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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 Escanaba, Menominee & the Green Bay Shore

RAPID RIVER
POINTS
OF INTEREST

Bay de Noc-Grand Island Trail. A 40-mile-long non-motorized trail parallels the Whitefish River in the Hiawatha National Forest. It beckons hikers, horseback riders, and, in winter, mushers. Once it was an important portage between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, used by Indians and for the fur trade. ... more

Haymeadow Falls and trail; Whitefish River trout fishing and canoeing. A short, delightful trail through a hardwood forest takes you to a little waterfall on a high-quality trout stream, Haymeadow Creek, and to a nearby campground ... more

Hiawatha National Forest Interpretive Center & district office. Interpretive displays, a nature store, and excellent maps are a great introduction to this 900,000-acre forest ... more

Rapid River Cross-Country Ski Trail. 19 miles of loops through pine and maple forests, from easy to advanced ... more

Rapid River Falls. An easy walk from U.S. 41 takes you to a beautiful park and falls ... more

Region: Escanaba, Menominee & the Green Bay Shore

RAPID RIVER

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Rapid River grew up around the dozen sawmills that sprang up here at the head of Little Bay de Noc, where the small Rapid River enters the bay. It's a mile or so west of the Whitefish River mouth. This village extends south off U.S. 2 near where U.S. 41 turns north to Trenary and Marquette. A popular gathering place is the Swallow Inn on Main Street.

The major manufacturer here is Rapid River Rustic Cedar Log Homes. The company designs and provides the materials for a wide variety of log homes, from small cabins to large showplaces. Its 3,400-square-foot "Norway" display model is open

The Swallow Inn, a friendly bar and grill, occupies a building going way, way back to lumbering days.

to the public on the south side of U.S. 2, four miles east of Rapid River and a mile east of the Hiawatha National Forest visitor center. It's open weekdays from 8 to 4:30 and by appointment.

The classic neon EAT above Jack's Restaurant is a familiar landmark on U.S. 41. Rapid River's entire main street has a similar retro look.

One of Rapid River’s charms is that it’s a basic, unfussed-over kind of place. Jack’s is a perfect basic diner, Viau’s is a basic meat market with homemade sausages, and Rapid River Hardware has a cool design sense in arranging hardware basics like galvanized containers.

Back to Escanaba, Menominee & the Green Bay Shore

RAPID RIVER
RESTAURANTS,
LODGINGS
& CAMPGROUNDS

These are our choices, not ads.

RAPID RIVER
RESTAURANTS
See also: Gladstone, Escanaba.

JACK'S RESTAURANT
(906) 474-9927

This consummate small-town diner - offers very good home cooking, grandma style, and good value, too. The ever-changing array of "Jack's classics" ($6.50 to $10) may be meat loaf, chicken pot pie, roast pork or beef, or hamburger hot dish. Classics come with choice of potato, vegetable, and homemade roll. Breads, pies ($2.39/slice), dinner rolls, and sweet rolls are made here from scratch. They're also sold retail, with a day-ahead order for pies, dinner rolls, and breads. Berries for desserts and pancakes are purchased locally when possible. Sunday dinner features baked turkey or ham. Friday fish fry ($8-$12) most always features fresh whitefish, lake trout, and perch (all fried) from nearby Bay de Noc Fisheries in Fairport. Salmon and cod come grilled or baked.
Jack and Vivian Miller founded Jack's in 1943. (Her mother was a lumber camp cook.) Now their grandsons, Jeff and John, own and run it. Soups can be outstanding — the "boiled dinner" soup (corned beef, cabbage, potato, carrot, onion) is terrific. Burgers are formed fresh. Smoking is allowed at the counter and front room. The non-smoking knotty-pine dining room has charming murals of local scenes from the 1940s, by John Heath of Au Train. No plastic. U.P. checks OK. ATM is just across the street.

Bring cash if you're not from the U.P.!

7897 S. Main Street at U.S. 2/U.S. 41. Look for the tall vintage neon sign. From April thru Nov. open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., to 9 Fri & Sat. Jan. thru March: open Thurs-Sun 7-8, closed Mon-Wed. Wheelchair-accessible except for bathrooms. Family-friendly. Beer & wine.

RAPID RIVER
LODGINGS

RAPID RIVER
CAMPGROUNDS
HAYMEADOW CREEK CAMPGROUND
(906) 474-6442. www.fs.fed.us/r9/hiawatha. Not reservable.

This 15-site rustic campground off CR 505 in the Hiawatha National Forest is near Haymeadow Creek, pretty Haymeadow Falls, and the Whitefish River, a high-quality trout stream. A two-mile trail leads to the 40-mile, nonmotorized Bay de Noc-Grand Island Trail. Seldom full. No trash cans. Be prepared to take trash out.

From U.S. 2 about 2 miles east of Rapid River, take CR 509 about 9 miles north. Watch for campground sign. No fee. Open May 15-Dec. 1. Handicap access: limited. Call.