Are you wishing to break free from your daily routines? To get out to see and try new things? Ignite your curiosity or wander off the well-worn path of your life?
Plan the best summer vacation ever in the Upper Peninsula. With this guide to Free Things to Do in the U.P., your world will take a refreshing new look and feel. Find exhilarating adventures, peaceful hideaways, miles of beaches, mystical places and dozens of unconstrained ways to relax — all things that won’t cost one cent to do.
Let your FREE IN THE U.P. vacation begin!
Add These Top Free Activities to Your Vacation Plans
JUMP TO:
Great Lakes Beaches Historic Lighthouses Inland Lakes Museums Waterfalls Paddling Rivers & Streams Hiking Trails Biking Trails Concerts and Events Dark Sky Stargazing Walk Around the “Big Turtle” Go on a Rockhounding Adventure Encounter the Paulding Mystery Light Dark Sky Stargazing
Play on over 1,000 miles of free Great Lakes beaches
One of the U.P.’s bragging rights is that it is the only land mass touched by three of the greatest freshwater seas in the world: Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. We proudly claim 1,700 miles of Great Lakes shorelines where everywhere you look instills a sense of adventure into the unknown.
Go ahead — let the water wash over your toes. Swim or surf the waves, make footprints and sand castles in the soft sand, climb towering dunes and craggy cliffs, gather agates and colorful stones and each day, watch the sun paint the horizon at dawn and evening.
Find a beach near where you are staying.
Visit 40+ historic lighthouses
As you venture along the Great Lakes coasts, stop to see our life-saving sentinels. Most U.P. lighthouses have weathered brutal storms since the mid-1800s. They hold hundreds of heroic and tragic stories to share with you. Some lighthouses charge to climb the towers or tour their keepers' quarters and museums. There is no fee for taking photographs outside.
Add these lighthouses to your itinerary.
Explore 4,300 inland lakes
You probably can’t visit all the Upper Peninsula’s refreshing inland lakes in your lifetime — although it’s worth the challenge. Thousands are perfect for swimming, boating, fishing, kayaking, water sports, picnicking, relaxing and stargazing. Many offer free beaches, boat launches and parks. The largest inland lake is Lake Gogebic. Other popular places to spend days at a time are the Manistique Lakes, Trout Lake and Portage Lake.
IMMERSE IN OUR STORIES AT MUSEUMS FROM IRONWOOD TO DRUMMOND ISLAND
Several free museums across the Upper Peninsula share fascinating stories about its history and culture. Take a journey from ancient times to the present at the Museum of Ojibwa Culture in St. Ignace. Purchase authentic Native American art and learn about the traditional ways of the Ojibwa and how their teachings are still carried on today.
Take a personal journey from iron’s ancient geologic origins through the 20th century at the Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee . You will leave knowing how the U.P.’s iron ranges played a huge role in the industrialization of America.
Explore the breadth of our military history at one of the U.P.’s newest museums in Escanaba. The U.P. Military Museum pays tribute to the brave women, men and animals that helped preserve America’s freedom from the U.S. Civil War until now. This is a rare opportunity to learn more about the U.P.’s Polar Bears of World War I and the Fly Girls of World War II.
Take your time going through the Webster Marble: Inventing the Outdoors Museum in Escanaba. Many say Marble put the Upper Peninsula on the map. He became one of the early 20th century’s greatest entrepreneurs, inventors and marketing geniuses by setting the standard for knives, axes and other tools for millions of outdoor enthusiasts. Some of his most famous customers were Robert Peary, Teddy Roosevelt and Charles Lindberg.
Explore all our museums (the list includes free and those charging admission).
LISTEN TO THE THUNDER AND WHISPER OF 300+ WATERFALLS
Most of the Upper Peninsula’s 300+ waterfalls are accessible by foot and several by wheelchair, so you won’t miss searching for your favorites. Park your vehicle and hike to face-to-face meetings with Black River Falls, Bond Falls, Eagle River Falls, the Great Conglomerate Falls and hundreds more. You will hear them calling you before you see them, just as they have for centuries.
Paddle on 12,000 miles of streams and rivers
The first Native American and European explorers paddled the placid and whitewater currents of our rivers and streams. They searched for food and opportunities for fortune and freedom. You can follow their same watery paths to escape from your tech-fueled world full of overstimulation, stress and social noise.
Test your grit kayaking or rafting through the rocky gorges of the Menominee River. Ease your canoe down the Two-Hearted River, made famous by author Ernest Hemingway. Restore your wellness paddling silently on the tranquil 71-mile Manistique River that flows through the Seney National Wildlife Refuge to Lake Michigan. These are only a sampling of where to dip your paddle!
Kayak our scenic waters.
Hike thousands of miles of Upper Peninsula trails
There are many reasons to leave your vehicle parked and hike for hours. Whether you are a casual walker or a mountain-climbing, long-distance hiker, there are thousands of miles of ever-changing scenery and terrains on U.P. trails. The North Country Trail crosses from Ironwood to St. Ignace, the Piers Gorge and Canyon Gorge Trails take you to breathtaking waterfalls and the Mt. Arvon trail brings you to the highest point in Michigan.
Choose your paths to venture.
RIDE THE MOST SCENIC MOUNTAIN AND ROAD BIKING TRAILS IN MICHIGAN
If you like biking, no place in Michigan is more picturesque, more varied in its terrain or more thrilling in its adventures than the Upper Peninsula. Besides 28 designated mountain biking trails, there are thousands of miles of logging roads, abandoned railroad grades, state and national forest trails, single tracks, off-season cross-country ski trails, low-traffic highways and paved road bike trails. Lone riders to tour groups find joy in seeing what lies ahead from spectacular Great Lakes shores to mining ghost towns, lighthouses to mouthwatering pasties and thirst-quenching U.P. craft beers.
CELEBRATE NEWFOUND FREEDOM AT MUSIC CONCERTS, FAIRS & FESTIVALS
One of the best ways to change up your day is to join other routine breakers relishing their freedom in the U.P. Week after week, show up for free outdoor music concerts — often by the water — parades, classic car shows, amazing fireworks displays, art shows, free fishing and ORV weekends and rollicking festivals. Check out our summer events.
WALK AROUND MACKINAC ISLAND
You can explore Mackinac Island, also called the “Big Turtle,” by foot! While you pay to ride the ferry to the island, it’s free to walk around and enjoy its its somewhere-in-time charm and unblemished natural beauty. There is a motor-vehicle-free 8-mile paved road that encircles this top tourist attraction. It takes you by iconic landmarks such as the Grand Hotel, downtown gift and fudge shops, historic mansions, Fort Mackinac and hike-stopping views of Lake Huron and the Mackinac Bridge.
GO ON A ROCKHOUNDING ADVENTURE
Michigan's Upper Peninsula is a treasure trove for rockhounds. Hand-pick a variety of minerals, gemstones and fossils that reflect the geological diversity of the region. The U.P. is particularly famous for its native copper, agates, puddingstones, Lake Superior greenstones (chlorastrolite) – Michigan's state gem and YooperlitesⓇ (sodalite-rich syenite rocks) that are fluorescent under ultraviolet light. The ancient volcanic activity and glaciation have scattered these geological wonders across the landscape, making the U.P. a rockhound’s paradise. Beaches along Lake Superior, old mines and riverbeds are among the best spots to start your search.
ENCOUNTER THE PAULDING MYSTERY LIGHT
Also known as the "Dog Meadow Lights," the Paulding Mystery Light is an eerie, unexplained phenomenon that has captivated locals and tourists alike for decades. Near Paulding, this mysterious light appears in the night sky along a stretch of Forest Highway 45. Despite numerous investigations and theories ranging from ghostly apparitions to natural gas emissions, the true origin of the lights remains a mystery.
If you’re looking for more of the strange and mysterious, check out our adrenaline-inducing blog on creepy hikes in the U.P.
SEE SPELLBINDING SUNRISES, SUNSETS AND CELESTIAL SHOWS
The horizons in the Upper Peninsula put on the most incredible sky shows at dawn and dusk. Blazing colors as the sun rises and sets, summer storms, Northern Lights and a dome of twinkling stars and shooting meteors. Some of the darkest skies in the world are over the Upper Peninsula, including the free Keweenaw International Dark Sky Park in Copper Harbor. You are always just minutes from a free place to sit and be awed.
The best places in the U.P, to stargaze
Book Your Stay Now!
Whether you’re seeking adventure, relaxation, or a bit of both, the U.P. has something special for every summer traveler. This is our most popular season, so book your stay early.
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