Region
The Upper Peninsula
A third of Michigan's land, three percent of its people, and a coastline on the biggest freshwater lake on Earth. The U.P. runs on iron and copper history, lake-effect snow, and towns that earn their pace. It is not a side trip — it's the other Michigan.
The places
Marquette
The U.P.'s biggest town: ore docks, a university, and Superior out every window.
Open the place page →Houghton & Hancock
Copper Country's twin towns, facing off across the Portage Canal.
Open the place page →Sault Ste. Marie
Michigan's oldest city, where the Soo Locks lift freighters past your lunch table.
Open the place page →Munising
The front door to Pictured Rocks and a harbor full of waterfalls and shipwreck tours.
Open the place page →Escanaba
The banana belt: Lake Michigan's gentler U.P. shore, with a harbor and a state fair.
Open the place page →Ironwood
The far west end — ski country, big snow, and the Wisconsin line.
Open the place page →Iron Mountain
Mining history, a famous ski jump, and pasties done the Dickinson County way.
Open the place page →Manistique
A boardwalk harbor town on Superior's quieter sibling shore — and the gateway to Kitch-iti-kipi.
Open the place page →Browse by county
Every city, township, and village in this corner is reachable through its county page.
Notes from this corner
The small stories and useful rules tied to this part of the state.
Pictured Rocks, the first national lakeshore
Just east of Munising, Lake Superior meets the multicolored sandstone cliffs of Pictured Rocks -- the first national lakeshore in the United States, best seen from the water.
Read the note →Grand Island: A Tycoon's Private Kingdom on Lake Superior
For ninety years, 13,500 acres off Munising were one iron magnate's private kingdom; today it's a wild National Recreation Area.
Read the note →Drummond Island: a border story and a rare alvar
A British garrison stayed until 1828, and Michigan DNR says Drummond's Maxton Plains hold North America's largest remaining high-quality alvars.
Read the note →Petoskey stones and beach treasure: the collector's rules
The 25-pound rule, the 93-pound legend, and the field guide to Michigan's beach treasures — Petoskeys, Charlevoix stones, glowing Yooperlites, agates, copper, and Leland Blue.
Read the note →Going up? The porch kit
Where to next
See the other corners at Explore Michigan, search every town in the place directory, or start with why Michigan is worth the paperwork.
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