St. Ignace is the perfect hub for your Upper Peninsula adventure, and it’s the ideal spot to branch out and explore the golf courses, national parks, and beaches of the UP – and so much more! Explore all the things to do in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with these great day trips from the amazing lodgings of #YourHomePort!
Take a short trip 25 minutes west to visit Cut River Bridge Roadside Park, where beautiful trails are filled with wildflowers and songbirds through rolling, forested dunes next to a Lake Michigan beach.
Golfers should take a swing at the amazing 9-hole golf course within Hiawatha Sportsman’s Club. Pro-Tip: the Colonial House Inn offers golf passes in their lodging packages upon arrival.
Any snowmobile lover will have to stop at the Top-Of-The-Lake Snowmobile Museum, filled with a wide range of rare & antique sleds. Even if you’re not, the knowledgeable staff’s passion is contagious!
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Head just 30 minutes east to visit quaint villages and an archipelago of small islands that dot Lake Huron with a historic harbor area for boaters and explorers. The town of Hessel hosts an antique & wooden boat show in August, along with beaches and ecotours.
You can then try some intriguing, Michigan spirits at Les Cheneaux Distillers in Cedarville, along with tasty dishes from Les Cheneaux Culinary School. Just the right distance from St. Ignace for a morning cruise and lunch.
While you’re out east, be sure to visit the Detour Village and Drummond Island. The former is home to a nature preserve with stunning shoreline and lighthouses, while the latter boasts an off-road vehicle park and a ledges you can explore with fossil remains of a salt water coral bed.
Under an hour north is Sault Ste. Marie, where you can see freighters traverse Soo Locks, the 210 ft tall Tower of History, and the Museum Ship Valley Camp with a special exhibit of the fatal shipwreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
On the way to the locks, be sure to stop in the town of Rudyard, where you can tour a facility where some of the finest quality pure Michigan maple syrup products are made.
Another detour you can make from Your Home Port on your trek to the Soo Locks is Brimley. The Brimley State Park provides great recreational opportunities along the beautiful shore of Lake Superior’s Whitefish Bay, such as hunting, fishing, boating, and hiking.
Visitors Guide
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If you head northwest on your exploration from St. Ignace, you’ll encounter Munising, where you can explore shipwrecks on Glass Bottom Boat Shipwreck Tours and go diving in the Alger Underwater Preserves. There are loads of waterfalls as well as the sandstone cliffs, beaches, and sand dunes of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
On your return trip, be sure to stop in Seney, where thousands of raptors, passerines, and water birds funnel through the Seney National Wildlife Refuge.
Did you know St. Ignace has 13 pet-friendly hotels, and 9 lodging options on the lakefront? It’s no wonder we call St. Ignace “Your Home Port”! Feel free to request a visitor guide, sign-up for our newsletter, and book your stay today!