind: You are walking uphill on sand
Not Dog Friendly

The view from Grand Sable Dunes is pretty spectacular and worth the climb.

Drive To Next Destination: 7 mins

Check Out Log Slide Overlook

Distance: .5 Miles
Rating: Easy

To get some more stunning views of the shoreline, head to Log Slide Overlook. At just .5 miles of a hike, you really can’t beat the views.

Drive To Next Destination: 1 hour

Hike To Miners Falls

Miners Falls Trail

Distance: 1.2 Miles
Rating: Easy
Elevation Gain: 154 Ft
Dog Friendly

This easy trail features a gently rolling gravel and dirt path through the Northwoods that leads to two waterfall overlooks. I hiked this in the rain and had no issues with the trail becoming slippery. You can enjoy the views of Miners Basin along the trail. The rapidly flowing Miners River drops about 50 feet over a sandstone outcrop, creating one of the Painted Rocks National Lakeshore’s most powerful waterfalls. There are about 64 steps to the lower viewing platform and it’s an easy climb down.

Drive To Next Destination: 5 minutes

Take In Miners Castle

Just 4 minutes down the road from Miners Falls, you will find Miners Castle. This is one of the most famous landmarks along the Pictured Rocks shoreline, and it is the only cliff area in the park accessible by vehicle. Most of the Pictured Rocks need to be viewed by boat. This is another dog-friendly option.

Interestingly, this area and the Pictured Rocks cliffs hold a spiritual significance to the indigenous people who once called this place home, the Ojibwa (or Chippewa). Does anyone else ever imagine canoeing or exploring and finding these beautiful places? Or what they must have thought seeing those cliffs in their birch bark canoes? It’s not wonder this gorgeous place held spiritual significance.

Drive To Next Destination: 11 minutes

Hike To Beautiful Munising Falls

Munising Falls Trail

Distance: .4 Miles
Rating: Easy
Elevation Gain: 39 Ft
Dog Friendly

On this easy trail, you stroll about 800 feet up a cool shaded canyon path along Munising Creek to the base of the falls. Two sets of stairs lead to viewing platforms on each side of this 50-foot waterfall as it drops over a sandstone cliff. I chose the viewing platform to the right and I was so glad that I did!

As I was leaving Munising Falls a ranger told me about another waterfall on my way to Marquette, where I was planning to grab dinner. Laughing Whitefish Falls, and while it wasn’t originally on my list, it ended up being one of my favorites of the entire day.

Drive To Next Destination: 30 minutes

Enjoy The Magnificent Laughing Whitefish Falls

Laughing Whitefish Falls Trail

Distance: 1 Mile
Rating: Easy
Elevation Gain: 121 Ft

This easy hike through a picturesque gorge with old-growth white pine and hemlock trees towering above takes you to a beautiful cascading waterfall. There are three observation platforms to view the falls from different levels, and these do have stairs. The upper platform only has about 20 stairs, while the lower has about 137. Don’t let that stop you because the views from the bottom are worth a few stairs!

Driving Distance To Dinner: 30 minutes

For dinner and sunset, head to Marquette!

Dinner At Iron Bay Restaurant & Drinkery

105 E Washington Street, Marquette, MI 49855
11 am – 10 pm

This seriously cool spot has absolutely delicious food and an impressive drink menu. I can recommend the superior whitefish tater tots, superior whitefish tacos, and the kickin’ mango mule.

Tip: This place is popular, and you will most likely have to wait, or you can just have your dinner at the bar like I did.

Enjoy At Sunset On Marquette Harbor

If you time things just right, you can enjoy a sunset stroll along the harbor in Marquette! It’s absolutely gorgeous. You can also stroll around Marquette, but most of the shops were already closed by the time that I finished dinner.

If You’ve Got Time On Day 3

Take A Pictured Rocks Cruise

These cruises are the best (and only) way to see most of the pictured rocks. Unfortunately, on the day I booked a cruise, the water was too choppy, and all tours were canceled.

Check out Pictured Rock Cruises

100 City Park Drive, Munising, Michigan 49862
Cost: Between $40-$48
Find Out More HERE
They have 4 cruise options, including 2 sunset options (all the heart eyes).

Take A Glass Bottom Shipwreck Tour

1024 Commercial Street #1354, Munising, Michigan 49862
9 am – 4 pm
Cost: Adult – $36, Senior – $32, Children Under 12 – $12, Children Under 5 – $1
Find Out More HERE

Don’t Forget To Pack

My trip to the Upper Peninsula was at the end of September. My biggest tip in terms of packing is to dress in layers! I experienced rain, cold, and warm and sunny.

Here are some of my must-haves for a trip to the Upper Peninsula:

Hiking Boots – These are my favorites, and I love these too
Comfy & Warm Hiking Socks
Hiking Leggings
Fleece Lined Leggings (just in case)
Rain Coat
Zip-Up Sweatshirt
Beanie & Baseball Cap
Hiking Backpack

Mapping Out 3 Days On The Upper Peninsula

Spending 3 days on the Upper Peninsula is an amazing way to recharge in nature. I was surprised by how beautiful and relaxing the U.P. truly can be. Enjoy it! Have you been to the Upper Peninsula? What was your favorite?