Northern Wisconsin & The Upper Peninsula

The northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula region is a very sparsely populated area blanketed with large tracts of hardwood forests and few farm fields, with much of its vast landscape appearing untouched and pristine. This is very different from southern Wisconsin. The two things that attract us to this region are the abundance of waterfalls, and the Lake Superior coast. Sandra and I have a thing for waterfalls, and there are no significant ones where we live. Also, we consider the Lake Superior coast to be far more interesting than the Lake Michigan coastline nearer to our home. We visited this region during the first week of September

If you look at a map of the State of Michigan, you will notice that it is divided into two peninsulas. The citizens of the Upper Peninsula, or UP, who call themselves Yoopers, have a different view on life than the people living in the lower peninsula, and in the 70’s they even attempted to secede from Michigan.

We began our adventure to the UP at Picture Rocks National Lakeshore. The main reason people come to this area is to see the 15 mile stretch of colorful sandstone cliffs towering 200 feet above the lake. Many of the cliff walls have been naturally sculptured into a variety of shallow caves, arches, blowholes, and formations resembling castle turrets. The name “Pictured Rocks” comes from the streaks of mineral stains that can be seen on the face of the weathered-sculpted cliffs. To truly appreciate these rock formations, one needs to see them from both land and sea. Many of the views are accessible by only one or the other. We already did the tour boat on a previous visit and were reluctant to join a crowded cruise this time.

The most popular trails by far in the park are the ones going to Mosquito Beach and Chapel Rock. Both can be completed in one 10-mile loop from the same trailhead. We thought that this might be too ambitious for us, so we did most of the loop in two passes. These trails had it all, with waterfalls, canyons, beaches, cliffs, and amazing rock formations. To give you an idea how popular these trails are, when we arrived, we had to park nearly a ¼ mile down a dirt road from the trailhead. When we left, we passed parked cars for an additional ¾ of a mile. Even though there were loads of people hiking, surprisingly, we were by ourselves for long stretches of trail.

Chapel Rock

Mosquito Falls

Miners Falls

Miners Castle

After Picture Rock, we continued west along the coast with a stop at the Lakenenland Sculpture Garden. There we followed a ½ mile loop through the woods lined with large whimsical sculptures made from scrap metal. The sculptures ranged from depictions of quirky animals to social statements regarding war and corporate greed. Michigan has deep roots in iron mining and automotive manufacturing.

That night we stayed in Marquette. With a population of 21,000, this is the UP’s biggest city. Marquette is a great little town, just bursting with character, with lots of things to offer. While there, we explored the downtown, Dead River Falls, Presque Isle, Sugarloaf Mountain, and took another long hike along Lake Superior.

Presque Isle is a lovely, forested peninsula that is a major hangout for the locals. There is both a loop trail and single lane roadway following the shoreline. We opted to drive to the major scenic spots. These include more sandstone cliffs, and numerous small beach alcoves surrounded by interesting rock formations. One of these formations, Blackrocks, is a popular place for locals to take a 15 feet leap into the frigid lake. Even though it was cold enough for Sandra and me to be wearing multiple layers, there were many people taking part in this activity the day we were there. People must be heartier in the UP.

The next day we found a fantastic trail along the coast in The Little Presque Isle Recreation Area, which is a completely different place than the Presque Isle we went to the day before. Along this trail we passed numerous cliffs and beaches. The biggest being Hidden Beach, a large, pristine beach bordered on one side by a huge cliff. This beach is not on the designated trail, and although It was a challenge getting there, but it was well worth the effort.

Blackrocks

Sugarloaf Mountain

Hidden Beach

Dead River Falls

Presque Isle

Presque Isle Recreation Area

On the way to our next destination, we stopped for a quick hike to Canyon Falls. The short trail led to a waterfall rushing out of an impressive canyon nicknamed by the locals as the “Grand Canyon of the UP”

Our next destination was Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. While there we found a fabulous trail following both banks of the Presque Isle River to the Superior shore with bridges at either end. Presque Isle is certainly a popular name in these parts. Along the way we passed three incredible waterfalls, several rapids, and numerous interesting rock formations. The great thing about this trail is that the roaring river was in sight for most of the hike. It was quite powerful and loud.

We also did hikes to Lake of the Clouds and Summit Peak Tower. This 50-foot tower sits upon a summit that is 1,400 feet above Lake Superior. From this point you can see land masses over 100 miles away. I must admit that we were a little disappointed. The views from the much smaller Sugarloaf Mountain in Marquette were far more interesting.

Lake of the Clouds

Presque Isle River

On the final day of our vacation, we slipped back into Wisconsin, passed through Hurley, hiked to the Potato River Falls, visited Copper Falls State Park and made a pit stop at the Wisconsin Concrete Park.

Hurley is unlike any other city in Wisconsin. In the early 1900s, it was the place for miners and loggers in the region to spend their money on alcohol and women. Later it became the hangout for Chicago mobsters. The miners and mobsters are now gone, but the city of just 1,400 still claims to have a bar per every 70 citizens and a strip joint per every 230.

As we were zipping down the road, Sandra noticed a small sign pointing down a dirt road that just said, “Potato Falls”. Of course, we could not pass it by. When we got there, we were the only car in the parking lot. From there, we found a trail leading to the upper falls at the bottom of a 130-step staircase, and another leading to the lower falls at the bottom of a 190-step staircase. Both were wonderful short hikes.

Copper Falls State Park, was to be our final waterfalls experience, and I can honestly say that we saved the best for last. This park is possibly the most beautiful spot in northern Wisconsin. The main attraction in this park is the Doughboys Trail. This loop trail resembles a lopsided “Y” that follows both sides of the intersecting Bad and Tyler Forks Rivers. It was an absolutely amazing hike. The whole time that we were on this trail, if we were not in sight of the raging rivers, we could hear them roaring below like a freight train. On this trail we saw two towering waterfalls, some deep gorges, and numerous cascades.

Literally one minute after we got back to our car it started to rain for the first time all week. And it continued to rain off-and-on for almost two days. I guess the powers to be were telling us that it was time to go home.

Our last stop was the Wisconsin Concrete Park in Phillips Wisconsin. This tiny park is filled with 237 whimsical concrete and mix media larger than life sculptures that were made by a retired lumberjack and self-taught artist and musician through the 50s and 60s. It was a fun pitstop, but in my opinion, these sculptures which all looked very similar, were not as interesting as the ones we saw in Lakenenland.

Well that is it for now. we are hoping to be able to make another cross country adventure in February. We will keep you all posted.

Lower Potato Falls

Convergence of the Tyler Forks and Bad Rivers

Copper Falls