Michigan/Wisconsin/Minnesota best time

How are the WI SPs on the way to the UP that time of the year? Open on the same time frame? And are the crowd about the same?

State parks in MI should not need reservations in May. Same for private parks. Some of the UP may not open until mid May so watch for that. Get to the Memorial Day weekend and most of the parks will fill for the weekend and then empty on Tuesday.

TyroneandGladys wrote:
Thinking of starting in upper Minnesota working over and down Michigan then midway up Wisconsin then heading west across Wisconsin then heading South.

Like the OP we are also thinking about such a trip. Being from St. Louis, we'd like to travel up thru Wisconsin, the Straights and down thru Michigan taking many stops, before returning to StL. We were looking at a 2+/- week trip about mid to late May. But as many, not fond of bugs nor cold. With all these crazy weather patterns it is a******shoot, but generally this does sound workable? Drove thru the Straights in 1969 upon my return home from the service with my fiancee (DW now) and would like to revisit and explore some on Michigan's, and especially the UP, State/COE Parks. Are reservations recommended for the state/COE parks that time of the year? (these are our preferences). And is fresh fish seasonal or readily available? One park better than another?
Sorry to hijack a post, but really interested and didn't want to double post.
thanks

Thinking of starting in upper Minnesota working over and down Michigan then midway up Wisconsin then heading west across Wisconsin then heading South.

michigansandzilla wrote:
September

I agree, school is started so less crowds, bugs are less of a problem, especially mosquitoes, and it is just a pretty time of year, yet still warm enough to enjoy.

LOL not today lots of snow and very cold 23 right now outside

To the OP, do you know what part of Michigan? As someone pointed out, Michigan is huge and the weather varies greatly. The Upper Peninsula is beyond awesome. We've camped at Muskallonge Lake State Park on July 4 week for the past five or six summers. Windy, so bugs haven't been a problem. Temps have varied from the 60s to 80s during the day ... On the same week.
This past summer was the first time we saw black flies and it was only when we were on Lake Superior across the street and only when the wind died down.
Hope you have an awesome trip!

Forgot to add one thing. My son is from Gilbert area and usually runs 6 miles a day. While visiting he could not even run 2 due to the higher humidity that HE THOUGHT was very HOT. It was more humid than hot so tatest is right, it is more important what you are used to than the actual temperature.

I'm going disc golfing right now and I consider the temp alright, 40 degrees is not unbearable. My son would not like it.

Look at the advice from people who actually live in those states.
In the northern parts of those states, the skeeters and especially the black flies will be pretty bad in June and July. They begin thinning out in August, depending on the weather. If summer is dryer, they may be gone, if wet they continue to hatch out. By September, most skeeters are gone, as are many campers when kids are back in school. September is our favorite time to camp. Weather is still nice, but on the cool side.

Being from AZ, it is not clear what you consider "hot". In northern parts of these states, it rarely gets in the 90's, and much of the summer is in the mid-70's to low80's. But quite a bit warmer in the southern parts of these states.

We camp from May through October, but use lots of DEET in June and July, and lots of clothes in October. Aim for Late August through September and you'll avoid bugs and crowds. Bonus of being here during fall color season, which is gorgeous in the upper Lake States.

Depends on just where, because there is almost a month difference in change of season, southern Michigan and Minnesota vs central Minnesota and Wisconsin, Northern Michigan and Northern Minnesota.

Bugs are a Spring and early Summer problem in the North Woods, often gone by late August. But the temperature in the U.P. and Northern Minnesota can also get pretty cool that early. So I would say mid August to early September for the far North, though I've been there that early to find it cold and wet. It can snow up there before October.

Further south, beginning of September to end of October, I've been in southern Michigan when it was warm going to cool, which was my experience the 25 years I lived there. But this year, we had snow before Halloween in southern Michigan, snow mid October in the northern L.P., and ice on the surface of the lake behind my sister's house morning of our mother's funeral, Nov 1st.

It is very seldom unbearably hot in the northern forested parts of those states, altough the southern parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin can be just as hot in Summer as Iowa and Illinois, right across the state line.

Spring is nice in all three states, in urban and rural areas, though in the forest Spring is defined as when the bugs come out. Beaches, however, are often not warm enough for swimming until Summer.

Pinning Spring down to the calendar can be difficult, usually starting mid-March to April in Southern Michigan, and well into Spring by end of May in the northern L.P., and about June in the U.P. But I've lately had glorious warm days end of April around Mackinac, and snow all through March in Battle Creek.

They call Summer "hot" up there when temperatures get into their 80s, 90s are rare except on the prairie. So the reputation for hot summers might be because someone has a different perception. Oklahoma and Kansas, I am accustomed to the idea that 80s are a nice cool Summer day, over my body temperature is hot.