Outdoor recreation in the Upper Peninsula

You’re always within minutes of great outdoor recreation opportunities in the Upper Peninsula. Choose from 1- to 2- mile loops near town, seemingly endless trails on Isle Royale or in the Porcupine Mountains, or cross the U.P. on the North Country National Scenic Trail. Find scenic vistas over the next hill. Spend a day on the Great Lakes fishing. There are hundreds of miles of nature to share and thousands of ways to explore it.

Best outdoor things to do in the U.P.

We know it can be overwhelming to choose what adventure to embark on! Here’s a few we recommend.

Play in our crystal clear waters

This gorgeous peninsula is shaped by the pristine beaches of three of the five Great Lakes – Michigan, Huron and Superior. Walk their shores. Jump from craggy cliffs. Climb towering dunes. Surf the roaring waves. Snorkel and scuba dive to sunken ships. Scoop out moats around sand castles. Watch shimmering auroras across the horizon. We also have thousands of inland lakes where you can swim and play for hours or get lost in a book. Whatever shore you’re by, watch the sun paint a crimson, lavender sky at dawn or day’s end. Linger. The stars up here are beautiful.

Thrill yourself mountain biking

The Upper Peninsula has bragging rights when it comes to mountain biking. Copper Harbor Trails are designated a Silver Level Ride Center by the International Mountain Bicycling Association. It is one of only 10 trails in the world to earn this coveted ranking! Beyond that, there are thousands of miles of marked and unmarked single- and doubletrack trails from Drummond Island in the east to the Pines and Mines trail system to the west.

Experience freedom on your motorcycle

Open roads, incredible scenery, bike-friendly lodgings and good food make the U.P. an exhilarating destination for motorcycle and scooter riding. Miles of sweeping curves, twists, straight-aways and off-the-beaten-path unpaved roads will bring you back again and again.

Ride the waves

Slice your paddle down a scenic waterway. Open your runabout’s throttle until shrieks of laughter rise from the tow-behind tube. Watch with wonder as the tour boat glides over the sunken ships or cruises past the Pictured Rocks. Feel the adrenaline rush when the wind catches your boat’s sails. Look with awe from the ferry as the Mackinac Bridge looms against the sky. Pedal boat around a glassy inland lake island. Go airborne on your wakeboard. The U.P. has the waters for all of it!

Experience a northern winter

This is where you’ll find tranquility and adventure. There are millions of acres of meadows, forested backcountry and frozen lakes to cross-country ski, snowshoe, ice fish, fat tire bike and ice skate. Have the guts to do something extreme? We have sheer ice walls to climb or lakes to ice sail, kiteboard and ice surf.

Rev your engine on the best trails in America

Snowmobilers repeatedly vote the U.P. as the best place in America to run their sleds. With an average annual snowfall of 200 inches, 3,000 miles of groomed trails and unforgettable shoreline and forest scenery, it’s hard to surpass. When the snow melts, those trails are perfect for ORVing and ATVing.