Mount Arvon, the top of Michigan

The highest point in all of Michigan isn’t a dramatic peak — it’s a wooded hilltop in Baraga County’s Huron Mountains called Mount Arvon, standing 1,979 feet above sea level. There’s no soaring summit or alpine drama; just forest, a clearing, and a sense that you’ve reached the top of the state. But getting there is a small adventure, and that’s the appeal.

Mount Arvon has an interesting backstory. For years, nearby Mount Curwood was thought to be Michigan’s highest point, until a 1982 survey with better equipment found Arvon to be taller — by about a foot. That tiny margin made Arvon the official high point, though the two are so close that surveys have continued to go back and forth, and the friendly rivalry is part of the local lore. Either way, this corner of the Huron Mountains is the roof of Michigan.

Reaching the summit is half the fun. From the village of L’Anse it’s roughly a 25-mile drive, much of it on rough, winding, unpaved logging roads where a higher-clearance vehicle is a real help — don’t count on cell service. A short trail marked with blue blazes leads the last stretch to the top, where you’ll find the summit marker, a view toward Lake Superior and Point Abbaye through the trees, and a mailbox holding a notebook where visitors sign their names. Bring a good map, plan for the slow drive, and treat it as the quiet, out-of-the-way pilgrimage it is.