Whitefish point, MI parking

Travelnutz your Michigan posts are a wealth of information and experience. We are not retired and only had 10 days. We could have stayed at one location but we like to see a lot. I picked 3 places. Very hard decision! Pictured Rocks, Whitefish Point/Tahquemenon Falls, Sleeping Bear Dunes. I was watching reports for possible northern lights on 7/23 but it was cloudy. I haven't seen anything online about it since. It was cool everywhere. The D.H. Day barn was a nice surprise to see from Pierce Stocking drive then we drove past it going to Glen Arbor. I was reading about it. Got a great picture that I am going to frame. We live in the country and love barns. We will be back some day. You are blessed to live amongst all that beauty.
Marcia

Well, maybe you'll have to come back again! So much to do and see in the U.P. This year the U.P. has been drenched with rain and very heavy rains which is abnormal. At the same time in the Lower Peninsula we have had drought conditions all summer long which is also abnormal! Can't win!

Our normal here in West Michigan where we have lived on the shores of Lake Michigan west of Grand Rapids for over 76 years is some rain every 5-7 days in summer and fall and sunny with daily highs of 80 average and 60 for the average lows with daily breezes coming from the west off 100 mile wide Lake Michigan. The U.P. temps are on average 5 degrees lower.

No clay soil here as it's very sandy with sand dunes and gobs of lakes and rivers. Over 11,000 inland lakes in Michigan and doesn't even include the vast 4 of the 5 Great Lakes that border on the state. A huge vacationland and playland continous upbeat resort type living heaven for great living, raising a family, camping, fishing, and boating and with true 4 seasons and why we will always live here!

We didn't get a chance to go in the brewery. We were only there one night.

Glad it worked out for you and enjoyed your visit and time there. We love the Portage CG in Tahquamenon Falls State Park but we are usually there in the fall nowadays because we can go anytime being long retired. We don't want to use a very busy summer CG site that the working people/families who usually only have a week or two vacation need during the summer months. Did they have the peach or blueberry ale at the upper falls micro brewery when you were there?

We are back from our trip. We arrived in early afternoon. The RV lot was full of cars. Luckily a truck and trailer left so we parked heading out. We enjoyed our visit. We camped at Tahquemenon Falls lower portage camp.

Travelnutz, thanks for your info. We will be there late July. I booked a site at the falls. The blueberry and peach ale sound good.

I need to add that over the July 4th and Labor Day holiday weekend you are very likely to see all the parking areas at Whitefish Point full to overflowing. Thus, you may have to walk a ways from your vehicle unless you get there as soon as the museum opens for the day. Memorial Day weekend is iffy for being full but it can be as it depends on the weather and temps. After Labor Day, there's virtually always enough room to park in one of the lots and the U.P. very popular with the retired and disabled in mid Sept to mid October as it's ablaze with colored leaves time and we are always there too!

Lots of parking available in large lots at both the Upper Falls and Lower Falls. The special craft brewery at the upper falls to the left when you enter the restaurant makes their outstanding ales right there from the local wild fruit etc that grows in the 50,000 acre state park. Their blueberry amber is incredible but about only available in late July to mid August and followed by their wild peach. Always 4-6 light and dark brews are served at the bars an in the restaurant also which has very good food and not an arm and a leg priced. We buy 1-2 half gallons takeout as we kept the half gallon glass jugs we got there many years ago. We clean and sterilize them and take them along. No preservatives at all so it must be kept COLD! Last I noticed, they still have the glass jugs they sell for filling.

Yup, one of our favorite places for RV'ing yearly for 10 days to 2 weeks for over 50 years now.

We have been there more than a dozens of times and again last fall too and parking with an RV have never seen a problem during the weekdays and seldom on weekends either as there's plenty of room in the RV lot about a block distance south of the museum entrance. We always stay at one of the 3 State Park Campgrounds when there. 2 right at Tahquamenon lower falls and/or the one at the Tahquamenon River Mouth. All 3 have 30 amp and some sites have 50 amp, plenty of handicapped sites as my wife is disabled and know, a dump station with good water, and very good to excellent bath houses/showers. Gobs of big rigs constantly in all 3.

Been going up there for 55 years now (53 with an RV from very big to small) in summer and fall and there's a lot of private CG also in the area south of Paradise and also west of the falls near Newberry and south of Newberry. Fuel and reasonable choice groceries available at Paradise along with restaurants. Fuel and some groceries just east of the Lower Falls entrance 1/2 mile or less. Plenty of full choice of groceries, auto/hardware store needs, restaurants, with lots of big rig free parking areas at Newberry. The entire U.P. is great and very RV friendly!

We really can't adjust our visit timing. So we will enjoy our time there no matter what! Be prepared with have a plan B.and hope there aren't too many tour buses on a Tuesday!

We were just there last September, definitely call ahead for parking . There is limited space for RV parking but as others have stated, get there early and turned around and you shouldn't have any issues. We saw a huge tour bus in there while we were there too so there is some room.

Last fall was our second time there, very cool place to visit! They're working on even more exhibits. Enjoy

Dan