Michigan U.P.
Aug 2026

Dates: August 5-8, 2026

People: Mark, Sarah, Seth, Anya, Ben, Dad & Mom Witte

Itinerary

• 8-5 (Travel Day)

• 8-6 (Pictured Rocks, Grand Marais)

• 8-7 (Whitefish Point, Tahquamenon Falls)

• 8-8 (Tahqua 50K, Tahquamenon Falls)
  
  

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 5

We left home at 9:22am for the trip.  We weren't in a big time hurry and thus the closer to mid morning start.  We had good driving on to a picnic lunch at 1230p at the rest area just south of Grayling.  We then did a gas stop at the Meijer in Gaylord.  

It was a nice drive over the Mackinac Bridge this afternoon with mostly sunny skies.  We listened to the Cubs game as we drove across the eastern side of the U.P.  We made it to Munising around 445 and headed to the Pictured Rocks Visitor Center at Munising Falls.  We wanted to do the hike but the trail has been closed for some time because of storm damage.  We headed to our campground instead.

We were staying at Munising Tourist Park Campground for this night.  We booked a night in May and the camp was already almost full.  We were in one of the walk-in tent sites for this night.  Rustic tent-site 'n'.  On the plus side it was very beautiful and secluded along the lake shore.  Downside was a near 100 yard walk from the car and near double that to the bathrooms.  They did have a community wheelbarrow to help with carting gear from the car to the camp.

For supper we cooked pizza sandwiches over the fire and this really hit the spot.  Anya and Ben really enjoyed being along the beach and having some room to explore.  They were also delighted in a mother duck with 3 ducklings 🦆 that took quite a liking to Anya.

We were intrigued watching our camp neighbors come in with a  small sailboat and Dad ended up talking with them a little bit about their setup.

We had a campfire by the Lake and a gorgeous evening.

THURSDAY AUGUST 6

This was our big Pictured Rocks day.  I was up and taking a walk at the campground at 715am.  We knew we didn't have a lot of time this morning but quickly realized it was going to go much faster than expected.  We needed to be at our Tour location for Pictured Rocks Kayaking at 920am and with all the walking needed to cart our camp to the cars this took us every minute we had.  It became a fast dash to get everyone up and awake, and then eat breakfast and then tear down camp.  We barely made it leaving the campground right at 910am.  Adding to our challenge was the tents were very damp from condensation this morning and so we had to pack the rain flies by themselves in our rocket box.  

Dad, Seth and Mark were doing the Miner's Castle Kayak Tour, while Mom, Sarah, Anya, Ben were doing the Spray Falls Tour.  The guys had a 920 check-in that led to a  930 tutorial, spray skirt and basic kayaking lessons.  Both groups were departing at 10am which was convenient (and by design).

The Kayak Tour rode out 15 minutes and then dropped us about a mile and a half south of Miner's Castle.  It wasn't as far out as I was expecting but the tour went very well. We had 48 people on tour to be put in tandem sea kayaks making for 24 boats.  The 24 boats were divided into 4 groups.  Each group was with a guide and we stayed together.  Our guide was Adelaide.  The guide would talk about the Pictured Rocks coast and answer questions, also just visited with us in the group.  We slowly made our way up the coast, very near to shore, until we made it just past Miner's Castle.  The main ship did a pickup between the Castle and Miner's Beach.  We didn't really need to bring anything along other than we brought the waterproof phone bags which was a good idea.  The tour provided us with life vests and spray skirts.  Not much else other than perhaps a water bottle was needed.

After both tours ended we met up at Sand Point for lunch.  We got out the Grand Trunk Shadecaster to provided shade over a picnic table that was otherwise out in the sun.  Anya and Ben enjoyed some more beach time while we were there.

Leaving Sand Point we made the drive through the woods heading for the coast and came out at Lake Superior Overlook. Its a quick stop to a nice platform viewing area looking at the lake and the beach below.  From there we drove to the Log Slide Overlook and this was a real hit.  A trail heads to a sand climb and then some wonderful overlooks with fantastic views of the lake and the shorelines.  We loved this area and spent a solid hour there.  It was a similar Sand climb of around 500 feet where one could descend all the way to the lake.  It is similar to the one at Sleeping Bear Dunes.  We saw a family with two kids descending, the father carrying the youngest, and really wondered how that was going to turn out.

Our next stop was in Grand Marais where we went to the Agate Beach.  Sarah and the Littles spent some time looking for what nice rocks they could find.  Grand Marais was smaller than we expected, but a nice little town.  We left there with a 1:20 drive to the Upper Falls at Tahquamenon.  There we hit the Falls Brewery & Pub for supper.  I had the Porcupine Pale Ale and it was delightful.  I tried the Beer Chicken entree which was a grilled chicken breast, Monterey jack cheese, beer caramelized onion, beer mustard, brioche bun, w/ chips.  Nice meal.  

We were staying at the Rivermouth Modern campground as the camps at the Lower Falls were already booked full.  We had a nice site at the corner of the campground.  Nice to have more amenities and no walk here.  But no views and more tucked into the trees.  This also made the bugs worse.  Since we were staying two days we setup the screen tent here to use and avoid the bugs. We stayed at site R69.

KAYAK TOUR GROUP

picturedrockskayaking.com

Miner's Castle Tour

3 Adults, $99/person

 - address:  1348 Commercial St., Munising, MI 49862

CRUISE TOUR GROUP

picturedrocks.com

Spray Falls Cruise

2 Adults ($56), 2 Children ($19)

 - address: 100 City Park Drive, Munising, MI 49862

FRIDAY AUGUST 7

This was a lovely morning to sleep in and relax.  After a busy yesterday we intentionally kept today easy.  I was up doing my usual walk and then had some breakfast and read while waiting for others to wake up.  We kept all the breakfasts simple on this trip doing milk and cereal and no cooking. I did some exploring through the modern and then on down to the rustic tent sections of the campground. All of it was a long the Tahquamenon River.  We spent all morning playing some games and relaxing around camp.

We had a picnic sandwich lunch at 1230p and then made ready for an afternoon adventure.  We drove 30 minutes up to Whitefish Point.  Sarah and Dad visited the Shipwreck Museum while the rest went to the beach.  We set up the sunshade canopy again and the littles made a friend playing at the beach.  Seth and I got a hike in down the beach to the actual Whitefish Point.  It was windy today at the beach.  The sun shade ended up getting wrecked when I tried to adjust the guylines and the wind grabbed it, the line slipped in my hand, gave me bad rope burn, and then the tarp tore on the canopy pole.  This made for a good excuse to end our beach time.

We drove back on down to Paradise and then decided to head up to the Lower Falls at Tahquamenon.  This turned out nice as Seth and I could see some of the course markings for our 50K race around the Lower Falls. This would prove useful on race day as there was some course confusion.  The Lower Falls area had had some updates since were were there last including a large cafe building.  We were surprised how many people were in the water at the Lower Falls and it looked like fun.  We should made a note to explore more here next time.

After the Falls we drove back to Paradise and it was time for Seth and I to do our race packet pickup at the Goat Locker Saloon.  They had a nice back yard there with actual goats penned up.  The pickup was in the yard with live music and a nice atmosphere.  

Back at camp we did brats and hot dogs for supper on the fire and had a nice relaxing evening.  With the possibility of rain overnight and Seth and I not being around, we took the screen tent down at dusk and started getting things ready at camp for the morning tear down.  Seth and I made every effort to get all our race stuff prepared.

SATURDAY AUGUST 8

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Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Walk 2025 Trip Report

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