Experience Michigan's Paradise This Summer

It's that time of year. You are putting together a few plans for a road trip soon.  You might be considering a one day adventure for a quick break from the work week, a quiet weekend get-a-way for just the two of you, or a full summer vacation, where the entire family can enjoy and build memories of great times, spent together. Michigan's Paradise offers you access to magnificent waterfalls,  Lake Superior shorelines, a wildlife sanctuary, lighthouses, and museums.  Experience the largest fresh water lake in the world, world class sunrises and sunsets, birding, rock hounding, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, peace and quiet with highly rated accommodations, a micro-brewery, and dining fit for a foodie.  To be honest, a one day trip to this region, may leave you wanting more.

Captured by Rob Brooks, Seymour Indiana

Planning a One Day Trip?  Paradise is located 63 miles northwest of the Mackinac Bridge to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan or 291 miles east of Ironwood Michigan/Hurley Wisconsin.  Given this drive, you'll want to take your time, take in the sights, and relax. There is a rhythm to this region, quiet waves along the shoreline, trails pleading to be explored. If you drive to fast, or put too much in your day, you may not see, hear or feel the rhythm. Depending upon how far you've driven,  you may want to plan on a two night stay, get in at your leisure, wake up when you are ready and enjoy your stay in the region, relax, spend the second night, and get an early start on your travels in the morning.  Now, what to do, eh?  Here are a few options.

North Country's  Tahqu Trail

• Spend the day at Tahquamenon Falls State Park
• Exploring the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum 
• Hike the North Country Trail
• Take a guided canoe or kayak tour of the Tahquamenon Wilderness River
• Experience Birding along one of North America's major bird migrations
• Take a Wilderness Train Ride
• Tour a lighthouse and museum:  Whitefish Point, Crisp Point, Point Iroquois

Planning a Quiet Weekend Get-A-Way?  Feel free to select one or two options from the list above or just sit  yourself on the deck along the shore of Lake Superior at your hotel and visually drink in its shear wonder.  Be sure to include the micro-brewery located at the Upper Falls of Tahquamenon Falls State Park, lunch at Brown's Fish House, or dinner at The Inn in Paradise.  Don't include too many items on your agenda, your primary objective in Paradise is to relax, unwind, and experience Michigan's Paradise.

Planning a Family Vacation?  This is the best of all worlds.  You'll be able to include several of the options listed above and include a couple of these day trips below which are easily within a drive of Paradise and return in time for a fine meal).

• Take a Wilderness Tour that starts with a narrow gauge train ride followed by a riverboat cruse on the Tahquamenon Wilderness River.
• Plan a Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise along the shoreline of Pictured Rocks National Shoreline, one of only 5 national "parks" in Michigan. 
• Experience a true man-made marvel, the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan;take a picturesque drive along the Curley Lewis Scenic Byway and enjoy the pristine white sandy beaches near the Big Pine picnic area or Naomkong LookOut.

This is just a start, listing the most popular points of interest and activities, but there is so much more: 4-Wheeling, fishing, rock hounding, photography, motorcycle touring, star gazing, wildlife watching, campfire s'mores.  July, August, and September are peak months, make your call soon and well, you get the idea; enjoy nature this summer!