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Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA

JUST OUT! A new edition of Hunts' Mapguide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Over 300 entries, all conveniently located on maps and chosen because we think they are the coolest things to do in the U.P. (No ad tie-ins!) Great choices for restaurants, hikes, shops, adventures, museums, boat trips, waterfalls, vistas, road trips, and much more! To learn more click UP MAP GUIDE

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Back to Marquette Range

ON THE WAY TO BIG BAY
POINTS
OF INTEREST

Points of interest along CR 550 are arranged from Marquette and the south to Big Bay and the north.

How to get to CR 550 from downtown Marquette: Go north on Front St. until it dead ends at Fair. Go left on Fair. In two blocks, turn right onto Presque Isle Ave. At the third blinking light turn left onto Wright St. Look for Sugar Loaf Ave./CR 550 on the right.

Phil's 550 Store. An old-timey convenience store run by a blacksmith, with a good wine selection, smoked fish, a free maps for bike trails and area waterfalls ... more

Sugarloaf Mountain. A 20-minute walk up to the summit of this cherished local landmark gains grand vistas of Lake Superior, Marquette, and surrounding forests. Especially spectacular near dawn or dusk ... more

Wetmore Pond. Walk through an old-growth forest to a platform for viewing a sphagnum bog with carnivorous pitcher plants. Hike up to red rocks, nice for picnics and contemplation, with another great view. Hogback Mountain offers a third. ... more

Little Presque Isle, Wetmore Landing & North Country Trail Segment. Along this beautiful shore are rocky and sandy beaches, coves, sandstone cliffs, and an island for kayaks to explore. Nearby pines, berries put favorite northwoods habitats in one hikeable area. Get map of trail network for skiing and hiking. ... more

Songbird Trail. A 1.1-mile loop has 10 stops with signs about songbirds you're likely to see and hear along the way ... more

Harlow Pathway/Cross-Country Ski Trail. Two ungroomed trails-5.6 miles in all-with easy to intermediate skiing are near remote, rustic state forest cabins one can rent for the night ... more

Granot Loma. Banker Louis Kaufman's remarkable log lodge, built for $2 million in the early 1920s, is off limits unless you rent it for $10,000 a day. The public can see the show barns of Loma Farms and the colorful postmodern gates made ... more

Little Garlic Falls. Formed by a productive trout stream, this secluded falls are a 2-mile hike from the road ... more

County Road 510 to Big Bay. Crisscrossing the Yellow Dog River and its tributaries, this road is the gateway to several beautiful waterfalls ... more

Region: Marquette Range

ON THE WAY TO BIG BAY

The Marquette area's best-loved natural places - including Sugar Loaf mountain and the beaches near Little Presque Isle - are along County Road 550, which goes for some 27 miles from Northern Michigan University and Marquette Tourist Park to Big Bay, an old Lake Superior sawmill town and getaway spot at the end of the road.

Though 550 is often close to Lake Superior, it's too far inland to offer lake views in this heavily forested area. In winter, the road is famous for whiteouts from snow blown in from the lake. Much of the land is open to the public because it's within the Escanaba River State Forest or owned by Mead Paper. The state of Michigan has acquired 3,000 acres of prime shoreline land in a land swap with Cleveland Cliffs Iron, which wanted 8,000 acres of state land, far less desirable for public recreation, for disposing of tailings from its Tilden Mine near Palmer.

Both Mead and the Michigan DNR have finished a number of projects around Little Presque Isle, Wetmore Pond, and Harlow Lake, building trails, creating observation platforms, and installing interpretive signs. An especially scenic section of the North Country Trail already connects these beautiful spots with Marquette (at Tourist Park). It looks as if some day a bikeway will join them with Big Bay.

Back to Marquette Range

ON THE WAY TO BIG BAY
RESTAURANTS,
LODGINGS
& CAMPGROUNDS

These are our choices, not ads.

ON THE WAY TO BIG BAY
RESTAURANTS

ON THE WAY TO BIG BAY
LODGINGS

ON THE WAY TO BIG BAY
CAMPGROUNDS
HARLOW LAKE CABINS
Reservations: (906) 228-6561

Six rustic cabins, designed and built by the Michigan State Forests recreation division, are located far apart from each other around 64-acre Harlow Lake. It's a quiet lake, where only electric motors are permitted. The attractive wood cabins are very simple (no indoor plumbing or electricity) with two sets of ¾ size bunks. Front porches overlook the lake. Firewood for the wood stove is provided. Three cabins are on a peninsula in the lake, two are on a loop of the ski/hiking trail, and one is by itself on Harlow Creek. There's a wheelchair-accessible fishing pier. The lake tends to be weedy, but there are places where people do swim. Prime hiking trails and a spectacular Lake Superior beach are across CR 550 at Little Presque Isle. Reservations advised; they're taken Nov. 1 of the preceding year. Books early for summer, weekends, special events. Good for reunions, groups of birders, hikers, etc. $55/night, 2-night minimum.

Off CR 550, 6 ½ miles north of Wright St., across from entrance to Little Presque Isle. Wheelchair-accessible: 4 cabins, vault toilet, fishing pier. Dogs permitted on 6-foot lea