The Ice Age National Scenic Trail runs through Devils Lake State Park. When Tom and I went to the Devils Lake Visitor Center, I was able to stamp my Passport Book with the Ice Age Trail stamp. The Ice Age National Scenic Trail meanders 1,200 miles across the state of Wisconsin. The trail traces the …
From National Parks
Namekagon District of the St Croix Riverway
As Tom and I headed south from the Apostle Islands, we stopped at the Namekagon District of the St Croix National Scenic Riverway. We visited St Croix National Scenic Riverway last year when we were in Minnesota. I got my Passport stamp at that point. This year we stopped at the Namekagon District in order …
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
After spending three weeks in Michigan, Tom and I headed next door to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin. Hitting Apostle Islands meant that we visited all three national lakeshores in one month: Sleeping Bear Dunes, Pictured Rocks, and Apostle Islands. When Tom and I planned this trip, we had multiple days at Sleeping Bear …
Fort Wilkins Historic State Park
Fort Wilkins Historic State Park includes the campground where we stayed in Copper Harbor. It also includes another large campground on the east side of park, which is only open through Labor Day. In between the two campgrounds lies the reconstructed and restored Fort Wilkins Historic State Park. This is an unusual pairing: state parks …
Eagle Harbor Lighthouse and Museums
After leaving Calumet, Tom and I headed up to Eagle Harbor. We wanted to see the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, one of the partner sites for the Keweenaw National Heritage Park. We had already seen a bunch of lighthouses, so we weren’t expecting much. But the site exceeded our expectations and became one of our favorite …
Keweenaw National Historic Park
After visiting the Grand Canyon of Michigan, Tom and I headed north to see the Keweenaw National Historic Park in the Keweenaw Peninsula. The peninsula is all about copper mining, milling, smelting, and shipping. Every town of any size has some connection to the copper industry. When mining stopped in the 1970’s, the people in …
Driving Tour of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
The day after Sandy, Tom, and I hiked around Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, we took a driving tour of the same area and included Eric and Bob. They were rested and ready to get out after their quiet day at the campground. Unfortunately, while the day before had been sunny and in the 70’s, the …
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Our primary reason to visit the Upper Peninsula was to go to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We stayed at Muskallonge Lake State Park because it was on the eastern end of Pictured Rocks. The day after we arrived at Muskallonge Lake, Tom, Sandy and I were eager to get out to see Pictured Rocks. Eric …
Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island
The most important place for us to visit on Mackinac Island was Fort Mackinac. This island fort is not to be confused with Fort Michilimackinac, which I wrote about last week. Fort Michilimackinac was built by the French and was a center of the fur trade with as many Native Americans and European Americans in …
Straits State Park in St. Ignace, Michigan
While we were in the Mackinac area, we stayed at Straits State Park. We stayed there four nights, which was the most we stayed in any one place. We had made all our reservations beforehand, based on what we wanted to see in the area. Mackinac Island was a big item on our list, and …