Michigan

I'm orignally from the UP. There's a lot to see, but it's all so far away from each other. I've been to Tahquamenon Falls a couple of times, not really my cup of tea, but it's a nice stop. (There used to be a really nice Best Western motel near Trout Lake. The story I heard was someone in the Detroit Mob built it because they wanted a place to stay when they went deer hunting. I'm sure it's not true. I'm pretty sure.)

In St. Ignace or Mackinaw City you can catch a ferry to Mackinac Island. Both cities also have areas to view the Mackinac Bridge. Sault St. Marie has the locks between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Last weekend of June there's a giant Auto Show in St. Ignace, I remember it being a lot of fun. Farther west is the Seney Wildlife Refuge, a very nice place to visit. Of course, Pictured Rocks on Lake Superior in Munising. Something most people don't know about is Kitchi-ti-kipi, a massive freshwater spring near Manistique.

The UP State Fair is some time in August, in Escanaba. This was always a blast when I was younger. The Marquette area is loaded with things to do. Lots of breweries, parks, beaches etc. There's a nice park called Presque Isle that you can drive through, it has a lot of places to stop and walk around or look for rocks on the beach. In the summer it's always loaded with students (from NMU) jumping off the cliffs into Lake Superior. North of Marquette there's a nice hike up Sugarloaf Mountain, with a spectacular view of the lake.

If you go in the fall, you'll want to drive up to the Keweenaw for the fall colors. Just make sure you watch the local color reports, because they happen earlier than usual for the rest of the state. On the way from Marquette there's a very nice waterfall south of L'anse called Canyon Falls. It doesn't look like anything from the road (just a parking lot and some outhouses), but after about a 15 minute walk there's a beautiful waterfall falling between a couple of shear cliffs. Between L'anse and Baraga there's a statue commemorating Bishop Baraga, one of the early European explorers. But I don't know if this is still open.

If you do make it to the Keweenaw, it's packed with waterfalls, beaches (stop and look for agates), little tourist towns. Drive up Brockway Mountain drive to see the colors from high. Check your brakes first, the road can be a little steep. Copper Harbor has a historical fort. In Hancock you can stop at Quincy Mine and take a tram down the hill and visit an old copper mine. I think they moved the rock museum here too, it used to be on campus (MTU) in Houghton.

There's an iron mine in Iron Mountain you can tour. I'm not really that familiar with this part of the UP, so I don't remember much else in this area.

I'm sure there's lots I'm forgetting about, and a lot that wouldn't be interesting except for someone who lived there and saw all the sights. Sorry, I kind of jumped around in location.

Oh, on Lake Michigan there's an old smelting town name Fayette that you can walk around.