Lake Superior (Mostly)

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Table of Contents

  • 17 days
  • 2017 Fall

We’d both been to Michigan’s upper peninsula (AKA the UP) but not together, so we decided we had to go. Steve had been to the Porcupine Mountains and Pictured Rocks, two of the UP’s highlights, but I never had. And while I love Petoskey and have been there many times, and enjoyed camping at Sleeping Bear, he had never done that. So we shared with each other some of our favorite places in our home state. Any one of these destinations would be great for up to a week. Or more! They also link together nicely. This was also our first two-week camping trip with our trailer and the first since we fixed a major roof leak. So we also refined our trailer camping skills. 

Food & Beverage $52 per day

Average per day. We ate out 10 times. The other 35 meals we ate in camp.

Lodging $30 per night

Average per day. We camped in our travel trailer in a combination of national, state, and private parks.

Transportation $380

We drove our own truck. This cost includes gas and tolls to cross the Mackinac Bridge.

Entertainment $215

This includes a Pictured Rocks boat tour, our biggest ticket item at $38 each, plus firewood, our annual state park pass, and a few dollars for parking.

Day 1: Straits State Park

The Plan: We wanted to get across the Mackinac Bridge our first night. 259 miles from the Lansing area; 5 hours. 

The Reality: We achieved that. We camped at site #81, near the lake. A fairly spacious site and we didn’t have to unhitch the trailer.

Day 2-5: Porcupine Mountains State Park

The Plan: I have never been to the Porcupine Mountains before unless it was when I was a kid too young to remember. We’re seeking wilderness and hiking opportunities.

The Reality: We were able to fit in another hike we hadn’t planned on.  

  • Escarpment hike
  • Presque Isle hike
  • Union Mine hike +

316 miles and 6 hours from the straights.
We had site #18, on the lakeshore.

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Day 6-9: Munising

The Plan: Pictured Rocks is famous for its scenery and again I haven’t been there unless I was too young to remember. We traveled 169 miles; 3 hours

The Reality: The boat tour was everything we hoped for, and there was more to do in the Munising area than we realized. We saw several waterfalls and still missed some of them. We’d like to come back to this area again. 

  • Pictured Rocks boat cruise
  • Hiking at Chapel Basin
  • Several waterfalls

169 miles and 3 hours from the Porcupine Mountains. We had site #92 on the lakeshore at the Munising Tourist Park Campground.

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Day 10-12: Petoskey

The Plan: This is one of my favorite places in Michigan and Steve has never been there.

The Reality: It was a nice combination of relaxing beach time and touring and taking advantage of an upscale up north area. We never did find a way to walk from the campground to the stores and restaurants, but it was a short drive.

  • Sightseeing in Harbor Springs and Petoskey
  • Hanging out at the beach
  • Eating out

159 miles and 3 hours from Munising. We had site #92, in the Tannery Creek campground at the state park. 

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Day 13-16: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

The Plan: We’ve both been here, but not together. And we wanted to camp at Platte River, which I camped at before the renovation.

The Reality: The campground is great and the beach with the river flowing into it is just like I remembered it.  We enjoyed walking around Traverse City even though it was unseasonably hot: in the 90s. The Platte River hiking was mildly disappointing and Empire Bluffs was great.

  • Empire Bluffs hike
  • Platte River hike
  • Visiting Traverse City
  • Sightseeing at Sleeping Bear Dunes

102 miles and 2.5 hours from Petoskey. We had site #322 at Platte River. This is a fantastic campground in a great location and very popular. Book as early as possible. 

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Resources

We buy Christmas ornaments on each trip. (They aren’t always ornaments.) The chipmunk commemorates the many chipmunks we saw. The trailer we bought years ago when we bought our trailer. Thought it fit well here.