Piers Gorge, Norway MI: Trail, Rapids and How to Get There
Piers Gorge sends the Menominee River over four rocky ledges just south of Norway. World Cup kayakers raced it from 1983 through 1997.
Land, water, weather, and the road there
Outdoors & Travel
Upper Peninsula wild places, practical travel context, outdoor traditions, and the stories behind the view.
Western U.P.
8 stories from this part of the U.P.
Black River Waterfalls Near Bessemer: Trails, Fees, Closure
Five named waterfalls, each with its own trail, sit on about two miles of the Black River north of Bessemer, and the road ends...
Lake Gogebic: Size, Depth, Fishing and the State Park
Lake Gogebic covers 13,380 acres and sits in two time zones. It is the largest natural inland lake of the Upper Peninsula, and its...
U.P. Fall Color Timing: When Each County Peaks
Fall color is triggered by night length, not by frost, and the Upper Peninsula does not peak on one date. Here is the west...
Bewabic State Park: Built by a Road Man and the CCC
Herbert Larson bought wide rights of way for Iron County around 1918 and dedicated them to public use. In 1923 he bought a farmstead...
Sylvania Wilderness: Old-Growth Forest and 34 Lakes
A.D. Johnston bought 80 acres at Clark Lake for the pine and decided not to log it. Sylvania is now 18,327 acres and one...
The Cornish Pump: Iron Mountain's 725-Ton Engine
The Chapin Mine sat under a cedar swamp and flooded relentlessly, so Iron Mountain got a 725-ton answer: the largest steam-driven pumping engine ever...
Toumey Nursery: The U.P.'s Hidden Tree Powerhouse
Most people drive right past it. But this 90-year-old nursery outside Watersmeet is the last of its kind in the eastern U.S. — and...
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