I'm planning a trip next Spring to Wisconsin and Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula. I want to see any historic sites (Fur Trade, Blackhawk War, War of 1812, Etc.) and I've done some internet surging but there doesn't seem to be much. Fort Mackinaw, that I want to see. Are there one or two forts? Are there any other historic points of interest? Portage at Fox River? Etc. Thanks for any suggestions. And....if I have time I had never caught a walleye and night is supposed to be good so I'm thinking after a day's drive and site seeing, I could fish from shore at night- again, any suggestions appreciated. Thanks.
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Road Trip to WI and Mich. Help Needed
- Thread starter Red Owl
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If you're passing close to Jackson, there is a place called the Whitetail Hall of Fame Museum. Not exactly what you asked for but it is definitely worth a stop. Kind of like the Cabelas whitetail display but better in my opinion. Lots of old hunting photos and gear along with really neat mounts. Old traps and some fishing stuff as well. It's only a few bucks and well worth it, would be a good spot to stop and stretch the legs if on a long road trip and just passing by the area.
Thagomizer
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Red Owl, there are 2 forts at the straits. Fort Michilimackinac is at the south end of the bridge and is an early fort that has French and later English provenance. Pontiac's rebellion played a role here. Fort Mackinac is out on the island and is a war of 1812 fort. The island has ferry service and is closed to motor traffic. Way up on the keewanaw peninsula there is Fort Wilkins a Civil War era reconstructed fort. My experience with walleyes is that a boat is needed to get where the fish are.
Whitefish point is a nice stop and is close to the site of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking. If you are that far, then see the falls at Taquamenon. The international Soo Locks is also an interesting stop. Take your time on the mostly 2 lane roads and enjoy.
Whitefish point is a nice stop and is close to the site of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking. If you are that far, then see the falls at Taquamenon. The international Soo Locks is also an interesting stop. Take your time on the mostly 2 lane roads and enjoy.
Thagomizer
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Red Owl, I don't know your exact timing when you mentioned "in the spring". Keep in mind that many places in the U.P. are seasonal. check ahead for opening dates on the forts. Ideally you want it to be warm enough that everything is open,but not so warm that the black flies mosquitos etc. are bothersome. Michigan above the bridge is a fascinating place.
I often go 3rd week of June as it is the longest days of the year- depends on various factors- like if I decide to fish. I was going to go a few years ago, in the Fall and-as you said- I found out a lot of stuff closes when the kids go back to school.
I'm assuming you are coming from Florida. "Spring" in Wisconsin is not like it is in Florida... we can have blizzards as late as March and April, and what we consider minor snowfall as late as June. The UP is much worse. Depending upon your route, you might encounter some river flooding in spring, but mostly that is in the Western part of the state on the Wisconsin and Mississippi river systems. You might see some of that in Portage. These things can cause detours.
There are three main routes into Green Bay (the most logical wayfarer's route to the UP), they are highways I 41/US 41, I 43 and WI 57/WI 32. I 43 us the newest highway and usually has the least amount of traffic from Milwaukee... mostly it was built to handle football traffic when the Packers have a home game. Try to avoid traveling on those days if possible. An old army buddy of mine used to sit at the drill hall for three hours to wait out after-game-day traffic. If she left early, it was not unusual for her to take anywhere from two to three hours to dive to her home in Appleton sixtyish miles to the South. Here is a good link regarding the highways around that area: Green Bay - AARoads
If you stay in Green Bay, avoid the Tundra Lodge... they have a local reputation for bed bugs, but if you like a really nice water park including a "lazy river", hot tub and a pretty good water slide, it might be worth the risk.
I would suggest avoiding Door County... it is mostly a tourist trap area with exorbitant prices on pretty much everything, though there are a few things there to look at. You can pick your own cherries in late spring if you want to, but then you gotta figure out how to get them home again without spoiling. I'm pretty well set up for canning if you wanna stop by and spend a day or so in the kitchen. Got a black powder range in the back yard. In between canning loads, you can shoot from the back porch.
In Green Bay there is Herritage Hill State Park, which is definitely worth a visit. Heritage Hill State Park | Home They do have re-enactments, but you gotta check their schedule. There are early buildings including those originally within Fort Howard, an operating letterpress shop, an operating blacksmith shop, a fur-trader's cabin, an early law office and various other buildings I cannot recall.
There is also the National Railroad museum. They have Eisenhower's train from WWII, a Union Pacific Big Boy locomotive that was fully functional, though not in operation last I heard, plus lots of other items of interest. National Railroad Museum - Green Bay, WI 54304
Take US 41 into the UP, in my opinion, because you might want to the see the Peshtigo Fire Museum Peshtigo Fire Museum – Official website of the Peshtigo Historical Society.
If you choose instead to take WI 32 out of Green Bay, then you will want to see Waubeno, WI, where they have, among other things an actual working steam log puller from the early lumbering days. Further North you will come to Laona, WI which has an operational steam train that you can ride in... you will experience a "train robbery" while in transit to the historical area if memory serves and last time I was there I trained a young blacksmith who worked in their smithy. Historic Galloway House and Village
Rhinelander is not a bad place to stop... you will learn all about the "hodag"... and there have also been bigfoot sightings in the area.
I have only been to the UP on one occasion, an unpleasant trip to pick up my daughter from the Escanaba Police Station in a 20-year-old car with bad tires in a snow storm. Escanaba in the Moonlight is only worth seeing in your mind's eye while listening to the song of the same name.
Traveling to Michigan can be an interesting experience. The laws for the UP are pretty much made in Detroit where the "trolls" live (they are "under the bridge")... the locals will tell you all about that. Having a handgun in Michigan is generally illegal, even when it isn't. On the few occasions I visit Michigan, I bring a muzzleloader with me in the trunk of the car in a case. Unlikely for me to encounter bigfoot or some other hazard that could require a firearm, but I wanna at least have SOMETHING to deal with threats should we have a nuclear war while I am up there separated from my own infrastructure & contacts.
Good Luck!
There are three main routes into Green Bay (the most logical wayfarer's route to the UP), they are highways I 41/US 41, I 43 and WI 57/WI 32. I 43 us the newest highway and usually has the least amount of traffic from Milwaukee... mostly it was built to handle football traffic when the Packers have a home game. Try to avoid traveling on those days if possible. An old army buddy of mine used to sit at the drill hall for three hours to wait out after-game-day traffic. If she left early, it was not unusual for her to take anywhere from two to three hours to dive to her home in Appleton sixtyish miles to the South. Here is a good link regarding the highways around that area: Green Bay - AARoads
If you stay in Green Bay, avoid the Tundra Lodge... they have a local reputation for bed bugs, but if you like a really nice water park including a "lazy river", hot tub and a pretty good water slide, it might be worth the risk.
I would suggest avoiding Door County... it is mostly a tourist trap area with exorbitant prices on pretty much everything, though there are a few things there to look at. You can pick your own cherries in late spring if you want to, but then you gotta figure out how to get them home again without spoiling. I'm pretty well set up for canning if you wanna stop by and spend a day or so in the kitchen. Got a black powder range in the back yard. In between canning loads, you can shoot from the back porch.
In Green Bay there is Herritage Hill State Park, which is definitely worth a visit. Heritage Hill State Park | Home They do have re-enactments, but you gotta check their schedule. There are early buildings including those originally within Fort Howard, an operating letterpress shop, an operating blacksmith shop, a fur-trader's cabin, an early law office and various other buildings I cannot recall.
There is also the National Railroad museum. They have Eisenhower's train from WWII, a Union Pacific Big Boy locomotive that was fully functional, though not in operation last I heard, plus lots of other items of interest. National Railroad Museum - Green Bay, WI 54304
Take US 41 into the UP, in my opinion, because you might want to the see the Peshtigo Fire Museum Peshtigo Fire Museum – Official website of the Peshtigo Historical Society.
If you choose instead to take WI 32 out of Green Bay, then you will want to see Waubeno, WI, where they have, among other things an actual working steam log puller from the early lumbering days. Further North you will come to Laona, WI which has an operational steam train that you can ride in... you will experience a "train robbery" while in transit to the historical area if memory serves and last time I was there I trained a young blacksmith who worked in their smithy. Historic Galloway House and Village
Rhinelander is not a bad place to stop... you will learn all about the "hodag"... and there have also been bigfoot sightings in the area.
I have only been to the UP on one occasion, an unpleasant trip to pick up my daughter from the Escanaba Police Station in a 20-year-old car with bad tires in a snow storm. Escanaba in the Moonlight is only worth seeing in your mind's eye while listening to the song of the same name.
Traveling to Michigan can be an interesting experience. The laws for the UP are pretty much made in Detroit where the "trolls" live (they are "under the bridge")... the locals will tell you all about that. Having a handgun in Michigan is generally illegal, even when it isn't. On the few occasions I visit Michigan, I bring a muzzleloader with me in the trunk of the car in a case. Unlikely for me to encounter bigfoot or some other hazard that could require a firearm, but I wanna at least have SOMETHING to deal with threats should we have a nuclear war while I am up there separated from my own infrastructure & contacts.
Good Luck!
If you get to St. Ignace and have time to kill, there is a great antique snowmobile museum in Naubinway, just slide on up Rt. 2 and visit the Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum, it's pretty cool. Be sure and stop at the Cut River Store near Epuofette for a piece if smoked trout too. I have snowmobile a lot of fuel away up there, beautiful country, great people too.
In Racine WI is one of my favorite restaurants, Old Madrid. Outstanding seafood chowder.
North of Madison WI is the national mustard museum. Not much to look at IMO, but you can sample and buy all kinds of mustards.
Mackinac Island is neat and has an old fort. Lots of interesting history as a fur trading post. You have to take a ferry to it and there are no cars allowed on the island. Lots of bikes.
Fleener
North of Madison WI is the national mustard museum. Not much to look at IMO, but you can sample and buy all kinds of mustards.
Mackinac Island is neat and has an old fort. Lots of interesting history as a fur trading post. You have to take a ferry to it and there are no cars allowed on the island. Lots of bikes.
Fleener
Some_Mook
Insignificant Git
@Red Owl - Thagomizer mentioned the black flies. You really want to be prepared for them, they can still be quite bad going into June. Biting Flies and Gnats in the UP do not a happy time make if you are not ready for them.
Black flies and ticks in Michigan
Biting Flies in Michigan
On the bright side, you will not encounter poisonous snakes, alligators or sharks in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Black flies and ticks in Michigan
Biting Flies in Michigan
On the bright side, you will not encounter poisonous snakes, alligators or sharks in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
There is a water powered sawmill near Mackinac city. It's called mill creek. Gordon turner a local historian wondered about sawed lumber on mackinaw Island. He researched and found out about a mill. The site was found and reconstructed. It's a state park.
Some_Mook
Insignificant Git
randyt, if you like water powered sawmills, have you been to the Ford sawmill in Alberta on US41? That one is pretty neat.
Never made the connection between Henry Ford and Kingsford Charcoal until I visited that mill. The operations manager was named Kingsford. Since Henry did not like wasting materials, they came up with a use for all the sawdust that was generated by the mill operations.
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I never have. If I get thst way I will.check it outrandyt, if you like water powered sawmills, have you been to the Ford sawmill in Alberta on US41? That one is pretty neat.
Never made the connection between Henry Ford and Kingsford Charcoal until I visited that mill. The operations manager was named Kingsford. Since Henry did not like wasting materials, they came up with a use for all the sawdust that was generated by the mill operations.
Some_Mook
Insignificant Git
I will be camping in Grand Marais with my kids and grandkids this June. Love it up there, but always hope the wind is coming off of the Lake when we are there in the springtime to drive the biting bugs inland.
Not quite in line with the suggestions you requested, but if you find yourself running through the US 41 / M 28 area, Munising is a great stop and there are boat trips along the Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore available. If you run M-28 towards the Soo, you'll pass through Seney, which has a National Wildlife refuge just about 5 miles south down M-77 that has a Marshland Wildlife Drive and a Fishing loop drive. It would be a make-up treat for enduring the utterly, mind-numbingly, boring 25 mile stretch of M 28 between Munising and Seney.
Seney National Wildlife Refuge
Not quite in line with the suggestions you requested, but if you find yourself running through the US 41 / M 28 area, Munising is a great stop and there are boat trips along the Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore available. If you run M-28 towards the Soo, you'll pass through Seney, which has a National Wildlife refuge just about 5 miles south down M-77 that has a Marshland Wildlife Drive and a Fishing loop drive. It would be a make-up treat for enduring the utterly, mind-numbingly, boring 25 mile stretch of M 28 between Munising and Seney.
Seney National Wildlife Refuge
You could spend the whole summer in the UP of Michigan. There are over 300 waterfalls up there ranging from 5 to 48 foot drops.
If lighthouses are on your list then you're in luck, there are over 40 to search out. It's good to have a few places to search out and
see but I wouldn't set a schedule up for your time there. A lot of the fun in the UP isn't going where people suggest you should
go or see. It's just going and experiencing what you find along the way.
If lighthouses are on your list then you're in luck, there are over 40 to search out. It's good to have a few places to search out and
see but I wouldn't set a schedule up for your time there. A lot of the fun in the UP isn't going where people suggest you should
go or see. It's just going and experiencing what you find along the way.
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And finding good places to eat is always fun in both the UP and in the land of trolls. I’ll be back this summer.
The Antlers restrauant in Sault st Marie is awesome. If you go west on us 2 there is a big spring that's awesome, it's a state park. Close by there is a state park ghost town down on a peninsula going into lake Michigan, maybe called Fayette if memory serves.
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