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agesilaus's avatar
agesilaus
Explorer III
Oct 23, 2018

Summer tip up thru MI, WI and Mn

I am thinking about a summer trip up to Wisconsin, Minnesota and maybe the Upper Peninsula. The UP part is in doubt because of the black and sand fly infestation. My wife has a clear memory of the other time we were up there and it isn't a pleasant memory.

We are not urban types and prefer parks and national forests. We'd like to boondock at least 50% of the time. So I'm looking for suggestions of places to camp and visit. We do moderate amounts of hiking and walking but no 10 mile trips.

We will probably proceed west on Hwy 2 when we are done. Time frame is early June for several weeks anyway, we have all summer so no time pressure.

I did post this on the boondocking forum 2 days ago, but got no responsive replies.

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  • BarabooBob's avatar
    BarabooBob
    Explorer III
    Oct 24, 2018
    There are a lot of waterfalls in northern WI, MI, and MN. Google the waterfalls. M wife and I spend a week hiking most of the falls and had a great time. Early summer has black flies no matter where you go in the upper midwest.
  • Parrothead_Mike's avatar
    Parrothead_Mike
    Explorer
    Oct 24, 2018
    Let me throw in the western U.P. and the Porcupine Mountains State Park. It's the largest state park in Michigan and is quite beautiful. I would suggest camping in the rustic campground at the south end of the park along the Presque Isle River. There is no electricity, but there are some excellent hiking trails along both sides of the river and you can easily access the trails right from the campground.

    I've lived in the U.P. for a while about 30 years ago and the bugs are usually bad in the spring and early summer.
  • robbiesgram's avatar
    robbiesgram
    Explorer
    Oct 23, 2018
    WI and MN travel along Lake Superior from the UP to Bayfield and Red Cliff, take the ferry to Madeline Island, take a glass bottom boat tour of the Apostle Islands. Continue on to Cornucopia & Port Wing then on to Superior and Duluth. There are several Great Lakes museums to tour, continue on Hiway 61 to the Canadian border, Superior Hiking trail and many state parks on the MN side. You could spend weeks on this route and not see or hike all of the sights.
    As suggested in an earlier post, request information from the states, you will get a lot.
  • Old_Days's avatar
    Old_Days
    Explorer II
    Oct 23, 2018
    In Wisconsin if you camp along lake Michigan it will be cooler with less bugs.
  • drsteve's avatar
    drsteve
    Explorer
    Oct 23, 2018
    In the spring, anywhere in the north woods is likely to be overrun with bugs. As mentioned, when you get into August, the heavy infestations are behind you.
  • jplante4's avatar
    jplante4
    Explorer II
    Oct 23, 2018
    We did the UP and WI and out US2 as far as Williston ND. Plenty of state parks along the way. We were there in August and didn't see any black flies at all. ND state parks are well maintained and relatively cheap. Check out Lewis and Clark and Graham's Island.
  • Dick_B's avatar
    Dick_B
    Explorer
    Oct 23, 2018
    Do a Google search for `______ tourism' and put the State, City, or area in the blank space and read what the specialists recommend. We have plans for two weeks in Door County, WI next August one of our favorite places to ride our bicycles.

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