U/P Michigan or Minnesota?

[Paul1944]

Hi All, my lovely bride and I want to take a two week trip up north in August to get away from the mid-west heat. We're thinking about the U/P of Michigan or someplace in Minnesota but have been to neither one so we're looking for suggestions on where to stay. We don't require lots of activities, we just enjoy visiting our camping neighbors and going out to eat and generally unwinding. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[FoCoNoCo]

Allworth wrote:
The UP.

There are city run FHU parks at Munising (sp?) for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and at Houghton for Copper Country.

At Munising the rear of the fiver was hanging out over the Lake Superior beach with glorious sunsets.

At Houghton you are on a bluff overlooking the boat traffic in the Portage Canal.

Lots of other neat places (The Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point? Gordon Lightfoot, anyone??) but those two stand out.

Don't forget the Valley Camp museum ship at Sault Saint Marie (MI, not ON) that has one of the Edmund Fitzgerald's lifeboats and life jackets as well - if you're interested in ships and shipwrecks like I am.


As to the original question - "Say Yah to da UP, eh?"

[C_Schomer]

We camped in Mn a couple of nights and then in the UP for a couple more. I can tell you, the UP mosquitoes made the Mn mosquitoes look like vegetarians! Craig

[bhh]

+1 My oldest daughter lives in Hancock-Houghton in the Keweenaw. I always tell people that it's "in the middle of Lake Superior." We were there the last week of May and it was high in the lower 60s. Still large (ice) floes on Lake Superior when we drove in. After a couple of trips for Thanksgiving, my wife says she'll never make me drive up in the winter again.

2500HDee wrote:
If you want cooler weather and a laid back atmosphere, head up the the Keweenaw Peninsula in the UP. The entire peninsula is surrounded by Lake Superior so if you are near the water it is very comfortable in the hot part of summer. Plus the lake temp is usually in the 50s so a quick dip will cool you off ;).

Check out Ontanagon, Hougton, Hancock, Calumet and Copper Harbor. All are great little towns.

I would recommend the Porcupine Mountains State Park (right on the lake), McClain State Park (also on the water) and Fort Wilkins State Park.

If you have never been I would highly suggest seeing Lake Superior either from MI or MN or heck, head up into Ontario. There is nothing else like it in the world.

There is also some beautiful places in Northern MN. The area around Voyagers National Park is very nice too.

[2500HDee]

travelnutz wrote:
Need a passport to go into Canada now with your vehicle and if you have a pet with you, all papers for proof of required vaccinations must be with you.

If on a US based cruise, you will need a birth certificate and a government issued photo ID.

The OP lives in Missouri and it's not a state that issues an EDL (Enhanced Driver's Licence) like Michigan, New York , and Washington does for using to go into Canada.

I guess I didn't think about that because we have passports. That would be an added expense.

[GizmosMom]

The UP and ditto the Keeweenaw Peninsula

[Allworth]

The UP.

There are city run FHU parks at Munising (sp?) for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and at Houghton for Copper Country.

At Munising the rear of the fiver was hanging out over the Lake Superior beach with glorious sunsets.

At Houghton you are on a bluff overlooking the boat traffic in the Portage Canal.

Lots of other neat places (The Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point? Gordon Lightfoot, anyone??) but those two stand out.

[taddyport]

If I were you, I would head to the UP for a bit and stay along Lake Superior going through Wisconsin, there are some beautiful areas around Ashland and up around the horn, take a ferry over to the Apostle islands. If you are in Ashland, you can go about 20 miles south to Copper Falls SP, I know they have electric and non electric, not sure if they have any with water/sewer at the site but should have good clean potable water and a dump station.

happy campin'

[photonanax3]

Other than the mosquitoes, just about any state park on the N. Shore of MN will offer anything you need. It's usually cooler along the lake - even 5-10 miles in, there can be huge temperature shift. And yes, during the summer, reservations can be hard to get even during the week, but there are unreservable sites that can be had if you just show up during the week.

[mfinnerty]

In MN I'd go to a park on the North Shore along US61. In MI I'd go to the Porcupine Mountains State Park and Ft. Wilkins State Park in Copper Harbor. Probably need reservations at most parks up north before Labor Day.

[travelnutz]

Need a passport to go into Canada now with your vehicle and if you have a pet with you, all papers for proof of required vaccinations must be with you.

If on a US based cruise, you will need a birth certificate and a government issued photo ID.

The OP lives in Missouri and it's not a state that issues an EDL (Enhanced Driver's Licence) like Michigan, New York , and Washington does for using to go into Canada.

[travelnutz]

We've been RVing in the UP well over a hundred times during the last 51 years of our RVing and seldom found mosquitos to be that big of a problem in August, September, and October. May and June is early hatching on the wet areas and the worst mosquito time. July is the buffer month between.

[2500HDee]

If you want cooler weather and a laid back atmosphere, head up the the Keweenaw Peninsula in the UP. The entire peninsula is surrounded by Lake Superior so if you are near the water it is very comfortable in the hot part of summer. Plus the lake temp is usually in the 50s so a quick dip will cool you off ;).

Check out Ontanagon, Hougton, Hancock, Calumet and Copper Harbor. All are great little towns.

I would recommend the Porcupine Mountains State Park (right on the lake), McClain State Park (also on the water) and Fort Wilkins State Park.

If you have never been I would highly suggest seeing Lake Superior either from MI or MN or heck, head up into Ontario. There is nothing else like it in the world.

There is also some beautiful places in Northern MN. The area around Voyagers National Park is very nice too.

[travelnutz]

The state parks in the U.P. are very nice and you haven't mentioned what hookups are a must or what you will be camping in. For a CG, I have to assume that electric is a must and a min of clean bathouses and showers plus a dump station and having fresh good tasting water to refill your tank.

For a week stay with camping in one or any Michigan State Park, it's cheaper to buy the annual pass which is good for any of the over 100 state parks. Most state park CG's are about $22 a night for the site in the U.P. So much to do and see all over the U.P. and it will be much cooler than in MO. Bring a light jacket or a sweatshirt for at night as it can be in the upper 50's overnight and usually the mid to upper 70's and sunny during the daytime.

Tahquamenon Falls state park has 3 CG's and it's a gorgeous area. North of Tahquamenon Falls on Lake Superior is Muskallonge State park CG. Porcupine Mtns State Park is about 60,000 acres with the CG on Lake Superior. Indian Lake State Park at Manistique is real nice and there's the huge Palms Books springs a few miles away. Straits State Park at St. Ignace is great with 2 CG's and Mackinac Island and the huge bridge to the Lower Peninsula. Just a small spattering of the many state parks in the U.P. Gobs of nice CG's in the Lower Peninsula too just by crossing the 5 mile long very high bridge.

Some really like Aune Osborn CG in Sault Ste Marie, MI as it's right on the wide river next to the SOO Locks (the world's busiest locks) that has huge freighters passing close by every day.

[GordonThree]

Despite being Northerly, Michigan's UP is anything but cool in the summer time, and the mosquito's love it up there, hot, humid and lots of ground weather.

Its cold and humid right now in Northwest Lower Michigan, been that way for more than a week. Forest Festival will start in a few days, HUGE draw for tourists.

[tatest]

Having summered in the U.P. several times, and visited lakeshore Minnesota, I would say your chances of cool weather are about the same both places if you are on the Lake Superior shore, but most of the rest of Minnesota might as well be in the Dakotas or Iowa, hot continental summer climate.

That being said, one late June day when I was in Marquette it set a record as the hottest place in the U.S. that day, and the next day it was the coldest. The storm in between was really interesting and I was happy not to be camping that night.

No guarantees.