Discover what "getting away from it all" really means at Isle Royale National Park. Its remote location and its total ban on automobiles are some of the reasons why hikers discuss the nation's only island National Park in reverent tones. Distant wolf calls, wandering moose, and spectacularly rugged scenery are even more compelling. More than 160 miles of foot trails, 36 campgrounds, and one hotel are ample for the few, the proud, who make the effort to visit one of the most pristine wilderness areas on earth. The season is short (mid-April through October) and the Park Service's M.V. Ranger III connects Isle Royale with Houghton from early June to mid-September.
The Keweenaw National Historic Park celebrates seven thousand years of copper mining in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Those who worked (and occasionally died) in the mines came largely from a combination of European countries that gave the Upper Peninsula its distinct present-day culture. A partnership between the Park Service and private concerns, the Keweenaw differs from most National Parks in that it is made up of many separate plots of land. Visitors can experience as much or as little as they like, from the Quincey Mine Hoist Museum in Hancock to a tour of the Delaware Mine near Copper Harbor.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote poetry about the colorful and spectacular cliffs that stretch 45 miles along the coast of Lake Superior long before they became the centerpiece of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Most visitors get an up-close view of the giant rock formations on boat tours that depart daily from Munising. Those in a hurry can hire a plane in Grand Marais or drive to the Miner's Castle overlook. Even more spectacular views await those who paddle kayaks through the Rocks' caves and tunnels or backpack their crests and bases.
"On the shores of Gitche Gumee, Westward by the Big-Sea-Water, Came unto the rocky headlands, To the Pictured Rocks of sandstone, Looking over lake and landscape." THE SONG OF HIAWATHA
"Did you do the dune climb?" Asking is unavoidable when you discuss a visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Even repeat visitors who say "Been here, done that" eventually find themselves following dune virgins up the country's biggest sandpile for another run back down. The seven-mile-long Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive guides motorists through several hundred feet of changes in elevation, vegetation, climate, and spectacular views of Lake Michigan. The view from the top of Sleeping Bear includes the Manitou Islands, another destination for campers and SCUBA divers.
Once completed, the North Country Scenic Trail will stretch 3,200 miles from North Dakota to Vermont. Its longest completed segment (581 miles) winds through Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and other parts of the U.P. before crossing the Straits of Mackinac into Lower Michigan. From there, it meanders from coast to coast before exiting at Monroe.
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and some of the biggest and most beautiful lakes on earth, few places can match the variety of natural wonders found in Michigan. So it's hardly surprising that Michigan contains no less than five National Parks: 