Fall Colors on Winona Lake in Houghton County
October 20, 2009
Winona Lake, photo by smartee_martee.
Just about a month ago I used Marty’s photo of Camp 5 Lake to say that fall color was on the way. As his photo from a visit last week to the Copper Country shows, it has most splendidly arrived.
If you are interested in taking your own fall color tour of the Keweenaw Peninsula, click that link. For more about the Keweenaw, click this one!
Check this out background bigtacular or in Marty’s Houghton County or Michigan Fall Colors set (slideshow).
View more photos by Marty and more Michigan autumn backgrounds on Michigan in Pictures.
Fall colors Up North … and everywhere in Michigan!
October 13, 2009
The trees are catching fire with the colors of autumn – it’s the perfect time to take a short or long drive for a fall color tour.
We have a few on fall color tours on Michigan in Pictures and you can get a bunch more color tours from michigan.org along with a whole ton more michigan fall information!
Ross took this shot last weekend up near Harbor Springs. Be sure to check it out bigger or in his slideshow.
Eagle Harbor Light, photo by scherbis.
With 120 lighthouses, Michigan has more than any other state. This weekend (October 8-11, 2009) the annual Great Lakes Light House Festival (cubicle warning: music) returns to Alpena. The event features activities including lighthouse tours (aerial, boat or personal vehicle), entertainment and over 100 maritime related vendors including lighthouse preservation groups, artists and authors. Tim Harrison, Editor in Chief & Publisher of Lighthouse Digest Magazine and President of American Lighthouse Foundation says:
There is no other festival like it in the United States. The organizers have done a fantastic job of drawing both vendors and lighthouse buffs from around the globe to what has become the largest and best lighthouse festival in the nation. October is a wonderful time of the year to visit Michigan, with the beautiful fall colors, close proximity to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island and lots of lighthouses, what more could one ask for?
Check this out bigger in Steven’s UP September set (slideshow) or his lighthouse slideshow. Be sure to also have a look at the 2000+ photo lighthouse slideshow in the Absolute Michigan pool!
Red, Gold & Green … Upper Peninsula Style
September 30, 2009
DSC00561, photo by ansonredford.
I know that we were just in the Porcupine Mountains, but if you’re looking for fall color in Michigan, there’s simply no better place in September! See Fall Color Tours: The Western Upper Peninsula from Michigan in Pictures for a great color tour suggestion from Travel Michigan.
Be sure to check out this photo bigger and also in Donald’s Porcupine Mountains set (slideshow).
Fall Color Tours: Marquette, Negaunee, Au Train
September 27, 2008
The start of Autumn, photo by I am Jacques Strappe
You can get 100+ more photos of the Upper Peninsula in autumn from Marjorie (slideshow).
Last fall through Absolute Michigan/Michigan in Pictures we started using the great information compiled in Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours as a starting point to point you to some great fall color touring (and fall color photos) around the state. We’re trying to add to what they’ve put together – not rip them off! As always, if you have links to information or photos that we missed, comments or reports, post them in the comments below!
We’ll start with a driving tour of the Central Upper Peninsula that’s best from mid-September to early October and about 185 miles long. The tour starts in the UP’s largest city, Marquette. Marquette features some amazing architecture. You can read about and see pictures of it courtesy of Marjorie’s blog, Michigan Architecture, especially the beautiful red sandstone.
I recommend wandering around downtown for a while to check out the buildings and maybe grab a muffin from Babycakes and some coffee at Dead River Coffee. Travel Michigan (TM) recommends a visit the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse, home of the Marquette Maritime Museum. The lighthouse (pictured right by n. weaver, part of his UP slideshow) was constructed in 1866 and is the oldest significant structure in the city and more importantly, the lighthouse is one of the most historic navigation beacons on Lake Superior. There’s a nice little park behind it where you can swim if you are totally insensitive to temperature.
TM suggests that Presque Isle Park is also worth a visit and it is, offering a slow, brief jaunt along the rugged Superior shore and lots of nice little trails. It’s also a great bike ride along the shore on an excellent bike path from the lighthouse.
Now’s probably a good time for a map – click TM’s map to see larger. Heading north on County Road 550 to Big Bay takes you on a half hour cruise through some beautiful country rich in trees and views. You can stop and do the 20 minute or so climb of Sugarloaf Mountain (see some pics from Lake Superior Photo). In Big Bay is the Thunder Bay Inn where you are required by travel writer code to mention “Anatomy of a Murder” which was filmed there. Unfortunately the Thunder Bay Inn has been shuttered. You can stop in at some of the other businesses and stay at the Big Bay Point Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast (if you call, they sometimes offer tours).
From Big Bay, head back on County Road 510 through the Huron Mountains and trees that arch over the roadway to form a tunnel of color. At US-41 head right and south into Negaunee (Chippewa word for pioneer) where you can visit the Michigan Iron Industry Museum, site of the first iron forge in the Lake Superior region. Negaunee’s Union Station Depot looks like a neat place to stay. From Negaunee, continue to Ishpeming, home of the U.S. National Ski & Snowboarding Hall of Fame and the Cliff’s Shaft Mine Museum.
The route takes you down County Road 476 to Palmer and from there on M-35 south to Gwinn. You can enjoy hiking and mountain biking at Anderson Lake West State Forest Campground or continue south on M-35 to Little Lake where you take County Road 456 east to US-41. A left US-41 takes you north to M-94 where you turn right on M-94 to Chatham and can ask “Honey – are you sure we’re not lost?” 3 miles north off M-94 at Sundell are the about 100′ high Laughing Whitefish Falls (photo right by Church of One).
From there it’s east until you reach H-03 located between Chatham and Forest Lake, north on H-03 along the AuTrain River and past AuTrain Lake until you reach the junction of M-28. You can go east 12 miles along the Lake Superior shoreline on 28 to Tyoga Pathway or go west back to Marquette.
Check out more Michigan Fall Color Tours on Michigan in Pictures and also our fall wallpaper collection!
maplepath, photo by Aunt Owwee
Our next fall color tour from Travel Michigan, Lansing – Grand Ledge – Hastings – Battle Creek – Eaton Rapids, starts where the above photo was taken: at the Fenner Nature Center in Lansing (once known as the Fenner Arboretum). The park is named after biologist Carl G. Fenner and has 130 acres with 4 miles of trails winding through maple groves, pine forests, swamp forests, old fields and 3 different ponds. This weekend (Oct 20 & 21) they’re having an Apple Butter Festival. Aunt Owwee (Shirl) has a cool four seasons view from here and lot more great shots of autumn in Michigan.
If you’ve got the nature center bug, you can stop at the Woldumar Nature Center, located along the Grand River not far southwest of Lansing. From there, head out M-43 to Grand Ledge. Fitzgerald Park aka “The Ledges” are absolutely gorgeous in the fall, as evidenced by this photo from Rein Nomm of Fall at the Ledges that appeared last year on Michigan in Pictures. Not convinced? Search fall at Grand Ledge on Flickr. Last weekend, the city of Grand Ledge held their annual Color Cruise, but there’s still plenty of color to be found.
Then it’s on to Hastings and Historic Charlton Park, a re-creation of a 19th century town. The structures are open only Memorial Day to Labor Day but you can certainly enjoy strolling along the river. For a little more exercise, jump on the non-motorized vehicle only Paul Henry – Thornapple Trail (see photos of the trail on Flickr). When complete, the trail will be a 42-mile route from Grand Rapids to Vermontville. The photo to the right of the Thornapple River was taken by hansendm.
The it’s on to Gull Lake and the W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary. The sanctuary is one of the North America’s pioneer wildlife conservation centers and offers a chance to see birds in the wild, bird displays and birds of prey enclosures featuring rare and common raptors including a bald eagle, red-tailed hawks and eastern screech owl.
Travel Michigan suggests a possible detour to the Fort Custer Recreation Area, located between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. It features three lakes, the Kalamazoo River and an excellent trail system that includes 16 miles of mountain bike trails. The 3000+ acre area was farmland that was acquired by the federal government to establish Camp Custer, an induction and military training center for the US Army during WWII.
If it’s raining or all this outdoor stuff doesn’t sound fun, consider stopping at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners which features almost 200 vehicles spanning over 100 years of automotive heritage from a 1899 Locomobile to the muscle cars of the 60s and 70s.
Continuing south, we come to the city of Battle Creek where recommended stops include the Sojourner Truth Monument (check out this set of photos of the Monument), Binder Park Zoo, the Leila Arboretum and Children’s Garden and the Battle Creek Linear Park. The park is a walkable, bikeable and billed as “the world’s largest classroom,” featuring signs that tell about plant, animal, cultural and historical points-of-interest along the park.
If you’re hungry as you head out on Old 27, consider Cornwell’s Turkey House aka Turkeyville USA. A bit further south is the town of Marshall. In addition to being a shopping mecca, Marshall’s downtown is designated as a National Historic Landmark District and features a wealth of historic attractions including the American Museum of Magic.
The photo to the right is of the Kalamazoo river from the Nature Center bridge by cathie and it’s just one of the places you can stop as you ease on down the road back to Lansing through the towns of Albion, Springport & Eaton Rapids. They recommend a stop at The English Inn of Eaton Rapids for dinner. Having eaten there before, I can only say “got room for another?”
Just so it’s clear, these fall color tour entries are produced by Absolute Michigan & Michigan in Pictures using the great information compiled in Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours as a starting point. We’re trying to add to what they’ve put together – not rip them off! As always, if you have links to information or photos that we missed, comments or reports, post them in the comments below!
Don’t miss our Michigan Fall Wallpaper series and see more of Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours.
Fall Color Tours: Traverse City – Northport – Frankfort
October 13, 2007
Leelanau fall, photo by Jeff Lamb
Our next stop (as designed by Travel Michigan) is the region of Northwest Lower Michigan containing Traverse City – Northport – Frankfort. I know this is the second day in a row with a photo from the Leelanau Peninsula … I guess sometimes I feel like hanging around my home. Jeff Lamb likes hanging around here too, especially in the fall, and I think he’s one of the best at capturing the roll of the hill and sweep of the sky that characterizes fall in this part of Michigan. See more in his Leelanau set (slideshow).
The tour starts at the end of the Old Mission Peninsula at the Mission Point Lighthouse. I’m not sure how you start there – airlift probably. I am sure that you’ll see great color along the winding roads of Old Mission like in this photo Old Mission, MI by Jerry Ting. In addition to being prime fruit growing regions packed with roadside stands and markets, both peninsulas feature great wine trails with about 20 wineries – learn more from the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula and the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association web sites.
Downtown Traverse City has a ton of restaurants and shops to choose from and if you like historic homes, consider wandering the tree-lined neighborhoods of the city and also the Village at the Grand Traverse Commons as there are some gorgeous trees and cool shops to be found there as well! If you want more options, check out the Traverse City CV’s color tours of the region (they also provide regular color reports). One tour they suggested is a northwest Michigan apple tour.
Assuming you’re still with us, lets head north to Leelanau County. M-22 winds along the outside of the county along Lake Michigan through the villages of Suttons Bay, Omena, Northport, Glen Arbor & Empire. From Northport, consider a short jaunt to the beautifully restored Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum at the tip of Leelanau. On the way back stop in at Kilcherman’s Antique Apple Farm (also see this article) for a huge selection of rare & tasty apples and cider. At the southern end of Leelanau County is the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. With historic farms and hiking trails & overlooks offering soaring views of fall’s glory, this could be a whole weekend in and of itself. Before we leave, I better put in a plug for my Leelanau.com web site as a travel & information resource and also point you at my favorite trail: the Empire Bluff Trail. One look at a collection of photos from Empire Bluff should be all the push you need to take this short but amazing trail!
Heading south on 22 we enter Benzie County. The photo to the right (Another Autumn at the Tweedle Barn by John Clement Howe) is from the Tweddle-Treat farmstead that’s just off 22 on Norconk Rd). If it’s not to cold, head down to Otter Creek Beach (aka Esch Rd). Further down 22 we pass Crystal Lake and also the 2nd most photographed lighthouse in the world, Point Betsie. A little further south are the towns of Frankfort & Elberta that boast beautiful Lake Michigan beaches and Frankfort pier and make a perfect place to catch the sunset (or some fish). A couple other highlights along the way back to Traverse City are Gwen Frostic Prints in Benzonia and the Homestead Sugar House in Beulah.
Just so it’s clear, these fall color tour entries are produced by Absolute Michigan & Michigan in Pictures using the great information compiled in Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours as a starting point. We’re trying to add to what they’ve put together – not rip them off! As always, if you have links to information or photos that we missed, comments or reports, post them in the comments below!
Don’t miss our Michigan Fall Wallpaper series and see more of Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours.
Fall Color Tours: Mackinaw City – Charlevoix – Petoskey
October 9, 2007
outside east jordan, mi., photo by redmudball
The above photo is of the St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church of East Jordan (link) and is part of Casey’s Fall in East Jordan set.
While the autumn color is still in full bloom in the Upper Peninsula, we better head south across the Mighty Mac and spend some time on color touring Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Our first tour of Mackinaw City – Charlevoix – Petoskey (as designed by Travel Michigan) begins just on the other side of the Mackinac Bridge in Mackinaw City. They encourage you to stop in at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, a beautifully restored 1892 structure that serves as a museum and is part of Mackinac State Historic Parks. You might pop for the MSHP day pass and check out Colonial Michilimackinac and/or Mackinac Island, but we better not get sidetracked.
Travel Michigan suggests getting off I-75 (a suggestion with which we heartily concur) and heading south down US-31. Just a few miles down, take Gill Rd. west to Just a Plain Farm, which features a full farm market & bakery plus all kinds of activities including hay rides, pumpkin picking and corn mazes. Then it’s back to 31 to Levering Rd. where you’ll want a map to navigate to Petoskey State Park, featuring 300+ acres on Little Traverse Bay, sandy beaches and one of the many dunes named Old Baldy on Lake Michigan. If you like views like the one to the right of Harbor Springs by Latitude45, continue on because this area is full of them! Martin has great photos of fall color from all over the Petoskey area as well!
You’ll want to keep that map handy (or turn to Google maps) as you head through the city of Petoskey (and maybe stop for lunch or a coffee at Roast & Toast). You may also want to wind through historic and tree-lined Bay View and check out the scenery & fishing on the Bear River. Up the Bear River is Walloon Lake (it’s a town and a lake). You can’t say Walloon Lake without also saying “Ernest Hemingway”, so here’s the Hemingway Resource Center’s page on the family cottage Windimere on the shore of Walloon Lake. The cottage is privately owned, but there’s a wealth of detail about the history of the area.
Assuming you avoid the temptation to brood moodily at Hemingway’s favorite barstool, it’s on to Charlevoix. On any of several ways, you can pass through a large number of small towns which are well detailed by the Petoskey – Harbor Springs – Boyne Country Visitors Bureau. There’s a lot of beautiful scenery here and even the back roads have back roads.
Like Petoskey, Charlevoix is full of all manner of shops and stores. If you’re in the mood for a more extended color trip, consider the ferry to Beaver Island. It’s known as America’s Emerald Isle, but in the fall, there’s all kinds of color to be enjoyed. Near Charlevoix there are two state parks, Young State Park on Lake Charlevoix and Fisherman’s Island State Park on Lake Michigan.
Assuming you head back north, take M-32 out of Petoskey to Harbor Springs. North of Harbor Springs on M-119 is the “Tunnel of Trees” a gorgeous stretch of narrow road along the shore that is lined with maple and other trees.
The Legs Inn in Cross Village is a textbook example of the “It’s my darn place and I’ll do whatever the heck I want with it” style of architecture for which northern Michigan is justly celebrated. The picture to the right of the door by artbabee is just the barest sample – she has more in her Charlevoix, Cross Village, and Walloon Lake, Michigan set! Their Polish food is also justly celebrated – here’s what they have to say about the whole thing:
Located in historic Cross Village, Michigan, Legs Inn is a “monument to nature.” Built on a high bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, it is unique and mysterious as seen in its architecture and decor. The fantasy-like atmosphere of this medieval looking stone, timber and driftwood landmark was created by one man, Polish immigrant, Stanley Smolak. He fell in love with Northern Michigan and its people, many of them Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and decided to settle in Cross Village in 1921.
Authentic Polish cuisine is our specialty, but delicious American dishes, including local fresh Whitefish, are also served. The Smolak family and staff are dedicated to making your visit to Legs Inn an unforgettable experience, which will have you returning often with family and friends throughout the years.
In a perfect world, you might arrive at Wilderness State Parkin time for sunset over Lake Michigan. In an even more perfect world, you’d be at the top of a multi-year waiting list for a cabin at the park!
Just so it’s clear, these fall color tour entries are produced by Absolute Michigan & Michigan in Pictures using the great information compiled in Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours as a starting point. We’re trying to add to what they’ve put together – not rip them off! As always, if you have links to information or photos that we missed, comments or reports, post them in the comments below!
Don’t miss our Michigan Fall Wallpaper series and see more of Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours.
Miners Castle – October 2006, photo by Lars Jensen
Let’s jump over to the eastern side of the UP for the next color tour of Munising – Newberry – Grand Marais … and the Pictured Rocks.
The highlight of this tour is of course the stunning Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore., (be sure to check out Lars Jensen’s other Pictured Rocks galleries). Travel Michigan starts you heading east from the town of Munising (Munising.com has the best links, but you can also see the Munising Visitors Bureau). 
Be sure to check out Munising area waterfalls including Horseshoe Falls (photographed so well by Amy Kilroy – see her Pictured Rocks set for more!). Regarding Munising, Michigan.org says:
This harbor town of about 2,500 is the departure point for regularly scheduled, 2-1/2 hour, narrated Pictured Rocks Boat Cruises as well as chartered Skylane Air Tours that offer a birds-eye view of the scenery. Hikers can tackle all or a portion of the 43 mile Pictured Rocks segment of The North Country Trail (NCT), a national scenic hiking route from North Dakota to New York.
I’ve never done the Air Tour (check that link above and scroll down for the video!), but the boat cruise offers an amazing look at the Pictured Rocks that’s well worth the time and cost! The Pictured Rocks is my favorite place in Michigan, and I’ve covered it pretty well on Michigan in Pictures and on Absolute Michigan. The same is true of Tahquamenon Falls, so let’s say that Grand Marais is a cool little harbor town with its own brewery and a great little diner car diner and skip over to the Tahquamenon Logging Museum which features all kinds of logging era memorabilia and special events including Lumberjack Breakfasts and a Harvest Fest the 3rd weekend of October.
They don’t stop at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point (’cause that’s another tour), but you can definitely make the short detour to check this very cool museum out. Then it’s back south to Newberry (recent photos at visitnewberry.com) and then west to the Seney National Wildlife Refuge (Wikipedia entry) and the gorgeous Seney Stretch of M-28. Although this highway has been called “mind-numbingly monotonous” and “the state’s most boring route“, it’s actually pretty beautiful in the fall! (photo to the right is H-58 in Fall Color by James Phelps – part of his great Pictured Rocks set).
Here’s a link to a map of photos from the Munising / Pictured Rocks area in the Absolute Michigan pool!
Just so it’s clear, these fall color tour entries are produced by Absolute Michigan & Michigan in Pictures using the great information compiled in Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours as a starting point. We’re trying to add to what they’ve put together – not rip them off! As always, if you have links to information or photos that we missed, comments or reports, post them in the comments below!
Don’t miss our Michigan Fall Wallpaper series and see more of Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours.
Quincy Hill in Fall Colors 5, photo by KaylynStar
Kaylyn has a number of colorful photos of Quincy Hill in the fall. As the northernmost point of Michigan, the Keweenaw Peninsula would probably have been the logical place to start color touring Michigan rather than where we did start (Western UP – Ironwood, Silver City, Wakefild, Porcupine Mountains).
In any case, the Keweenaw, way up north and surrounded by the icy waters of Lake Superior, is one of the first places in Michigan to be touched by autumn’s paintbrush. Michigan.org’s Color Tour of Houghton, Eagle River, Copper Harbor starts you in the city of Houghton at the Quincy Mine (photo: Quincy Mine & Hoist by Coder). 
The mine is open from May through late October and is part of the Keweenaw National Historical Park and offers guided tours of the old copper mine, the largest steam hoist ever built and a whole lot more mining history. There’s a museum on site and they also have a passenger cog rail tram that takes you to the top of Quincy Hill (where I assume you can get some great photos).
The tour heads north on M-41 to Phoenix where you can apparently tour the Church of the Assumption. The copper mining ghost towns of the Upper Peninsula page from Exploring the North has a brief bit on Phoenix:
Phoenix is located on highway 41 at the junction of M-26 to Eagle River. Once (about 1872) a thriving mining town of around 500 to 1000 people, but today there are only a few old buildings and the Phoenix Church remaining at the site of the old mine. St. Mary’s Church was built in 1858 to serve the Catholic residents of the mining community of Cliff, the scene of the area’s first major copper discovery in 1844. In 1899 the church was dismantled and reassembled in Phoenix, where it was renamed the Church of the Assumption. The Keweenaw County Historical Society has purchased and restored the property so the Phoenix Church appears much as it did over 100 years ago.
From there, it’s west to Eagle River, once an important port town for the copper industry and now a resort community. Attractions include the Eagle River Falls (photo: Eagle River Falls by Jim Sorbie) and the Eagle River Inn (they have some cool old photos on their site). Keep heading north and you’ll come to Jacob’s Falls and the Jampot, where the good monks of the Holy Transfiguration Skete make jams, jellies and pastries from all kinds of fruits including their famous thimbleberry jam. Stop car. Go in. Buy jam.
Eagle Harbor is next, and I can never mention Eagle Harbor without mentioning the first blog I ever saw, George’s Eagle Harbor Web. It’s also home to the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse and Museums (detailed info from Seeing the Light). 
Not far past here is Brockway Mountain Drive, the highest above sea-level drive between the Rockies and the Alleghenies. From the lookouts you can see glorious views of the town of Copper Harbor where you can see their photo gallery & webcam, Lake Fanny Hoe & Fort Wilkins State Park and the northern Keweenaw (photo: Samuel of the Mountain by Kyle Rokos). It’s probably time for a bite to eat too and them you can take a boat tour to the Copper Harbor Lighthouse if you’re feeling a little adventurous … or the ferry to Isle Royale if you’re feeling a lot adventurous!
It looks like the folks at Travel Michigan got a little tired at this point, tailing off with:
Continuing south of Copper Harbor is the authentic Delaware Mine, which yielded eight million pounds of the metal between 1847-1887. The scenic route continues through wonderful forests and through the city of Calumet, which was the cultural and commercial center of the Keweenaw Copper Range. Take time to visit the restored Calumet Theater and the red sandstone buildings of the downtown business district. This is the heart of the Keweenaw National Historic Park, which recognizes the importance of the mining history of this rugged and scenic region.
I’ve been in the Delaware Mine and I have to agree with UPTravel.com who say “If you have time to visit only one attraction in the Keweenaw, make it Delaware Mine, the area’s premier tourist attraction, where copper was mined from 1847 – 1887.” It’s very, very cool.
If you’re curious as to what the color looks like right now, I’d say “pretty darn good!” A final reminder, be careful when driving those back roads!
Just so it’s clear, these fall color tour entries are produced by Absolute Michigan & Michigan in Pictures using the great information compiled in Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours as a starting point. We’re trying to add to what they’ve put together – not rip them off! As always, if you have links to information or photos that we missed, comments or reports, post them in the comments below!
Don’t miss our Michigan Fall Wallpaper series and see more of Travel Michigan’s Fall Color Tours.
