Find 4 Bucket-List-Level Views in Michigan Without Needing To Be an Expert Hiker

For me to label something as bucket-list-level means not many people have been there, and it would take extra effort for me to get there, too. The remoter, the wilder, the better. As far as the Midwest goes, I’ve always felt like the more north I could get, the more epic a place would be. Last summer, I got lucky enough to try it, driving as far as I could until I hit Lake Superior. And that’s where I found my style of bucket list views in Michigan. 

The goal was always Upper Michigan, and when I zeroed in on the northerly coastlines, I found the tip-tippiest point of the UP, a peninsula of its own that somehow no one talks about. Despite hearing rave reviews, I’ve noticed many travelers are flocking to the same three places. But I was thinking of a spot most haven’t been, and I was really hoping for something off-grid. In my quest,  I landed on the Keweenaw Peninsula, a sliver of land jutting into Lake Superior. All I could see were evergreens, sandy beaches, and rocky coves, and it was practically in Canada. Once I saw it, there was no other place that could vie for my attention.

1. Great Sand Bay - Mohawk

The initial goal was to land in the canal-front sister cities in the center of the Keweenaw Peninsula, Houghton and Hancock, which reminded me of the names of children in an old European fairy tale. To get that far was an astounding 9-hour drive from home in Iowa. But that was just the base jump that would catapult us another hour north, into the no man’s land and "off-gridiness" of the north side of the northerly peninsula within the Upper Peninsula. I had my eye on Great Sand Bay, where 100-foot dunes drift into the frigid Lake Superior just 100 miles from the Canadian water border. And infinitely great it was, easily worthy of being called a bucket list view in Michigan. Rugged, pristine, and remote, literally a thousand miles from home and just two steps from the car. 

2. Eagle Harbor Light Station - Eagle Harbor

Just as expected, cell signal and GPS dropped off long before Great Sand Bay, and remained absent for the remainder of the long, slow, and scenic Highway 26. Water on one side, steep slopes of evergreen on the other, and it felt like we could be en route to Patagonia. I left my heart down there in a different decade, but saw glimmers of it once more on Keweenaw as we pulled into the craggy, gravel driveway of the Eagle Harbor Light Station. Far older than my own dusty memories, this Great Lakes beacon is now 154 years old. It’s unmanned and now poses as a museum, allowing us to climb up to the lights for panoramic views of the Michigan coastline. Incredibly, it’s 5 miles from Great Sand Bay, yet a whole different coastline of black, rocky ledges, white-capped waves, and no sand in sight. 

3. Bete Gris Bay - Bete Gris

Just a little farther up the road, we reached the point of the Keweenaw Peninsula, before rounding back south to the start. Most people who’ve come this far hightail it back to Houghton straight through the peninsula’s center. But I wanted to see the eastern shoreline, with extra allure, just knowing that no one else was going there. My husband swerved onto Gay Lac La Belle Road, and I swirled its name between my teeth, pretending we were somewhere international. And soon we’d feel as lost as if we were, finding ourselves at the dead-end Bete Gris Bay, in the pouring rain. It was too torrential to get out, but I noted this romantic detour as a potential escape someday when we win the lottery.

4. Brunette Park - Betsy

Backtracking a bit, we found our way to the last beach before returning to reality. A long, sandy pull-through, covered by an umbrella of unruly pines, beckoned us to take respite from the unpredictable Lake Superior weather. It was summer, early August, but we had to dig out hoodies for our last moments on the beach at Brunette Park. Endless views of the freshwater sea made it hard to believe this could be a lake. And it’s another bucket list view in Michigan, even though you’ve probably never heard of it. We spent hours captivated by the water, clear as ice, gently lapping against the rocks and sand. We imagined its waves were salty and filled with mermaids, perhaps a brunette lady after whom a Great Lakes sailor named this isolated cove. 

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