Hiawatha National Forest

We crossed over the Mackinac Bridge from Michigan to the Upper Peninsula. Shortly after crossing, we turned onto Hwy 2 west. This drive took us along the shores of Lake Superior. There are many turn outs to stop and picnic. We found one with a nice view of the Mackinac Bridge. The weather was a bit too cold to sit at the picnic tables, but we made our sandwiches and ate them in the car. The view of the bridge was fantastic, especially with the fall colors.

There are many pasties shops in the area, but most were closed for the season, so we were not able to get any.

We headed to Palms Brooks State Park in the Hiawatha National Forest. This state park is known for Kitch-iti-Kiki, the “Big Spring” of the Upper Peninsula. This is Michigan’s largest natural freshwater spring - 200 feet across, 40 feet deep. The water is so clear you can count the trout at even 40 feet below. There is a hand cranked wooden raft with a glass bottom that you use to cross. It is free with admission into the park. However, the boat was not working. We were disappointed and turned around and headed north through the Hiawatha National Forest towards Munising.

We decided to turn off the main road and take the “forest roads”. These unpaved roads were absolutely pitchuresqe with the wonderful fall colors. We did not come across any other vehicles as we during our drive. I would highly recommend driving these roads. Even though they were not paved, the roads were well maintained and fairly smooth.

Forest roads we took through Hiawatha National Forest.

Once we got to Munising, we headed up towards Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The fall colors up here are stunning.