[Tim]

Becky, Hearthside is fine in July, August and early September. After that it can get a bit nippy. Not much in the way of facilities in the UP, but a beautiful drive. Things to see and do in that part of the country: Door County, Wi., Milwaukee, Wi., Chicago, Il and the western shore of Mi. Geo.

[Archived]

Thanks. I am more concerned in being there during either a hot and muggy time of year or a stormy season than nippy – after the last 3/4 weeks of 95+ weather here in SC we would take a little nippy! Ha!

Is the area compact enough to stay in one spot and take ‘day’ trips from there or would that put us being in the car all day every day – would we be better off moving halfway thru our stay?

I hadn’t thought about heading to WI from there – about how far is that?

Again appreciate all the help!

B

[Deleted User]

Becky, you might get some humidity, but it’s in spurts and unlike where you’re from it goes away in a day or two. We are refugees from Fla and mainly traveling out west, but we still run into a muggy day here and there. There are plenty of day trips in the area, but to see the UP I would suggest comming from either Wi side and returning on Mi side or vice versa and seeing Milwaukee and Chicago either comming or going. Geo.

[Andre]

We took the eastern shore route (around the “thumb”) 3 years ago. Once you get past Detroit, it’s beautiful country. We stopped in St. Ignace & spent several days looking around & going out to Mackinac Island. The fudge they make there is fantastic!! 😉 make sure you have time for a trip up to Whitefish Point. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is a must if you’re anywhere near the UP. If you’re in Sault Ste. Marie over the June 25th weekend in 2016, and want something a little different, check out the “Bridge Walk”. One side of the bridge is closed to vehicle traffic & we walked from the US side across the bridge to the Canadian side. Then we were bussed back to the start on the US side. Make sure you take your passport! We had ours and Canadian Customs were no problem when we did it, but the US Customs were a pita…disrespectful & arrogant. But they did not spoil the views from the bridge of the locks, lakes & river and the folks we met along the way. We’d do it again.

We took Rt. 2 across the UP into WI. Simply beautiful. Depending on your timing and interests…the EAA has their annual “AirVenture” in Oshkosh, WI the end of July. If you’re at all interested in anything relating to aviation, I’d highly recommend checking it out. Be aware though, that this is an extremely popular event, so if you Include it in your plans, do it early, make CG reservations (if you can) and be prepared for huge crowds. Event lasts a week, but lots of activity in June & July building up to the actual Convention week. The EAA has a really World Class Museum that’s well worth the time to check out even if you decide not to attend AirVenture.

Lots to enjoy…we’re thinking about doing the west coast of MI in the next couple of years…

Travel safe…

[Archived]

Ditto what Corey suggested about making one leg through the lower peninsula and the other through Wisconsin just to keep things interesting. To your question, the weather in the U.P. and N. Wisconsin is notorioiusly unpredictable. It can be absolutely lovely for weeks on end, and it can also be cold and rainy for what seems like weeks but is probably just a few days. You can be pretty much assured that it won’t snow in August, but the rest of the months it could happen. Humidity and even severe storms are possible all summer just to keep things interesting. The whole area is sparsely populated. There are hundreds of beautiful lakes (more lakes in Wisc. than in Minnesota, but who’s counting) and lovely forests. Lots of fishing, hiking and biking opportunities and plenty of cute towns in the U.P. I’m sure there are plenty of others, but the only park I know has spaces big enough for your bus is Indian Shores near Minoqua, Wisc. Minoqua is a really pretty vacation area that you might enjoy. South shore of Lake Superior is really pretty as well, and very wild in places. Worth seeing if you have the time. If you like Country music, the Hodag County Festival in Rhinelander, WI starts July 7, 2016. Lots of big name acts in a small outdoor venue and you can dry camp on the grounds. I hope you have a great trip!

[jack]

Again – thanks for all the help! I find that my biggest problem with deciding where to go next in the bus is figuring out just where to draw the line and say ‘we are out of time and we have to head back home now!’ as there is always something else that interests us ‘just a little further’ – of course Joe would say that just means it’s time for him to retire…..really not sure I’m ready to ‘go’ there yet! Ha!

Since I hadn’t considered WI as a possibility at all I will go back and check that out – guess I didn’t think about it as being part of the ‘loop’ – sometimes I need to stop and look at a paper map instead of Google Maps to get the bigger picture…

Thanks for the tips about events and good stops – and the campground recommendation as well!

Also the info about weather – I am watching it this summer to try and get an idea about what the summers there are like – storms do make me a bit unsettled in the bus so thanks for mentioning that that is just par for the course there!

Becky

[Archived]

George – Appreciate the info about the humidity – you are right – bits and spurts of it are no big deal – more like a reminder of home!

B