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margene
7-28-11, 12:16pm
anyone know about bete grise bay? Any other good destinations in the up?

goldensmom
7-28-11, 1:01pm
Many, many U.P. destinations including Whitefish Point, Soo Locks, Tahquamenon Falls, Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Picture Rocks, Lake of the Clouds, Copper Harbor, Drummond Island, Isle Royal, Mackinac Island, anywhere along the Lake Superior shoreline.

Simpler at Fifty
7-28-11, 4:57pm
I will second Copper Harbor and Lake of the clouds. There is a great German Restaurant in Copper Harbor called the Harbour Haus. Fantastic food and the wait dress in lederhosen and they have great beer to boot. In Calumet they have 2 fun stores; Calumet Mercantile and Copper World. We think the best pasties are at Connie's Kitchen in Calumet.

We have not been to bete grise bay though.

benhyr
8-4-11, 10:50am
My parents moved us to Marquette to when I was 10 and I lived there until I was 21 so I'm a little bias... the UP is the best part of the country, bar none ;)

Houghton/Han**** are fun to walk around. If you go west a bit more the Porcupine Mountains are wonderful. Outside of Houghton is the Quincy Mine. They offer tours and I'd highly recommend taking one... they'll bring you down in the mine and give you a great history of the area. Their grounds are great to walk around as well.

Up in Keewenaw, take the Brockway Mountain Drive. It's best in the fall but great any time (pictures don't do justice: http://www.cableamerica.com/Michigan/brock7.shtml)

Be sure to stop at the Monks of St. John's outside of Eagle Harbor. It's a beautiful area and their jam is amazing: http://www.societystjohn.com/store/

If you find yourself over by Marquette then you should hike Sugar Loaf and maybe head up to Big Bay. On the way, there's a really hard to spot turn-off for Little Presque Isle and right up the road from there on the left is the turn-off for Wetmore landing which has some excellent trails up to Hogsback (views from the top of there are outstanding). Of course, in Marquette there's Presque Isle itself. The best meal you'll have is the whitefish at the Vierling (http://thevierling.com/). Go to the UP Front for some live music after, it's just across the street.

If you find yourself really easy then I'd highly second Tahquamenon Falls and also a hiking or boat tour of Pictured Rocks. For Pictured Rocks, there are two outfitters that run out of Munising (at least last we looked) that run kayak tours. The earliest tour you can book will likely be the least crowded.

Lake of the Clouds, highly agree that you need to go!

Ore dock in Marquette

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2278/1801750593_67546d1240.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawnandben/1801750593/)

Sunrise on the Porcupine Mountains

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2134/1802594098_0666d60c65.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawnandben/1802594098/)

Abandoned building at the Quincy Mine

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2237/1782609705_cde99e4376.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawnandben/1782609705/)

View from Sugarloaf in Marquette
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2106/2092054003_a7d1a6ca88.jpg

I can't find our shots of Lake of the Clouds right now :(

Tradd
8-4-11, 12:31pm
ou have to go to the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie (aka the Soo). It's really cool to see the big Lake boats being locked through and either being raised or lowered, depending if they're downbound or upbound. There's a big beached Lakes freighter that is a maritime museum and has some stuff on the Edmund Fitzgerald.

If you have the time, drive down to St. Ignace and drive the Mackinaw Bridge across the straits to Mackinaw City.

I'm from MI and spent a lot of time up there as a kid.

Have fun with da Yoopers! ;)

benhyr
8-4-11, 3:04pm
But, the Soo locks are very much not close to Bete Grise Bay. Definitely worth the time and drive if it can be worked in though

Stacy
8-5-11, 5:34pm
I grew up in the central UP, but have not been up by Bete Grise. However, I had a coworker who owns a vacation house in Bete Grise and absolutely loves it there. She works in Wisconsin and only goes up there on weekends, but she feels like Bete Grise is her true home. It seems like a beautiful place to visit.

More places in the UP worth visiting are Porcupine Mountains on the west side and the Taquamenon Falls to the east. I've lived in Marquette and it's an awesome little city.