It is Fall Foliage Time In Michigan
Taking the time to travel in the Upper Peninsula during the fall will be a sight you will want to repeat many times. With nine different suggested tours you will see an array of beauty you won’t soon forget. The first trip has you leaving Hancock and going to Lake Linden, then on to Lac La Velle, Bete Grise and Copper Harbor. From Copper Harbor to to Eagle River and then Calument and Laurium and back to the beginning at Hancock. This trip is 105 miles. The peak season for the tour runs from first week in October through the second week. This is referred to as the Eastern Upper Peninsula tour.
The Central Upper Peninsula tour goes from highway 107 to 64 at Silver City, on to Ontonagon, then hwy 45 to Rockland and Victoria where you backtrack to highway 26 and go to Greenland. You split at Greenland and take highway 38 to Baraga then hwy 41 to Chassel and Houghton where you take highway 26 to Twin Lakes and back to Greenland. This tour is 200 miles and covers Delta County where the peak will be around the second week in October, Monominee County where the peak will be the first or second week in October, Dickinson County with peak being the first week in October, Marquette County with the first week in October being peak and Alger County where peak will be the last week in September to the first week in October.
The Western Upper Peninsula takes highway 2 from Ironwood and Wakefield to Watersmeet, Iron River, Crystal Falls where you go on highway 141 to Covington then highway 28 to Bruce Crossing and back to Wakefield. This trip is 220 miles. Counties included are Iron with peak color the last week of September and the first week in October, Baraga with peak being the first week in October, Houghton & Keweenaw with the last week in September or first week in October and Gogebic and Ontonagon with peak color expected the last week in September and the first week in October.
Suggested tour 4 begins in Ishpeming on highway 29. Then take highway 510 to Nagaunee and Big Bay. Change to highway 550 to Marquette and then take 29 to Munising. Here you will go to H58 and then H15 for a trip to Singleton and changing to hwy 28 to highway 94 to Chatham, Gwinn and then you will reach hwy 35 to Palmer and back to the beginning at Ishpeming. This trip is 165 miles long.
Tour 5 is a little shorter than the others. It begins at Iron Mountain and Norway on Hwy 2 to Spalding and change to hwy 41 to Menominee and then hwy 35 to Cedar River and Escanaba. For 125 miles you will see a wide array of beautiful trees with splendid coloring.
Now on to tour 6 which is from Esdanaba on highways 2 and 41 to Rapid River. Turn onto highway 2 and go to Manstique and Saint Ignace. Although this tour is 183 miles it runs quite straight along the bottom area of the peninsula.
Try tour 7 which starts at Whitefish Point and goes on to Paradise on hwy 123. Newberry is next on highway 28. Now go to Seney and take hwy 77 to grand Marais and H58 to Deer Park and back to highway 123 and Paradise. This route is 150 miles in length.
If you thought you had taken all the tours of this area you are wrong, there are two more stunning experiences for you to enjoy. Tour 8 starts at Saint Ingace on hwy 75 and toes to Kincheloe and Sault St. Marie. Now head south to highway 129 and Pickford to highway 48 for a visit to Goetzville and De Tour Village where you will get on 134 to Cedarville and then back to Saint Ignace. Another trip of 150 miles.
The ninth tour opportunity is off hwy 28 where you go to highway 123 and enter Eckerman. Following 123 north you will go to Paradise and then back to the intersection where you turn east toward Curley Lewis Scenic Hwy and follow that to Bay Mills and Brimley. This is the shortest route suggested for the fall viewing of just 90 miles.
