Surprise! Five Things Your Family Should Know Before You Travel to Northern Michigan

Before you travel to Northern Michigan, there are a few things your family should know. Our family recently had the good fortune to spend 22 days in Northern Michigan. We explored the Sleeping Bear Dune National Lakeshore and Mackinaw City areas in lower Michigan as well as Newberry/Tahquamenon Falls/Whitefish Point, Grand Marais/Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Porcupine Mountains, Keweenaw Peninsula and Manistique in the Upper Peninsula. Although we live in Northern Kentucky and have traveled to nearly 40 states in the last four years, we had somehow managed to avoid Michigan.

We, honestly, had no idea what to expect and, frankly, did not really know much about the state. Although I tend to be an avid planner (and I did plan the route and campgrounds), I only made a general outline of what we might want to see along the way. Instead, we chose to stay flexible and played a lot of our days by ear. Here are the top five things we learned in our visit and what you should know before you travel to Northern Michigan:

Holy Water!

Everywhere we turned, we found ourselves mesmerized by the Caribbean-esque colored lakes in Michigan. Nearly every day, we were awe struck by how clearly you could see the bottoms of the lakes – both the big lakes and small ones too. No matter where we went, a creek, stream, river, or lake seemed to be close by. For us Kentuckians, they were about as beautiful as they were cold, and there was only a small contingency of our family that dared their bone-chilling waters on any given day. Nonetheless, it is abundantly clear how appropriate the tagline “Pure Michigan” truly is when you stare into these gorgeous bodies of water.

Roadside Stands Abound

This was one of the most pleasant surprises we had on this trip. It seemed that nearly everywhere we explored in northern Michigan, we found various roadside stands. Near Sleeping Bear Dunes, we saw numerous stands selling fresh cherries and blueberries. Some even sold beef and eggs. We even stumbled upon one that had muffins and coffee. Many stands sold bundles of firewood. In the U.P., stands sold thimbleberries, jams, and other berries. And a lot of firewood there too.

The great thing about these stands is that they are self-service, so there are not true hours, especially with the firewood, which is largely available 24/7. They generally have coffee cans or something similar. You get what you want. You put your cash in the can or box. That’s it. The simplicity of it was fantastic! We did not prepare for this, and honestly never seemed to have enough cash to enjoy these stands as much as we would have liked. Make sure to carry plenty of cash, because these stands are a true treasure!

Waterfalls, Lighthouses, Berries…Oh My!

I slacked a bit on my research of Michigan for this trip, so it caught me somewhat off guard with how many waterfalls and lighthouses there truly are. There are over 300 waterfalls and 129 lighthouses in the state. It was nearly impossible not to see and compare the various lighthouses as we traveled throughout northern Michigan. We’ve never been lighthouse chasers previously. But everywhere you go, you see lighthouses, and we couldn’t help but get caught up in their history and architecture. Our favorite was Crisp Lighthouse. First, the drive there is not for the faint-hearted. It is over 18 miles of unpaved roads. But it is a gorgeous drive with ever-changing landscapes.

And the waterfalls! It sometimes felt like they were around every turn. Some were big. Others were smaller. And some weren’t flowing at all. Some you could drive right up to while others required hiking. There were some you could play in, and others you couldn’t. There were so many! Our absolute favorite one from the entire trip is Bond Falls. Absolutely stunning! It did not require a long hike. There are boardwalks to get around it. You can get into the water (if you can handle the chilly water). We loved everything about it!

The best surprise we had, particularly for the kids, was the wild berry picking all throughout the Upper Peninsula. We did not realize that this was an option until we were halfway through our trip. A ranger at the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park first introduced us to thimbleberries, and we were immediately hooked! They look a little like a shorter, wider raspberry and taste somewhat similar, but they are tarter. We found them in the state park campground and along several trails. We even found them growing near a bakery.

Then, we learned that wild blueberries, raspberries, and huckleberries were also in season. Nearly every hike, we found at least one type of berry, if not several. You just need to make sure you know exactly what the berries and their plants look like. There are also many berries along those same trails that are not edible. The park rangers were great at helping to educate us. And berry picking while hiking became one of our favorite activities in the U.P. We highly recommend it if you are there while they are in season. Before you travel to Northern Michigan, research what is in season and know what it looks like so you can safely identify it.

Can You Hear Me Now?

We have traveled to what we thought were some remote parts of the country over the last several years. And there have absolutely been times where we had sketchy cell service. But we have never experienced the feeling of truly being “off-the-grid” for long stretches of time as we did in the U.P. There was a stretch of 9 or 10 days where we had essentially no cell service 98% of the time. Occasionally, my phone would blow up with a backlog of texts and messages because, for a moment, I would get service. But it was fleeting, and usually before I could even respond, I was back to zero bars.

We do not include this to be critical in any way of the U.P. It was quite nice to be unplugged for so long. However, when you are not prepared for it, it does create some obstacles. As I mentioned previously, I had not created a strong itinerary for the trip – other than where we would be staying. I intended to put together more day-to-day plans as we went. However, without being able to do much mobile research once there, I had to be a bit more creative in planning out our days. We used paper maps. We asked rangers and locals. It felt a bit like traveling in the 90s and early 2000s. Our kids even commented that they appreciated that they didn’t feel like they needed to be tied to their phones.

Ultimately, I think this was a surprising benefit to the U.P.; however, I do wish I had been more prepared. Also, we have Verizon, so perhaps it would be a bit better with other carriers. I honestly don’t know, but I would certainly recommend to others to assume you could go days without service. Before you travel to Northern Michigan, do your research on what you want to do in the area. Buy tickets or make reservations for tours ahead of time. Mostly, enjoy the cyber silence!

Bugs in the UP Laugh at Bug Repellent.

Can I start off by asking why mosquitos even exist? They are tiny, blood sucking, fun killing, spawns of the devil. I had read that the mosquitos and black flies in the UP could be problematic. Before we left, I stocked up on Thermacell refills for three different Thermacells. I bought multiple cans of bug spray and citronella candles. I truly thought I was prepared on this one. The first night that we saw mosquitos, I pulled out the Thermacells. At one point, I even held one, and the mosquitos continued to swarm – even flying between me and the Thermacell in my hand. It’s as if they saw this mosquito repellent in my hand and wanted to make sure I heard them saying “aw, well isn’t that cute”!

The only thing that seemed to help at all was the 100% DEET bug spray, and even that was hit or miss. I hate bug spray. The way it feels on your skin. The way it seems to get on everything, including your fingers, and as soon as you take a bite of something, it ends up in your mouth. I avoid it if possible. I can tell you that I did not find it possible in the U.P. Take the heavy-duty bug spray. Use the heavy-duty bug spray. And use it often!

We fell in love with Michigan and cannot wait to go back. After traveling pretty far distances and being blown away by places like the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Yellowstone, we never dreamed that we could find such beauty so relatively close to us. Michigan took us by surprise in so many ways. Hopefully, know these things will make your travel to Northern Michigan even more amazing! What has surprised you in your travels? Leave a comment with your experiences below. If you’d like to follow along with more of our Michigan adventure, click here. To read about our other adventures, click here.