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We completed 7 years in a row in 2024.

Why did we choose UP (Upper Peninsula)?
Upper Peninsula’s rugged wilderness is unparalleled. Porcupine mountains, Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks, Tahquamenon Falls State Park – UP is a mecca when it comes to natural beauty and unique cultural aspects.

Porcupine Mountains in fall, courtesy Jonathan

How to Plan your visit?

• For accommodation, choose a vacation rental close to Marquette or Munising area. We stayed at a charming lake-view cottage at Champion.

View from our cottage backyard

The cottage epitomized true UP wilderness to a T!

• Choose your activities and places to visit. We did the following in the weekend trip: Porcupine Mountains State Park, Sugarloaf Mountain Overlooks, Manistique East Breakwater Lighthouse, Presque Isle Park, Dead River Falls.

• Other notable mentions: Bond Falls, Kitch-Iti-Kipi, Miners Castle Overlook, Copper Peak, Marquette (MI) Ore Dock and finally, the coveted 510 bridge at Negaunee.

View from 510 Bridge at Negaunee, courtesy LV Doherty

• Brockway Mountain Scenic Drive is a not-to-be-missed destination – 9.5-mile historic drive, often counted among Top 10 most scenic drives in the nation.

• Run through this indispensable emergency checklist and 7 tech essentials to turbo-harge your road trips.

Road Trip From Chicago

Chicago to Porcupine Mountains, UP is about 400 miles and takes around 6 hours.

The magical UP evening on the road, courtesy Brandon

The Cottage

We saw a few stunning sunsets at the lake view cottage.

Sugarloaf Mountain

Marquette in UP has some terrific hiking options, Sugarloaf Mountain Overlook is one of the most prominent, takes only a short hike to get to serene views of the Superior.

There are 2 paths to the summit – easy and difficult, we tried both and made it in 15-20 mins, each time.

The difficult one had slightly steep ascend but it wasn’t too bad, kids could make it easily.

At the summit, you have a small boardwalk with several overlooks.

Presque Isle Park

On your way to Sugarloaf Mountain, enjoy a pitstop at Presque Isle Park and soak in the pristine Lake Superior views from the peninsula brimming with wooded trails and craggy bluffs.

You can drive or bike around the smallish park circling the cliffs or take a hike into the woods.

We took one the marked trails to get to an overlook.

Had to be careful at steep escarpments.

The water, the sun and the crags – a perfect Michigan trifecta.

A dash of history on Presque Isle.

Kitch-iti-kipi – Mirror of Heaven 

While you are at UP, don’t miss the largest natural freshwater spring with a very eccentric name – Kitch-iti-kipi.

Brockway Mountain Dr at Copper Harbor, Michigan

Brockway Mountain Drive is a 9-mile scenic roadway in the Keweenaw county at UP, a must-visit drive during any season.

Brockway Mountain, Courtesy Brandon

Another Brockway Mountain View Courtesy: Mav Erick

The historic four-season Keweenaw Mountain Resort is a great dwelling option, boasting of pristine views of the UP wilderness and many other amenities.

Courtesy, Keweenaw Mountain Lodge

As a bonus – it is a great destination for stargazing as well and in process of getting qualified as a Dark Sky place.

Taken in 2022, Courtesy Keweenaw Mountain Lodge 

Miners Castle Overlook, Marquette

Miners Castle Overlook is a spectacle in every season.

Courtesy, nps.gov

You could see Miners Fall too if you are around the area.

Courtesy, nps.gov

Copper Peak

Copper Peak, Courtesy Brandon

Pictured Rock

One of the most sought after destinations at UP needs no explanation. Other than the coveted evening cruises or kayak rides, it has a plethora of hikes, my favorite being Mosquito Falls and Chapel Falls trail.

The iconic sandstone cliffs of Pictured Rock gleamed under the evening sun.

And just like that, our 2023 edition of the No-Regrets Road Trip reached its culmination.

So Long, UP!

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