History & Culture
The people, places, traditions, and history that shape the Upper Peninsula.
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There’s a Ghost Forest in the U.P. Where the Trees Never Grew Back
The Kingston Plains near Grand Marais is a U.P. ghost forest: a…
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There’s a Ski Hill on the Tip of the U.P. So Extreme It Has No Beginner Runs
Mount Bohemia on the tip of the Keweenaw is the Midwest’s most…
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One of the Greatest Courtroom Movies Ever Made Is a True U.P. Murder Story
The classic courtroom film Anatomy of a Murder is based on a…
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The U.P. Has Its Own Snow God, Invented by a Radio DJ to Save a Snowmobile Race
Heikki Lunta is the Upper Peninsula’s own snow god, invented in 1970…
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People Keep Smelling Cigar Smoke in This U.P. Lighthouse. The Keeper Died in 1910.
At Seul Choix Point Lighthouse near Gulliver, visitors and staff keep smelling…
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The Only Ski Flying Hill in the Western Hemisphere Is Hidden Outside Ironwood
Copper Peak outside Ironwood is the only ski flying hill in the…
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The Most Yooper Hat on Earth Was Actually Invented in Wisconsin
The Stormy Kromer is the most Yooper hat there is, but it…
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Part of the U.P. Has Been an Hour Behind the Rest of Michigan for 50 Years
Most of Michigan runs on Eastern Time. But four counties in the…
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Why Michigan Has the Upper Peninsula: A Lost War, a Consolation Prize, and a Copper Fortune
Michigan didn’t choose the U.P. It got stuck with it. Then it…
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The Henry B. Smith Sailed Out of Marquette in 1913 and Vanished With All 25 Men
In November 1913, a single storm tore across the Great Lakes for…
