Thompson - Michigan's Upper Peninsula

<html> <head> <title>Thompson - Michigan's Upper Peninsula</title> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <META Pragma: No-Cache> <META name="Pragma" No-Cache> <META Cache-control: No-Cache> <META HTTP-EQUIV="expires" CONTENT="Wed, 26 Feb 1997 08:21:57 GMT"> <META name="description" content="Profile of Thompson, with candid descriptions of attractions, recommended restaurants, lodgings, campgrounds."> <base href="http://hunts-upguide.com/"> <link href="/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <center> <table width="100%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0> <tr> <td width="18%" colspan=2 height=82 bgcolor="#306799" valign="top"> <table width="100%" cellpadding=22 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td align="left"> <b><font size="-2" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <font color="#FEE384">We welcome<br> your comments<br> experiences &<br> corrections.<br></font> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=10 height=8 alt="---"><br> <a class="whitelinkunderlined" target="_top" href="http://hunts-upguide.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/dehunt/feedback.pl">E-mail us</a> </font> </b> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="63%" height=82 bgcolor="#306799" align="center" valign="top"> <table cellpadding=22 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td align="center"> <img src="/images/online_words.gif" width=386 height=13 alt="The online version of the popular regional travel book""><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=500 height=2 alt="---"><br> <nobr><font color="#FFFFFF" size="+2" face="Georgia,Times New Roman,Times"><b>Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA</b></font></nobr><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=500 height=7 alt="---"><br> <img src="/images/candid_words.gif" width=391 height=13 alt="A candid guide to enjoying and understanding the U.P."> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td valign=top width="1%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5" rowspan=3>  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=9 height=25 alt="|"></td> <td width="18%" rowspan=3 valign="top"> <a target="_top" href="/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/dehunt/click.pl?nextfile=http://hunts-upguide.com/up_travel_map.html"><img src="/ads/Small_map_ad_ver_6.gif" border=0 ALT="UP Travel Map ad" width=160 height=418></a> <p>  <a target="_top" href="http://www.wunderground.com/US/MI/Thompson.html?bannertypeclick=bigtemptr"> <img src="http://banners.wunderground.com/weathersticker/bigtemptr_both/language/www/US/MI/Thompson.gif" border=0 alt="Click for Thompson, Michigan Forecast" height=94 width=185></a> <br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=20 height=3 alt="---"><br>  <center> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=5 width="100%" height=9> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=790 height=9 alt="---"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="17%">  <table width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td width="100%" valign="top">  <table width="100%" cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0 border=0 bgcolor="#306799"> <tr> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#306799"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b> <a class="sidebar" href="/" target="_top">Home</a><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="85" height="5"><br> <a class="sidebar" href="manistique_and_the_garden_peninsula.html" target="_top">Back to Manistique and the Garden Peninsula</a> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="85" height="20"><br> </b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100%"> <table width="100%" border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=10 bgcolor="#FFE09B"> <tr> <td align="left"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=100 height=10 alt="-"><br> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"> <center><font color="#C82F2C"><b>THOMPSON<br>POINTS<BR>OF INTEREST</b></font><br> </center> <font color="#263692" size="-2"> <p> <a name="e299"><b>Thompson State Hatchery.</b></a> Millions of trout, walleye, and salmon call this home until they're big enough to stock Midwestern lakes and streams. Visitors can view the indoor tanks, outdoor raceways, and show ponds with giant trout. Signs and photos show the destruction and restoration of fish habitat in the U.P. ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/thompson_thompson_state_hatchery.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e300"><b>Big Spring (Kitch-iti-kipi).</b></a> One of Michigan's most enchanting sites, this deep, clear spring in a pine-cedar forest is viewable from a raft visitors pull themselves ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/thompson_big_spring__kitch_iti_kipi_.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e302"><b>Indian Lake State Park.</b></a> The lake here is up to six miles long and three to four miles wide, fourth largest inland lake in the U.P. Good walleye and perch fishing. The shallow lake warms up early for swimming ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/thompson_indian_lake_state_park.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e304"><b>Rainey Wildlife Area.</b></a> Boardwalks and an observation platform provide good bird-watching perches on the northeast side of Indian Lake. Songbirds are abundant in spring ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/thompson_rainey_wildlife_area.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e303"><b>Bishop Baraga Mission at Indian Lake.</b></a> This peaceful park on Indian Lake commemorates the "Snowshoe Priest" with a memorial chapel and a version of an Odawa bark house he had built at his mission here. There's a lakefront observation deck, too. ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/thompson_bishop_baraga_mission_at_indian_lake.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <p>   </font> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td>   </td> </tr>  <tr> <td align="center"> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> <td valign=top width="1%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="9" height=500 alt="|"> </td> <td valign=top width="63%">  <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0> <tr> <td valign=top align=center bgcolor="#018650" colspan=2> <center> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="30" height=8 alt="-"><br> <b><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"><a class="whitelink" href="manistique_and_the_garden_peninsula.html" target="_top">Region: Manistique and the Garden Peninsula</a></font></b><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="100%" height=3 alt="-"><br> <h1>THOMPSON</h1> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="30" height=8 alt="-"></center></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="63%">  <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=8 border=0> <tr> <td align="left">  <font face="Georgia"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=6 alt="-"><br> <center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=420> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/290.gif" width=420 height=161 alt="Thompson gas station" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Thompson Outpost, originally a regional roadside classic with its fieldstone walls and picturesque architecture, is now segueing into something far more generic, with little distinctive character.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> Currently Thompson is little more than a crossroads at the intersection of U.S. 2 and M-149, the road to <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/thompson_indian_lake_state_park.html" target="_top">Indian Lake State Park</a>, the state fish hatchery, and Kitch-Iti-Kipi (Big Spring). During the 1880s and 1890s, Thompson was a busy fishing port and sawmill town. <br><br>The famous <b>Christmas Tree Ship</b>, pushing the limits of the shipping season to deliver Christmas trees to the children of Chicago, departed from Thompson for its last, ill-fated voyage. A new Michigan State Historical Marker now commemorates the Christmas Tree Ship. It's on 435/Little Harbor Road just south from the blinker light at the stone gas station on U.S. 2. <br><br>The <B>sawmill</B> at the <B>mouth of Thompson Creek </B>built a tramway out into Lake Michigan so ships could load lumber without venturing into shallow waters near shore. For decades slab wood and other mill waste was hauled out the tramway and dumped, only to be washed back as driftwood. <br><br>Indian Lake's first resorts developed on the lake's southeast side, near Thompson and Manistique. Today resorts and cottages virtually ring the lake. The southeast shore enjoys the nicest setting, with the biggest pines. <br clear="all"> <hr> <center> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> <hr> <p align="right"><a href="manistique_and_the_garden_peninsula.html" target="_top">Back to Manistique and the Garden Peninsula</a></p> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="37%" valign="top"> <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=8 border=0> <tr> <td height="4" width="37%">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=1 alt="-"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center" bgcolor="#C7302D" width="37%">  <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" color="#FFFFFF"> <b> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> <font size="-1"> THOMPSON<br> RESTAURANTS,<br> LODGINGS<br> & CAMPGROUNDS </font> <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=6 alt="-"><br> <font size="-2">These are our choices, not ads.</font><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> </b> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign=top bgcolor="#FFE09B" width="37%">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>THOMPSON<br>RESTAURANTS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> </font> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#CDCCAD" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>THOMPSON<br>LODGINGS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> See also: Manistique, Garden.<br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> <a name="e305"><b>DRIFTWOOD SHORES RESORT & RV PARK</b></a><br> (906) 341-6266; (800) 788-3111 <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> This spiffy place has 500 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline. Owner-managers Diane and Bill Mallory (she's an avid birder, he a fly-fisherman) love their place's natural setting and peace and quiet. They cater to guests who appreciate the same. The busy time here is fall, with salmon and brown trout runs. Driftwood Shores' interesting web site lists birds sighted here: many shore birds, some rarities, and, for two weeks in late May, <B>migrating warblers</B> feeding overnight in the brushy cover by the shoreline. <br> The era of profuse <B> driftwood </B>that gave the resort its name are now over. The resort is a mostly grassy, open area, without mature trees or shrubby buffers between sites. No tents. All 15 <B>RV sites</B> ($25/night/per group) have electric, water, and <B>lake views</B>. A dump station, laundry, and shower building are on site. The lodge (actually a <B>5-unit motel</B>) and one cabin also have sunrise water views, but RVs are between them and the lake. Rooms and sites all have picnic tables and fire pits. Everyone has wireless internet, a private picnic table and fire pit, plus access to the lakeside benches, swings, and <B>big stone fireplace</B>. A former cabin has a multipurpose gathering area. All five lodge rooms have log or pine walls, handsome snowshoe chairs, two queen beds, and private baths. All lodge and cabin units have a <B>TV/VCR</B>, with free videos to borrow. TVs have only one channel. Rooms open onto a wide <B>veranda</B> with tables and chairs – a popular place to sit and chat. Rates for two are $55/night,$60 for the kitchenettes, and $65 for the cabin (sleeps 6). Weekly rates for 4: $385-$455. No air-conditioning. Smoking only in RV park. <br> <B>Phone</B> available in office/gift shop. Reserve in winter for good lodging availability. A few sites typically remain open on short notice even in summer. No tents. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>1404 S. Yager off Little Harbor Rd., 3 blocks south of U.S. 2. Open May thru Oct. Handicap access: call. Families:not really for kids. $5/extra person in lodgings. Pets welcome throughout resort: $5 extra. </i> <p> <a name="e1360"><b>AL-O-RAY MOTEL </b></a><br> (906) 341-2479 <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> The rooms of this vintage motel are quite small, with pine-paneled walls. Guests can use the office phone. Satellite TV has 100 channels, A few picnic tables and a grill are in the large yard. Summer rates for two are around $40 (for one bed), $50 ($2 beds). No no-smoking rooms. Not air-conditioned. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>On U.S. 2 about a mile west of Thompson and 6 miles west of Manistique. Handicap access: tight quarters. Children: no extra charge. Pets: call</i> <p> </font> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#B6DBA4" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>THOMPSON<br>CAMPGROUNDS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> See also: Driftwood Shores (under Lodging)<br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> <a name="e306"><b>INDIAN LAKE STATE PARK</b></a><br> (906) 341-2355. Reservations: (800) 44-PARKS. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> This state park on the Upper Peninsula's fourth-biggest lake is in two separate parts. (See Points of Interest for the day-use area.) The mmore popular <B>"South Unit"</B> includes the <B>day-use area </B>and the modern <B>South Shore Campground</B> with 145 sites. (Some are new pull-through sites.) They are in a grassy, rather suburban setting with little privacy. This campground is right on the lake, adjoining the day-use area and boat launch. With new electrical upgrades, some sites now have 20, 30 and 50 amp service ($22/night); others have 20 and 30 amp ($20/night). All sites are $16 in the off-season. South Shore fills on Memorial Day weekend and from July 4 weekend until mid August, but most of the time there are enough spaces to take people off the road. To avoid disappointment in July and August, reserve in advance. Two mini-cabins ($45/night) are for rent. <br> In the "West Unit" is the semi-modern <B>West Shore Campground </B>with 72 secluded sites under mature trees ($13/night) farther from the lake. This campground lacks showers and flush toilets but has 20 amp electricity. It's rarely full, and is available on a first-come, first-served, non-reservable basis. (For $2 per shower campers can shower at the South Shore Campground.) <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>From U.S. 2 at the blinker light in Thompson, turn north onto M-149. Go 3 miles north, then east on 442 for South Unit. Follow signs to West Unit. Or from Manistique to South Unit, take CR 442/Deer St. by continuing straight where M-94 turns north. Follow signs. State Park sticker required: $6/day for Michigan residents, $8/day for others. Annual pass: $24/$29 for others. Dogs permitted on 6-foot leash. Handicap accessible: at South Unit 1 shower building and 12 sites. Day-use buildings are accessible. Skid pier gives water access. </i> <p> <a name="e307"><b>CAMP 7 LAKE RECREATION AREA/ HIAWATHA NATIONAL FOREST</b></a><br> (906) 341-5666. 1/3 of sites reservable ($8.65 reservation fee). Call 1-877-444-6777. TTY: 1-87 <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> Equidistant to Indian Lake and the many resort lakes south of Munising off Forest Highway 13, this developed Forest Service campground has 41 wooded campsites ($8 and $9/night) on 3 loops. They are by a 60-acre lake with a big, <B>sandy swimming beach, picnic area, </B>and a fully <B>accessible fishing pier</B>, a popular place for kids. The new <B>Van Winkle Lake Trail</B> is a <B>1.8-mile loop</B> from near the boat launch and picnic area to a lake where swans and many other waterfowl are seen. <br>    <B> Kids' Fishing Day</B> here on the Free Fishing Weekend (generally the first weekend in June) is huge, with 200 to 300 people in attendance. Call for day. Poles and bait are provided to fish in the two <B>trout ponds</B>. There are casting contests and door prizes. Fishing is mainly for rainbow trout. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>Most easily reached by taking Forest Highway 13 north from Nahma, and turning east on hard-surfaced CR 442. From Indian Lake (about 12 miles), go west on CR 442 until you reach CR 437, then go north to CR 443 (gravel), then west 5 miles to Camp 7. Open from mid-May to mid-September. Handicap access: call.</i> <p> </font> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=5 align="center">  <br> <center> <font size="+1" color="#454545" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica">Copyright © 1997-2007 Midwestern Guides</font> </center> </td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>