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Here’s Why Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Is the Outdoor Hub of the Midwest
From waterfalls to single tracks, unlikely adventure abounds in the Upper Peninsula.
“Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has always been a mini-Alaska to me,” said longtime resident Aaron Peterson, an adventure photographer and founder of the thriving Fresh Coast Film Festival, now in its third year. “The U.P. is known for big snows flowing from an inland sea and a funky, live-and-let-live culture that make it the weirdest and wildest place in the Midwest — I'm proud to call it home.”
Access to pristine nature makes it an adventurer’s playground — and the perfect spot for the burly Red Bull 400 coming May 12, 2018, to Copper Peak in Ironwood, Michigan. Competitors basically run 400 meters uphill on the historic ski jump for the ultimate endurance test.
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Red Bull 400 Trailer
A preview of the Red Bull 400 event at Copper Peak in Ironwood, Michigan.
Whether busting a lung up a ski jump is your jam or not, there are plenty of adventures to be had in this Midwestern Great Lake oasis for hikers, bikers, runners and skiers. In Ironwood itself, see the home of the iconic Stormy Kormer cap, proudly made in the U.S.A. since 1903, on a factory tour. Or take a hiking and rappelling tour of an old mine an hour and a half outside of town. With the Red Bull 400 right around the corner, we tapped Peterson gives us a few local recommendations out and about on the U.P.
Ride with brethren in Copper Harbor
Copper Harbor on the Keweenaw Peninsula has world-class single track riding
© Aaron Peterson
Mountain bikers look no further. The town of Copper Harbor on the Keweenaw Peninsula has world-class single track and a community completely built around a love of the sport. The Copper Harbor Trail System, rated a silver-level ride center by the International Mountain Biking Association, contains some of the most challenging terrain in the United States, earning it the nickname “the BC of the Midwest.” These human-powered, non-motorized trails traverse rolling ridges, steep climbs, technical descents, and berms — all surrounded by old-growth forests, pristine lakes and streams and the rugged Lake Superior shoreline.
“Copper Harbor was the first place in the Midwest to embrace mountain biking and the North Shore style of riding,” Peterson said. “It’s a huge scene. If you’re a mountain biker, you’ll be among your brethren.”
Drive or hike to an inland ocean
Black River Harbor seems like an ocean, but it's a lake
© Aaron Peterson
Get a taste of the untouched natural beauty of the Upper Peninsula on this 11-mile drive or hike tracing the Black River to Lake Superior. If you drive it via the Black River Scenic Byway, be sure to get out of the car to scramble into gorges for views of waterfalls as the river drops through pines, hemlocks, hardwoods and wildflowers on its way to the lake. A stretch of the North Country Trail, a 4,600-mile megatrail traversing New York to North Dakota, also undulates along the river here. Arrival at Black River Harbor, one of only two harbors in the National Forest System, doesn’t disappoint.
“There are never more than 10 to 15 people on the beach that goes on forever,” Peterson said. “It just feels big, like no man’s land. The quiet pushes into your ears.”
Hike or trail run in the Porkies
Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park's Lake of the Clouds
© Aaron Peterson
Hikers take their pick among nearly 90 miles of trails in Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park. Try the Escarpment Trail, 4.4 miles of moderate hiking one way. The trail follows a high rocky bluff that provides multiple views overlooking the Instagram favorite, Lake of the Clouds, a gorgeous sapphire gem in the forest.
“Though the trail is only 700 to 800 feet above sea level, it feels like an alpine ridge in the West,” Peterson said. “The trees are stunted, there are small flowers and blueberries and at sunrise or sunset, it’s a pretty incredible trail run."
For an easy hike with big payoff, try the 2.3-mile Presque Isle River Waterfall Loop to see three waterfalls: Nawadaha Falls, Manido Falls and Manabezho Falls.
Backpack Isle Royale National Park
Isle Royale National Park offers stellar backpacking on Lake Superior
© Aaron Peterson
To feel really out there, go backpacking on Isle Royale National Park. Located in the largest freshwater lake in the world (Superior, of course), the park is composed of a 50-mile island surrounded by 450 barrier islands. It was designated a National Wilderness Area in 1976 and an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980. To get here, you must travel by boat, ferry or seaplane.
“When land vanishes over the horizon and stays hidden for two hours during the ferry ride to Isle Royale, you really start to understand how big Lake Superior is,” Peterson said.
Needless to say, it feels like it’s just you, your friends and the wildlife, which includes the wolves and moose in the world’s longest-running predator-prey study. Eleven thousand years ago the island was covered in two miles of ice, which carved the dramatic topography. Follow the 40-mile Greenstone Ridge Trail, which forms the backbone of the island, to for epic views of what the ice left behind.
You can also scuba dive among shipwrecks preserved on the cold lake waters.
Adventure Hub: Marquette
A jump off the Black Rocks granite cliffs is a U.P. rite of passage
© Aaron Peterson
Situated on the southern shores of Lake Superior, Marquette is the largest city and adventure capital of the Upper Peninsula.
“Marquette is an up-and-coming outdoor town that is changing the way people think about the Midwest,” said Peterson, who calls this town home. “It's a university town and hub of independent creatives who love winter, access to trails, and the moody inland sea of Lake Superior.” Though there are only 20,000 residents, there are four bike shops, six breweries, six coffee shops and a regional symphony.
Marquette is known for its for paddling, running, climbing and a hundred miles of dialed mountain biking trails. Climb Sugarloaf Mountain for grand views over the Acadia-esque coast of Lake Superior — the peak is located just five miles north of town. Hit singletrack on the Noquemanon Trail Network South Trails — Gorgeous Trail and Carpe Diem follow the Carp River past waterfalls and under old-growth hemlock and pine. Or hike to the tip of Presque Isle Park to jump off the Black Rocks granite cliffs into a freezing lake as a rite of passage.
Wintertime bonus: Ski Japan in the U.P.
Mount Bohemia is 100 percent ungroomed ski resort with 900 feet of vertical
© Aaron Peterson
Most people out West or East fail to appreciate the Michiganders' love for skiing, which is just fine by them. In the U.P., it just means they get all the Superior lake effect snow to themselves. Nordic ski tour on 1,100 acres of varied terrain at ABR Nordic Track, one of best in cross-country skiing spots in Midwest. The U.P. has ten downhill ski resorts, but nothing is quite like Mount Bohemia. This legendary, 100 percent ungroomed ski resort makes the most out of its 900 feet of vertical with gladded terrain and lots of legit cliff drops.
“Boho actually looks like skiing in Japan with all the maple trees and the lake effect snow,” Peterson said. “You have to be on your game or you’ll end up in the timber.”
