RVing to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
When we set out on our full-time journey, we knew that Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (the UP) was a must-see on our journey. The UP is Michigan’s most popular destination, and the summer can be extremely busy with most state campgrounds filling early.
Our mode of travel is either boondocking or state campgrounds, and we usually fly by the seat of our pants. However, we knew that we had to plan far in advance for the UP as we were scheduled to be in the area for the 4th of July!
After we left Cleveland, we planned to meet up with friends and boondock in the National Forest near Alpine MI, for a week. This became impossible after only two nights due to the horrific tick situation for our dogs. Side note – Michigan is renowned for high ticks in the summer. We had a booking at Brimley State Park on Lake Superior later in the week and miraculously we were able to bring our stay forward.
Heading to Brimley early allowed us to review our plans as we now had a four-night stay over July 4th to plan our next move.
Brimley State Park was packed with holiday weekend folks and for a state campground, the sites were too close together for our liking. We knew we wanted to explore more of the UP and a friend suggested we research the Kewadin Casinos for the rest of our stay in the UP and oh how glad we were that we did. Kewadin has five casinos with either RV parks or RV parking on-site. The camps vary from full hook-up RV parks to staying in the parking lot with electricity only.
Each Casino’s RV camping is first come first served and their prices range from $25 per night for full hook up, to just $10 a night for the parking lot spaces. The huge advantage of staying at the Casinos for us personally was no young children, plus we were allowed to use all the casino’s facilities, including the pool and spa, for free!
We began our casino adventure at the Kewadin Casino in Sault Ste. Marie. This location had a designated RV Park with water/electricity at each site and a dump in the parking lot. They also offered free laundry facilities, found in the ladies’ restrooms. The sites were grassy, level, and spacious. Even in the height of summer, the park was only 25% full.
Sault St Marie is a quaint town boarding Canada. Famous for its Soo Locks, it’s a must-visit destination for the UP. The Soo Locks connect Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world, to Lake Huron. The Locks and Visitors Center has an Observation Deck; from here you can watch the massive freight liners bypass the 21’ waterfalls to continue their 2,342-mile journey from Duluth, MN to the Atlantic Ocean via the great lakes. We were lucky enough to see the largest vessel that fits into the locks – ‘The Paul R. Tregurtha’ use the locks. It is 1,013’ long and fits with only inches to spare.
Other attractions at Soo Locks include
Guided boat tours. Daily tours (in season) through the locks can be taken with either: Famous Soo Locks Boat Tours or Original Soo Locks Boat Tours. Each with take you through the Soo Locks, with audio commentary, and out onto Lake Superior before turning around and returning back through the locks to your origin dock on the St Mary’s River.
Fudge For most people, a trip to the Upper Peninsula would be incomplete without trying their famous fudge. Sadly, neither of us is fond of fudge, but there are many options for you to try in the town.
Tower of History – famous for its breathtaking views of the locks, city and surrounding landscape, the tower is difficult to miss in this small city. It was built during the 1960s to share the history of early missionaries in the area.
Museum Ship Valley Camp – This retired Great Lakes freighter ship teaches us how a crew would live while underway. The museum is housed in the once-cargo hold and is enormous. The Valley Camp was originally built in 1917 and retired in 1966 just shy of 50 years of service.
Dining in Sault St Marie
There are many locally-owned options in this charming city – no chain restaurants here. Our first stop was brunch at Oh Crepe & Coffee. Established in 2017 by Zak & Korina McClellan, Oh Crepe serves up delicious, freshly made crepes. Whether you’re in the mood for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert, they have just the right crepe for you! We sampled both their savory and sweet crepes and they were both delicious.
Dinner was at the famous Lockview Restaurant. Established in 1945, they are famous for selling the freshest whitefish in the area. The Lockview receives fresh fish daily, from commercial fishermen of this area; mostly of the Chippewa Tribe of Indians, the first settlers in the area. Their ancestors fished these rapids centuries ago and were granted fishing rights on these waters in a treaty with the United States. We have to agree that their whitefish was delicious, and the upstairs seating supplied amazing views of the locks.
Happy with our stay at Sioux Locks Kewadin we headed to Kewadin St Ignace. Once again, the RV Park here was equipped with Water and electrical hook-ups at each site with a dump station close by. There are 21 sites including 8 pull-through spots. The hotel is on the shores of Lake Huron and the pool and spa were incredible. *NOTE: RV Park is CLOSED during outdoor concerts & events.*
Located just a few miles north of the Mighty Mackinac Bridge, this was our launching spot for visiting Mackinac Island.
We chose the Starline Ferry Company to visit the Island which you can take directly to the island or do what we did and go via the Mackinac Bridge!
Mackinac does not allow any motorized vehicles on the island, so we suggest taking your own bikes (not e-bikes) if you have them or if not, wear your good walking shoes.
We weren’t up to walking too far and didn’t want to hire bikes, so we decided to take a carriage tour around the Island.
The most famous company is Mackinac Island Carriage Tours. The tour takes roughly an hour and forty-five minutes and makes four stops along the route. Our favorite stop was Arch Rock with its natural wonder and view over Lake Huron.
Must-visit locations on the island.
The Grand Hotel – opened in 1887, by 1890 the longest covered front porch in the world was completed. This became the place to see and be seen in the late 1800s and it still is to this day. Mark Twain once spoke here and it’s a popular destination for movie makers too.
The Grand is famous for afternoon tea, which is served in the Parlor between 3:30 and 5 pm daily, during the season. Be forewarned – this is an expensive outing. You cannot simply walk in and around the hotel, there is a $10.00 admission fee for ages 10 and up and $5.00 for ages 6-9. Staying at the hotel is a $500 minimum a night and Afternoon tea will set you back $65 per person. We chose to view the hotel briefly as we passed by on our carriage tour.
Fort Mackinac – built by the British at the height of the Revolutionary War, the fort was completed in 1781. It wasn’t until 1796, 13 years after the end of the war that they finally relinquished the fort to the newly formed United States. This is a magnificently preserved fort that offers demonstrations and tours by costumed interpreters throughout the day. They also fire their cannons every hour! The cost to visit the fort is $15.50 for anyone over 12 and $9.25 for children 5-12.
We didn’t dine on the island but enjoyed coffee and doughnuts at Good Day Coffee and Café which was charming, and the coffee was great.
There is so much history and far more to explore on the island than can really be done in one day. Be warned, however, this is a tourist trap for sure. It was crazy busy with hundreds of horses, bikes, and people; plus everything is far more expensive.
Our next stop was Kewadin Christmas, which was our least favorite of the Casinos. The sites were basically longer parking spaces with only electricity, and they did not have a dump station. However, the location allowed us to take the hike we’d been planning to Mosquito Falls.
This stunning hike takes you to Lake Superior and the Mosquito Falls. Mosquito Falls trail is a 4.6-mile loop trail near Shingleton, Michigan. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 1 h 44 min to complete. It took us a lot longer as we stopped and had lunch at the lake. This is a popular trail for camping and hiking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of the day. The best times to visit this trail are May through September. If you’d like to do the hike like we did, you would travel counterclockwise. This will take you to the shoreline of Lake Superior first and you’d hike to the falls after on your return hike. If you’d like to only visit the falls, take the trail clockwise and you’ll reach these lovely falls after only a mile or so, You’ll need to leave pups at home — dogs aren’t allowed on this trail.
From this Casino, we also took a boat trip along the Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore which was magnificent. This is probably a must-do on everyone’s list for the UP so make sure you check out Pictured Rocks Cruises or if you’re feeling adventurous you can kayak along the shoreline. Visit Pictured Rocks Kayaking for more information. Note – they ferry you to the rocks and you kayak from their boat. You do not have to kayak the entire way LOL.
Other things to think of when visiting the UP. Parking is always a problem, most of the towns are smaller and parking is always a premium. We weren’t ever unable to park, but arriving at your location early is always a good idea. It’s expensive but then in the height of summer aren’t most places? The lakes are cold and we mean freezing cold. Plus the lakes can be treacherous – it’s always a good idea to take the guided tours rather than venture off on your own. Finally, mosquitoes and ticks are a problem. Long sleeves and pants are a good idea, but if you insist on shorts and T-shirts, you’ll want to spray a lot!
We hope this has been helpful. Let us know in the comments if we can answer your questions. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the UP and plan to visit again; maybe next time in the fall.