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Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA
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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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U.S. 2 FROM THE BRIDGE
POINTS
OF
INTEREST
Father Marquette Memorial. Interpretive panels focus on how native people used plants and animals, and Marquette and Jolliet's 1673 journey from St. Ignace to the Missisippi. ...
more
Totem Village. A disabled logger's 1950s folk art environment and museum paId tribute to Native Americans when mainstream culture looked down on them. Classic crafts, toys, books and music. Outside: a small woodland zoo. ...
more
Souvenir Barn. A free bridge-viewing site on the roof of an old-timey souvenir shop. Outstanding view of Mackinac Bridge, Straits, and possibly freighters. ...
more
Curio Fair. Another nostalgic tourist trinket shop, adorned by seashells. An 8-story high tower gives views of both the Mackinac Bridge to the south and forests to the north ...
more
Totem Village Museum. A handicapped logger took up wood carving and created a folk art homage to Indian values, getting in touch with his own Ojibwa ancestry in the process ...
more
Mystery Spot. Endless billboards build traveling kids' excitement for this classic roadside attraction, fun for adults and kids alike ...
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Gros Cap roadside park and St. Helena Island overlook. Take in a fine view, while picnicking, of St. Helena Island and its lighthouse 2 miles offshore ...
more
Hiawatha National Forest/St. Ignace Info Center and administrative unit. A picnic spot and native plant garden outside. Inside, handouts and good advice about camping, fishing, berry-picking spots, and wilderness areas ...
more
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Mystery Spot
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 | | How mysterious is the Mystery Spot? Perhaps it depends on how old you are. | Can you solve the mysteries just waiting for you? You will experience optical contractions and physical sensations here that are hard to believe." The Mystery Spot's enticing I-75 billboards have been tempting kids and irritating parents since 1955. Dan McCarthy, one of the kids whose dad never would stop here, bought The Mystery Spot in 1981, when he was 25. Running The Mystery Spot a part-time seasonal job that has enabled him to ski several months a year in Colorado. He built up the once-rundown business and added miniature golf, a game arcade, and a stockade fence maze. Picnic tables take advantage of the pretty, wooded setting. Dan pays his clean-cut summer college students more than prevailing wages in the area so he can keep good help, and he schedules extra staff to keep guides fresh on the hottest days. Guides move fast and talk fast, too. The job requires athleticism, and it was no surprise to learn that two female guides have four-year, full-ride college basketball scholarships.
Touring the radically slanted wood building installed over the "Mystery Spot" takes 20 minutes. On our visit, Mandy explained with wonder and awe how three California surveyors came to explore the Upper Peninsula in the early 1950s. They stumbled across a place where their plumb bobs and levels just wouldn't work. Then they became aware that they were constantly queasy. They zeroed in and found - the Mystery Spot! Mandy's solemn delivery and earnest concern were reminiscent of no one so much as George W. Bush.
In rapid-fire succession we then saw a ball roll up and water flowing up into a bucket. There were photo-ops galore. Tall people seemed small. We climbed a wall and tilted out into the air without falling. Some of us sat on radically balanced chairs. Kids smiled delightedly. So did the adults. Groups of adults traveling together can be the silliest of all. The gift shop is funnier than most.
If you want to analyze The Mystery Spot and put it in context (but doesn't that spoil the fun?), you could visit www.roadsideamerica.com , search for "Mystery Spot" and then click on "more about Mystery Spots." There are about a dozen in all, discussed mostly with affection.
Here are the rates. Just the Mystery Spot tour: $5 for kids 5 to 11, $6 for adults. Kids 4 and under free. A better deal is the combo ticket for the maze, 18 holes of minigolf, and the Mystery Spot tour: $7 for ages 5 through 11, $8 for ages 12 and up. (Can be divided over two different days.) Maze alone (takes about 10 minutes) $2. 18 holes of minigolf: $3.
On U.S. 2, about 4 miles west of the bridge, just west of the Deer Ranch. (906) 643-8322. Open rain or shine from early or mid May thru 3rd weekend of Oct. From Memorial thru Labor Day open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Open 9-7. Wheelchair access: can see first and last portions of Mystery Spot (70% of entire tour). No charge for visitors in wheelchairs.
Return to U.S. 2 from the Bridge
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