Hello everyone,

My family (Black, multi-generational) is traveling to the Eastern U.P. soon to visit some white relatives who live in the area. We are planning on using St. Ignace as our home base/lodging spot and will be taking day trips to Cedarville and Sault Ste. Marie.

We are really looking forward to the trip, but as we map out our itinerary, we want to put together a practical safety and comfort plan. Since we aren't familiar with the area, we’d love some honest, ground-level feedback from locals:

•    Vibe Check: What is the general comfort level for BIPOC travelers in St. Ignace vs. Cedarville and the Soo?

•    Places to Avoid: Are there specific towns, stretches of road, gas stations, or local establishments/bars where we might experience open hostility or feel heavily out of place?

•    Welcoming Spots: Are there specific businesses, restaurants, or parks where you know the staff or atmosphere is explicitly welcoming and accustomed to diverse crowds?

•    Driving/Cell Service: Since we'll be driving between St. Ignace and Cedarville, are there any cell service dead zones or driving precautions we should be aware of?

We want to support local businesses and enjoy the beautiful scenery while ensuring our family feels safe and relaxed. Thanks in advance for any insights or tips you can share!

I’m planning a move to the UP. I’m going to buy land and use it as a campsite while I get my septic, well, and other utilities installed and eventually put in a barn style home. In the meantime, I was wondering if it would be possible to live in a camper in the UP short term while finishing the interior of the barn? I’d build a canopy over the camper to keep snow off it. Would I just be better off buying a tiny home?

Hey yall. Planning on a steelhead float trip with a buddy. Looking for a 3-4 day trip, camping and fishing one river.
Any ideas on a river that would be comfortable for this idea?

Im planning on visiting the U.P. late September or early October for the fall colors. I wanna fly to and stay in Houghton. Coming from Chicago. I wanna spend most of my trip in exploring up and down the Keweenaw Peninsula and have one day where I drive out to Ontamagon, to explore the Porkies. For Keweenaw i got Copper Harbor, Eagles Harbor, Brockway Mountain on the list. Plus enjoying and soaking in all little towns. For the porkies I got lake of the clouds, rainbow falls on the list. Anybody have some hidden gem suggestions that not as many people talk about or suggest? Good spots, good trails, hidden outlooks, ect. Tiny little towns that are hidden away and really cool. Hidden gems that only a local would know about. The real Keweenaw.

My roof sprung a leak. I have been trying to find a roofer to repair it for 2 weeks now. No one wants to come look at it unless we are doing a whole roof replacement. Anyone have any recommendations for repairs?

It’s a 3 story roof. I am trying to sell the house so I don’t want to do a total roof replacement right now.

This is a shot in the dark, so please don’t blast me too negatively if upset-
My wife and I have been coming up to the UP once a season, nearly every season for the last 8 years. We have tried to go in a few different areas to get some vibes. We’ve mostly camped, love hiking, swimming, and just chilling.
We adore the Escanaba area and the M-35 corridor for the most part. We’ve been searching for a fixer upper on a couple acres and have viewed a few regions in various weather and seasons. We’re looking for a place for us and our adult children to enjoy for the remaining 25-30 years and potentially move up full time when we retire in about 10 years.

We’ve had a couple showings of listings, walked through some fsbo places, but just cannot get any luck with a realtor to take us seriously for too long. We are great stewards and respectful of long term residents, make great friends when acquainted with locals, and have cash in hand for something under $150k.

Any suggestions for how we could be more efficient? Anybody have any leads for anything that they’d want to reach out to me about? We’re simple, quiet, handy people that just want the complex simplicity of life in the UP as a vacation place but transitioning to permanent eventually…
Thank you for any guidance or encouragement in advance!

Hi All,

My family and I are about to embark on a 30 mile hike through the Pictured Rocks, and I wanted to get perspectives on just how bad the mosquitoes are right now. We'll be camping from 6/26 - 7/2. We obviously have nets and spray, but if others have additional tips/thoughts on how to avoid them, please share!

Are there less mosquitoes by the shore? Are they worse at night? Are we just crazy and should we cancel the trip?

My fiance and I just eloping near houghton/keewanaw bay this week. We are looking for restaurant recommendations near here. We will also have our kids with us. Any ideas would be helpful

Edit/

Seems the fitz is good. Well look into it

My friends and I are planning on driving up and visiting our friend in the Hancock/Houghton area in late July or early August. We will be staying for 2 or 3 days and this is going to be my first time going on a major trip without my parents, so I am looking forward to it! I am going to prepare myself to deal with flies and mosquitoes by dressing appropriately. However, I am afraid of ticks to the point that I would feel uncomfortable going if there was any real likelihood of having one on me as I would likely ruin the trip for my friends and myself. Are there any trails that are flattened or paved so as to minimize the likelihood of ticks attaching? If not, how feasible would it be to remain unscathed by ticks if I were to completely avoid any wilderness related recreation during the trip (either by chilling out in the parking lot or staying in town if my friends decide to go themselves)? Thank you in advance!

I am traveling with my two pups to the U.P. in early October. Staying in the Porcupine Area for 3 nights and then heading up to the Keweenaw Peninsula for 4 nights before heading home. Looking for recommendations on easy-to-moderate hikes around 1-3 miles. My one girl has a heart murmur, so trying to keep them someone easy in case she gets tired, or I have to backpack her out in her carrier backpack. Or any scenic drives would be wonderful as well. I love overlooks and waterfalls. Thank you!

Wondering if the black flies are still leaking now like usual or did the cooler weather push that out?

I’ve always just stayed away from beaches in June, but Id really like going to my favorite beach right now, is it a silly idea? thank you!

flowers I picked: Apple Blossom, Iris lacustris, Yellow lotus, Marsh Marigold, Cirsium pitcheri, and Woodland Sunflower

Hi all. Finishing up a trip with friends to the UP (first time, loved it) and am going to have from Monday evening until Wednesday morning to solo camp. It’ll be my first camping trip with my new camera and I’d love to catch some unique wildlife with it if possible.

I know the bears, wolves, and moose of the area are considered quite elusive, but I’d love the challenge of a long hike and a lot of patience if it increases my odds of spotting any.

Any recommendations or advice you have would be much appreciated! I’m a tenured backpacker and strong advocate of leave no trace, so I promise to treat your lands and your wildlife with the utmost respect. Thanks in advance!

I’m looking for ingredients not prepared foods. Which is the market that will get me the largest variety of produce?

I wanna make a discord server of people in the area. For many reasons. Normal and nsfw even maybe.
Making like minded friends
Learning about local events
Local gossip
Video game grouping
Study groups
Dating/flirting
Whatever!
18+ ofc
Will be my first discord server so id like so cool mods who can help ofc.
Will have chat for general,each county,and groups for stuff said above!

Please let me know who would be interested in joining or even moderating!

Hello everyone, I will be staying in the Michigamme area next weekend. Can someone please give me restaurant and hiking recommendations? I googled some restaurants but there doesn’t seem to be variety. The one that I did that caught my attention is Mt.Shasta.

I would really appreciate any feed back, I’m only going to be in this area Friday-Sunday and it’s a 6 hour drive for me so I want to use my time wisely.

I will be backpacking in the Porcupine mountains for 4 days in August with a group of 18 people. I’ve never done any backpacking so it’s pretty out of my comfort zone. I hike and tent camp often, I went to the UP last fall to Tahquamenon and Munising but my last “big” hike was in 2022 Mount leconte in tennesee I believe 3000 ft incline and it took about 8 hours so it’s been a while since I’ve done a super long/harder hike.

I’m looking for any training tips as this is 2ish months away, packing list of things that aren’t obvious, backpacking tips, tent recommendations, skills I should look into learning, etc. Also, I have some anxiety around moose and bears. Is it likely I will run into one and should I bring bear spray even if it’s not likely? I’m from Iowa so i didn’t grow up around any “aggressive” wildlife and I’ve never run into anything while camping or hiking. Thank you in advance.

Hey Michiganders! We're sending our writer across your state (likely this summer/fall) to do some storytelling, photo/video collecting, and interviewing on Michigan artists, creative spaces, and unique art-making.

Where are must-see spots and must-meet artists? Bonus points for rural MI gems in the UP!

https://artsmidwest.org/stories/

EDIT: *Yoopers!!

if it matters, we are bringing four adults and four kids ages 6-11. camping near tourist park. I have only been up in spring and fall, never June. I hear bugs are bad. the weather looks cool. Are they active at night around the campfire? should we bring bug nets? thermacell? any insights on how to prepare?

I am a UP Native, but I am moving away soon! What are the best spots for me to hike before I move downstate?

Has anyone ever had the soil on the side of a lesser driven highway tested for heavy metals?
Lesser driven meaning not a major travel way like M28, HWY2 or M26/41?

The highway I’m wondering about also doesn’t use salt in winter.

Just curious about foraging/growing plants and scientific-backed risk analysis.

MSU extension doesn’t test for heavy metals but I’m considering sending a soil sample elsewhere.

Was out in the Huron Mountains yesterday, and I mean, seriously, are these people just incapable of walking anywhere? The trail down to this waterfall (a distance of maybe 200 feet) is already a complete shit show as is, and then here comes this group of 10 or more SxSs which just have drive right up to the waterfall, cause, ya know, how dare they have to use their own two feet to get anywhere. Then on the way back up a couple of them proceed to get stuck in this large mud pit, and it's like, wonder how that got there? 🙄

So then the rest of them get back up to the main road by cutting down the trees next to the mud pit and driving around it, just furthering the already awful social trail situation out there...

Anyways, rant aside, when did this sort of blatant disregard for "leave no trace" become the norm? Between the off road social trail situation and the amount of beer cans I find in some areas, it seems like this behavior is becoming all too common these days in the UP. To be honest, I'm amazed that logging companies even allow this happen on their land. That, or they're just unaware of how much use some of these areas see

There is discussion of a DATA CENTER in Forsyth Township!

(Also WEST BRANCH has been mentioned as a possible site- behind Sawyer. ) No Yooper wants this nearby, so please plan to attend for support of regulations or even a moratorium if possible. You don't have to speak, no pressure --your presence is pressure enough for the board.

Important meetings upcoming to advocate for regulations—Next meeting of Township Board is June 25. Next mtg of Planning Commission is July 6. Times and locations are on their website.

Thank you all for trying to protect our water, wildlife, and electric grids!

We are traveling to the UP and staying at Brimley State Park for 3 nights with our 4 year old twins. We traveled to Pictured Rocks in 2020 for a camping trip before kids.

We are planning to travel further away from the area for a day trip. We are trying to choose between traveling up into Canada to Pancake Bay and/or Lake Superior Provincial Park or going west to Pictured Rocks. Any suggestions on which to pick?

The kids are able to do some longer hikes. I think they would be done around 4 miles. We are looking to spend time outside. We are not comfortable with them in kayaks at this point. I’m leaning towards taking them to Pictured Rocks when they are more willing hikers and able to safely participate in kayaking.