Swimming beaches in the UP?

Hi everyone! I have searched this forum and several UP travel websites and can%26#39;t find a concise list of good swimming beaches in the UP. Maybe you can help point the way?

My husband and I are going to the Rothbury, MI music festival July 2-5. We will leave from Chicago, stay in St. Joseph, MI (with family) and then go to Rothbury for the festival. We plan to ride north from there up and around Lake Michigan and come back down through Wisconsin and come home. We have three days and are on motorcycles.

I have spent many summers now visiting and swimming at Silver Beach in St. Joseph, MI and would love to find a place to spend a few days in the UP that is as fun. We were looking at staying near Pictured Rock until we found a small bit on their site that said Lake Superior is often way too cold to swim. Now we are looking at Manistique areas or other warmer water alternatives. We don%26#39;t mind touristy, there is usually a good reason why people swarm! :)

thanks!

Eileen

this is a link to the fest if anyone wants:

http://www.rothburyfestival.com/

Swimming beaches in the UP?

Hello agnusdei,

Welcome to the Michigan Forum.

Are you looking to swim just in Lake Michigan or are you interested in one of the inland lakes in the UP.

Are you looking to stay at a resort/motel or are you camping. Do you want a place just to swim where you stay.

All along the North Coast of Lake Michigan there are places you can swim. You just pull over and walk down to the beach and jump in. There are road side parks you can stop and swim to. One just West of Manistique is called Roger%26#39;s Park. This has a very nice beach.

Do you plan on touring the UP or just sticking close to Lake Michigan. For example you could ride over to the Tahquamenon Falls, then ride along Lake Superior and stay at a Bed and Breakfast in Autrain. This distance would be about 75 miles.

Tahquamenon Falls -

www.exploringthenorth.com/tahqua/tahqua.html

Pinewood Lodge Bed and Breakfast in Autrain

http://www.pinewoodlodgebnb.com/

Here are some UP web sites you might like to look at to give you more of an idea of what the Upper Peninsula is like.

www.exploringthenorth.com/mich/mich.html

http://hunts-upguide.com/

http://www.travelbaysdenoc.com/

http://www.marquettecountry.org/

www.superiortrails.com/up-michigan.html

http://www.superiorsights.com/

http://www.upmichigan.com/

Swimming beaches in the UP?

Thanks yooperbacker! I do believe that you should work for someone in the UP tourism industry. So helpful!

We aren%26#39;t committed to any particular body of water, be it inland lake or large lake. There seems to be so many great options. We will probably need a hot shower and a real bed for the first night after the music festival, but can camp for the following nights.

We were planning to stick to riding along Lake Michigan but will definitely travel farther north for a great destination. I am writing down Roger%26#39;s Park. I found photos of it on Flickr I think? http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=rogers+park+manistique%26amp;m=text

Thanks again for the extensive info.

Having grown up in Escanaba, I have experienced swimming in three area beaches on Lake Michigan (as you%26#39;re heading southward from Munising or Manistique: Van Cleve Park in Gladstone, Ludington Park in Escanaba, and Wells State Park between Escanaba and Menominee/Marinette, WI.

Hunt%26#39;s guidebook-- a great resource-- has been conveniently put online; click on each area/city for more detail (and on attractions within each city%26#39;s/area%26#39;s page):

hunts-upguide.com/escanaba__menominee___the_…

http://hunts-upguide.com/nahma_peninsula.html

exploringthenorth.com/garden/bigbaydenoc.html

My favorite is 100 miles west of the bridge just past Garden Corners on US 2. a few hundred yards of sandy beach you can walk out a quarter mile in.Acroos the road is Rosies at Tylenes great family resturant and a dozen rooms for about $30 per night. About two miles on US2 west in the road the Nahma a kinda ghost town which has a great camp ground with a spectacular view has a store and jet ski rentals and a great beach also.

Well I can say from personal experience that Lake Superior is swimmable, though best experienced in August...on a hot day...

None-the-less even then it can be somewhat cold or what a Yooper would call ';refreshing.'; :-)

Lake Michigan on any of the beaches previously mentioned would be much more tolerable.

That said, the driving distance from the northern shoreline of the U.P. to the southern shoreline can be as short as an hour depending on where you start and end. There are few cases that woud be more than two hours apart unless you are going to and from the extreme ends of the peninsula. As an example Marquett eto St. Ignace is three hours and about the same from Marquette to Ironwood.

That might open up a lot more of the U.P. for you to explore if you choose to do so.

YB mentioned the Pinewood B%26amp;B in Autrain on the north shore... I have stayed there...nice place..closer to Christmas and Munising than to Marquette...

Just to throw in distance for you. From Manistique to Seney is 35 miles. From Seney to Grand Marais is 25 miles. So you can go from Lake Michigan to Lake Superior going through Seney in about an hour. I usually travel the roads up here at 50 mph. When your on US 2 or US 28 you will need to travel 55 to 60 but once you are off these main roads you can just relax and do a slow cruise.

Hello agnusdei,

I am not sure if your still watching this thread or not but I was in Milwaukee last week and on my trip home I past the J.W.Wells State Park near Cedar River, on Lake Michigan and I thought of you.

This State Park has cabins you can rent plus regular camp sites to. Thought you might want to check out the web site.

michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx…

If you wanted more information you may want to Google Wells State Park. This park is in a nice location.