Fall Drive up the Keweenaw Peninsula

 When we decided to make the UP Trip two days, we decided to drive up the Keweenaw Peninsula to Copper Harbor before heading home. This way I could get a few National Park Stamps and see the fall colors at the same time.

We left from Marquette and headed west along US 41. We passed Three Lakes. The colors of the trees reflecting on the water was stunning.

Our first stop was the Isle Royale Visitor Center in Houghton. Isle Royale is one of the least visited National Parks since you can only get there by boat or sea plane about 6 months out of the year and boats only run about once a day from a couple of boats. It is about a 6 hour boat ride from Houghton or 3 from Grand Marias, MN. It is one of those National Parks I don't think I'll ever get to but I wanted my passport stamp. Maybe one day we will actually visit. The hubby did ask a lot of questions so you never know.

Back on the road we headed up to Eagle Harbor Lighthouse but first we had to stop at the World's Largest Thermometer. It measures the snowfall in Keweenaw County. The hubby was not happy that I made him stop as it came up quickly and I was like pull in there. He survived though. I got my picture and we could continue on our way.

As we continued our way to the lighthouse taking the scenic route, we stumbled upon Jacob's Falls, a waterfall literally on the side of the road. When they say there are waterfalls on the side of the road, they mean literally. Some do require a bit of hiking to see others like Jacob's are literally on the side of the road. This is a must stop since the Jampot is right next it and they come highly recommended except closed Sundays and Mondays.

Finally we arrived at Eagle Harbor Lighthouse. It didn't open until 10 but I just wanted to take a few pictures, admire the view, and keep on heading north. It is a nice stop and if we had more time, the lighthouse would be worth checking out.

Decision time -- Take the Lakeshore Road or take the Brockway Mountain Road. I was hesitant to mention the mountain road to the hubby because they said steep drops. However he decided we should take the Brockway Mountain Road. I am so glad we did. Like everyone recommended the drive was scenic and gorgeous -- not scary at all. 

Once you get to the top, the view are amazing. There is a nice parking lot that explains the history of the area. There are also a few trails it looks like if you want to wander a little further from the car. We just admired the views.

Our final destination was the starting point of US 41 which is at the tip of Copper Harbor. We actually drove through Fort Wilson Historic State Park to get to it (another state park for the year). Since we were driving through and not going into the actual park, we didn't have to pay the entrance fee. Besides that state park, Copper Harbor didn't seem to have much to do in October. 

The drive back to Houghton along 41 was just as stunning with the fall colors as Brockway Mountain.

We also passed through the Keweenaw National Historic Park on our way up and back. We didn't stop at any of the Copper Mines. We thought about while planning the trip but opted not to. The hubby says that we might want to look more into a mine tour in the future.

I don't know a better way to spend a Monday than driving through Northern Michigan and seeing the fall colors. USA Today ranks the Keweenaw Peninsula as the best place to see fall colors and I don't disagree. It was a gorgeous, relaxing drive. 

The hubby said he would love to do this again. The weather was gorgeous and so were the leaves. We may not get so lucky next time but there is still plenty to see since we have not hit a copper mine or the historic park. Next time though I'll have to find more waterfalls. Definitely put a drive through the Keweenaw Peninsula in the fall on your bucket list.

2937. Take a sunset boat tour of Pictured Rocks in Munising

 Everyone in my National Park Facebook Group is like you must view Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore from the water. You can either kayak or take a boat tour. After some search searching I found two different boat tours but the glass bottom boat tours ended at the end of September. Based on tour times and our schedule, we opted for the Sunset Spray Falls Tour.

The Sunset Spray Falls Tour is ran by Pictured Rocks Cruise, LLC. They offer four different cruises and operate daily from Mid-May to the end of October weather permitting. Two of the cruises are sunset cruises. The sunset cruise time is dependent on the time of the sunset so our departure time was 5:45. The sunset cruise is the most popular because of how the sun hits the rocks during sunset.

Boarding is first come first serve and you can line up an hour before hand with boarding starting 15 minutes prior to departure. We got in line about 50 minutes beforehand there were probably 50 people or so in front of us. The boats are have three decks and the top deck is open seating while the other two are enclosed. You really want to be on the top deck. You also want to be on the left (port) side of the boat so you get the views of the rocks on the way back. Trust me on this. This is when the sun hits the rocks and you can get those awesome pictures.

Despite the hubby's initial hesitation about the cost, he really enjoyed the tour. It is over two hours. You go out to Spray Falls and come back on a high speed catamaran. You definitely need to dress for the weather. It gets cold on the water during October.

Our captain was fabulous. He would stop or slow down at every scenic point to allow for pictures. Depending on the location, he would spin the boat around so both sides of the boat could get pictures. You were not allowed to stand up unless on the bottom deck at the back of the boat. 

Some of the highlights include East Channel Lighthouse 

Miners Castle

Many sea caves

Spray Falls.

At the end you can just sit back and relax and enjoy the sunset as you cruise back to the dock.

It was great boat trip. I highly recommend taking the sunset cruise if you make it to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the future. It is well worth the money and time. However, I would recommend eating before hand if you can as food choices can be limited afterwards.