The most beautiful part about the Upper Peninsula other than its spectacular beauty and remoteness, is that dogs can enjoy the outdoors just as much as you. There’s plenty of room to roam.
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a significant land mass, comprising 30 percent of the total land mass of the state. Bordered by three Great Lakes and connected to the Lower Peninsula by the five-mile Mackinac Bridge, the U.P. is a playground for dogs and owners looking for fresh air and adventure.
Where can you go with your four-legged buddy along the northern edge? The options are virtually limitless thanks to the national lakeshores and forests, but we’ve rounded up three spots for you and Fido to see that must absolutely be seen first-hand.
Driving Time: 4 hours, 33 minutes
Distance: 228 miles
Brimley State Park, Brimley, Michigan
The 160-acre park is one of the oldest in the Upper Peninsula and situated on the picturesque Whitefish Bay. It has a long sandy beach, a jungle gym (for those also traveling with kids), outdoor pavilion, and plenty of open lawn for a game of fetch with your dog. Cool off in the beautiful bay, which is an inlet of Lake Superior. A recreation passport is required to get into the state park. Other attractions include Sault Ste. Marie and the Soo Locks, which are only 15 miles away.
Yellow Dog Falls, Marquette, Michigan
The Upper Peninsula is well-known for its waterfalls, particularly around Munising and Pictured Rockers National Lakeshore. What better place to explore a U.P. waterfall with a dog than the aptly named Yellow Dog Falls, located near Marquette. There are several drops of various sizes along the Yellow Dog River, the highest of which is 20 feet. This is Yellow Dog Falls. It’s located off of County Road 510, which is about six miles south from County Road 550. You’ll reach a bridge and be able to see a small parking area, from which you can take a one-mile trail downstream to Yellow Dog Falls. The trail continues on for another mile and passes rapids and smaller falls. It’s a nice way to spend a couple hours with your best four-legged friend.
Log Slide Overlook Trail, Grand Marais, Michigan
This easy one-mile trail is within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (here’s where you and your dog can and cannot go within the national lakeshore). It doesn’t take long to reach the jaw-dropping overlook, from which you can see the Au Sable Lighthouse and Grand Sable Dunes. It’s a place of history as well as beauty. The men who worked the woods in the 1800s used the natural formation of the dunes to their advantage to help harvest lumber. The overlook is the past location of a wooden log chute used for sliding white pine down to Lake Superior after they were felled. The logs were then placed onto large rafts, which were then towed to sawmills in Grand Marais. You can return to the parking lot and if you’re feeling adventurous you can walk along the North Country Trail to the west for three miles until you reach the lighthouse (pets are allowed here) you saw from the overlook, located on Au Sable Point. Have somebody meet you at the new location to help you get back to your vehicle, or simply turn around and walk the trail back. Either way, your dog will enjoy being in the woods.