Michigan Fall Color Tours - Upper Peninsula, Michigan

by Penelope SanMateo

The colors in the Upper Peninsula in the fall will be well worth the trip to see. There are nine different areas that are suggested. The first is a trip of 105 miles from Hancock to Lake Linden, on to Lac La Belle, Bete Grise and then to Copper Harbor. Leave Copper Harbor and go to Eagle River and on to Calument and Laurium and back to Hancock. The route covers Mackinac County with the peak color expected in mid-October, Chippewa County with the peak color expected the first two weeks of October, Luce County with peak color expected the first two weeks of October and Schoolcraft County with the peak color also being the first two weeks in October. This is called the Eastern Upper Peninsula tour.

The Central Upper Peninsula tour goes from highway 107 to 64 at Silver City, on to Ontonagon, then hwy 45 to Rockland and Victoria where you backtrack to highway 26 and go to Greenland. You split at Greenland and take highway 38 to Baraga then hwy 41 to Chassel and Houghton where you take highway 26 to Twin Lakes and back to Greenland. This tour is 200 miles and covers Delta County where the peak will be around the second week in October, Monominee County where the peak will be the first or second week in October, Dickinson County with peak being the first week in October, Marquette County with the first week in October being peak and Alger County where peak will be the last week in September to the first week in October.

The Western Upper Peninsula takes highway 2 from Ironwood and Wakefield to Watersmeet, Iron River, Crystal Falls where you go on highway 141 to Covington then highway 28 to Bruce Crossing and back to Wakefield. This trip is 220 miles. Counties included are Iron with peak color the last week of September and the first week in October, Baraga with peak being the first week in October, Houghton & Keweenaw with the last week in September or first week in October and Gogebic and Ontonagon with peak color expected the last week in September and the first week in October.

The fourth option is to start in Ishpeming on highway 29, go to highway 510 to Nagaunee and Big Bay, then 550 to Marquette and 28 to Munising, where you can take highway H 58 to H 15 to Singleton and highway 28 to Highway 94 to Chatham, Gwinn and then 35 to Palmer and back to Ishpeming. This trip is 165 miles.

Tour 5 is a little shorter beginning at Iron Mountain and Norway on Hwy 2 to Spalding, hwy 41 to Menominee and Hwy 35 to Cedar River and Escanaba. This is 125 miles long.

Now on to tour 6 which is from Esdanaba on highways 2 and 41 to Rapid River. Turn onto highway 2 and go to Manstique and Saint Ignace. Although this tour is 183 miles it runs quite straight along the bottom area of the peninsula.

Try tour 7 which starts at Whitefish Point and goes on to Paradise on hwy 123. Newberry is next on highway 28. Now go to Seney and take hwy 77 to grand Marais and H58 to Deer Park and back to highway 123 and Paradise. This route is 150 miles in length.

If you thought you had taken all the tours of this area you are wrong, there are two more stunning experiences for you to enjoy. Tour 8 starts at Saint Ingace on hwy 75 and toes to Kincheloe and Sault St. Marie. Now head south to highway 129 and Pickford to highway 48 for a visit to Goetzville and De Tour Village where you will get on 134 to Cedarville and then back to Saint Ignace. Another trip of 150 miles.

The ninth tour opportunity is off hwy 28 where you go to highway 123 and enter Eckerman. Following 123 north you will go to Paradise and then back to the intersection where you turn east toward Curley Lewis Scenic Hwy and follow that to Bay Mills and Brimley. This is the shortest route suggested for the fall viewing of just 90 miles.

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