Are There Mountain Lions in the Upper Peninsula?
For the first time in over a century, a mother cougar and two cubs are living in the U.P. — and 2025 just set...
Land, water, weather, and the road there
Outdoors & Travel
Upper Peninsula wild places, practical travel context, outdoor traditions, and the stories behind the view.
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Isle Royale: Michigan's Wild, Least-Visited National Park
An island wilderness of wolves and moose, with no roads and a lake on it that has its own island. And it's the least-visited...
Christmas, Michigan: The Town That Celebrates All Year
There is a town in the Upper Peninsula called Christmas, and yes, it is exactly as wonderful as that sounds. A 35-foot Santa Claus...
Seney National Wildlife Refuge: A U.P. Wildlife Haven
At Seney National Wildlife Refuge, trumpeter swans that had all but vanished now raise their young on the quiet pools, and summer is the...
Yooperlites: How to Find Lake Superior's Glowing Rocks
They sat hidden on the beaches for a billion years before a Yooper with a flashlight figured them out Walk a Lake Superior beach...
The U.P. Has 750+ Wolves, Michigan's Only Wolf Population
Michigan's latest published winter estimate counted a minimum of 762 wolves in the U.P. in 2024., hunting in packs out in the cedar swamps...
Lake Superior Waves: The U.P.'s Inland Sea at Its Wildest
The biggest waves ever recorded on the Great Lakes rolled right past the U.P. — nearly three stories tall. Press play. Everyone outside the...
U.P. Waterfalls: 5 to See, Tahquamenon to Bond Falls
Michigan has over 300 named waterfalls, and the Lower Peninsula has exactly one of them Here is something that surprises a lot of people....
The Common Loon: The Sound of a U.P. Summer
The haunting call of the common loon is the sound of home to anyone who ever spent a summer up north Ask anyone who...
Porcupine Mountains: Lake of the Clouds and Old Growth
Michigan's largest state park hides an ancient forest and a cliff-top view locals call the most beautiful in the state Tucked into the far...
The Michigan Moose Lift: Moose Airlifted Into the U.P.
It took tranquilizer darts, slings, a 600-mile road trip, and 35-below cold, but the western U.P. has had moose ever since Here is a...
Isle Royale Wolves Hit 50-Year High as Moose Crash
The latest count from Isle Royale, the longest-running wolf and moose study on Earth, is one of the most dramatic in its 68 years...
Tahquamenon Falls Accessible Boardwalk Now Open
A new 1,100-foot accessible boardwalk has replaced the steep 94-step staircase that kept the U.P.'s most famous waterfall out of reach for so many...
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