If you stay in Munising, you are right next to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, at National Park and one of the most beautiful places on earth, IMHO! Tons to see and do there. Highlights include Twelve Mile Beach, Munising Falls, Miner's Castle, and Grand Sable Dunes and Sable Falls. If you have more time, the ferry ride along the coast would be fun. I've mostly camped when I've been there and traveled the backcountry, but I did go skiing there once and stayed in a cute little mom and pop place, but it was by no means fancy. I'll see if I can find the info about it. But there are loads and loads of nice places to stay around there in the summer. Almost can't go wrong.

Marquette is nice too. I was only there briefly. Again, was in the summer so we were camping. Climed Sugarloaf Mountain for a great view of Lake Superior. There are probably great places to eat in Marquette, but we were eating my cooking out of my cooler and on a camp stove.

Another option along your route is staying in Ontonogan and visiting Porcupine Mountains State Park. I've only visited the backcountry there, and had lunch in a diner in Ontonogan. It's not much of a "destination" kind of town per se, but it is fun to say you've been to Ontonogan!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

OK a couple of other things now that my memory is jogged (I haven't been to some of these places in over 20 years!). If you do swing by Ontanogan, then you could maybe go see Lake of the Clouds, in the Porcupine Mountains. That state park is not much for "drive up" sights though. Lake of the Clouds is pretty, but you actually can't see it that well from the parking area. The view is nice, without a doubt though.

Another nice little town "up north" is L'Anse. Nothing particularly scenic there, just a cute little town which is the gateway to the Keewenaw Penninsula. The UP has some great diners, and they are known for their baked goods, pancakes and other starchy lumberjack favorites. I think I read a long while back in "Midwest Living" magazine that the UP restaurants are famous for their cinnamon rolls. Anything to draw in the tourists I guess. But I will never complain about cinnamon rolls. Better than fudge, IMHO, which is a "must miss." You can Google L'Anse upper penninsula tourist and get some info on it before deciding whether to stop or not.

Marquette is really the big tourist town, but I just don't know very much about it since whenever I've been up around there I've been camping and hiking or skiing, and was mostly "off road." Marquette has a beautiful waterfront area if I'm remembering it correctly.

If you stay in Marquette, try to visit the courthouse if it's open. Robert Travers was the Marquette county Prosecutor and wrote "Anatomy of a Murder" which was filmed there in 1959.

Of course "Somewhere in Time" with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour was filmed at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, as was "This time for Keeps" in 1947. The pool was built especially for Esther Williams in that movie. Presidents Clinton, Ford, Kennedy, Bush and maybe Truman stayed there and they have the "world's longest front porch". LOL

Tahquamenon Falls in the U.P was always a favorite visit for the girls and WonderWeiner, who loved the rowboat trip across the lake to the smaller falls.

Munising is a good place to stay to do the Pictured Rocks tour, and they're also close to Christmas, if you're into that kind of thing. You can also visit Hell and Paradise in the same day in the U.P. (grin) There are casinos there somewhere too...

If you get to the western/northern end, there are moose, so watch for them, as well as bears, elk, wolves and other (more common) wildlife.

Seney has the National Wildlife Preserve and Whitefish Point has the Maritime Museum, withartifacts from the Edmund Fitzgerald including the ship's bell. Not much swimming, Superior is cold, even in the summer before the "Witch of November" comes.

Oh, and don't forget to get a pasty and some Lake Superior or Lake Michigan whitefish. Yum, the cold northern waters keeps the fish mild and good.

Annie

Oh, and I might add that the lodging in the U.P. can be few and far between, many areas are very sparsely populated with long distances between settlements. We did stay at the Comfort Inn in Munising, because they would allow the WonderWeiner to stay there. He growled every morning at the big stuffed bear they had standing in the lobby, LOL, and the clerks just cracked up at the WeinerDog willing to take on a full grown bear.

Annie

Thanks so much guys. This gives me a good start to planning and some googling to do. Thanks for the link, lpink.

I must admit the many times we have been thru Michigan we have never had a pastie! this time for sure.

janet

Pasties are OK, but do NOT miss the whitefish or Lake trout. I think I have stayed in that same Comfort Inn in Munising Annie, lol!

The secret to enjoying a swim in Lake Superior is to somehow manage to stay in the water long enough for your whole body to go numb. After that it is very enjoyable! Takes about 10 min. It's very fun to be standing in four feet of water and still being able to see your feet and count all your toes. You can drink it more or less if you want to live on the wild side. A well named Lake! One of the great wonders of the world.

LOL, lpink, I remember swimming in Lake Superior and feeling my skin tingle from the cold, but I think not many who are not native Michiganders are going to like it. You are right, though, Superior is aptly named.

I also enjoyed a ride in a "glass bottomed boat" to see the shipwrecks off WhiteFish Point. Superior is so clear and clean that you can see a long way down, usually 30 to 50 feet.

Because of some violent storms, as described by "Up North":

"Raging northwest winds, building up over 160 miles of open water, create waves of unbelievable proportions. These violent storms and wild waters erupt with a suddenness that often catch sailors unprepared. The mountainous waves strike harder and more often than any ocean wave. The waves come roaring in from two or three different directions, ricocheting off the shores and returning with even more intensity. These monstrous storms, of hurricane force and duration, strike with all the ferocity and brutality of any ocean storm."

Those storms mostly come in the winter, but summer storms are not uncommon and they are amazing to see when The Lakes are angry. They do demand respect, though, as many "sailors" shrug off a Great Lakes storm, saying they have weathered storms at sea. If they survive, they find that the Great Lakes, especially icy Superior, are unforgiving and that there is no time for a boat to recover its bearing between waves.

The end result of those storms and some complacency is an 80 mile stretch of Superior's coastline from Grand Marais to WhiteFish Point called "Shipwreck Coast" or "the Graveyard of the Great Lakes" The wrecks have been preserved as an underwater historical site, including the 2007 discovery of the Cyprus which sank over 100 years ago, in 1907. More than 4700 ships have sunk in the Great Lakes, so there are several you can see.

Oh, and if Chance goes in very deeply, be careful of rip currents, which we call "undertow". Not so likely that she'll go deeply enough into the cold water to find one, LOL, but be careful.

Oh, and if you go to Tahquemenon, be sure to take a pocket full of crackers or popcorn, the chipmunks are so accustomed to being fed that they'll mug you on the sidewalks and take treats from your fingers. Don't let Chance put down an empty hand, they'll nibble a finger with no treat....

Annie

Oh, it's been years since Tim and I "did" the UP, but I do remember Mackinac, the Grand Hotel, Tahquamenon Falls, the Porcupine Mountains, Lake of the Clouds, the Calumet Theater, Munising, Marquette, Copper Harbor... All wonderful!

We followed the South Shore of Lake Superior all the way home and stopped anywhere we thought looked interesting. (We stopped alot! LOL)

Of course, if you have time, make sure to visit Bayfield, Wisconsin and Madeleine Island, too!

Sounds like a great trip, make sure to take (and post) lots of pictures!

Linda