My Summer Getaway to Michigan’s Stunning Upper Peninsula [GALLERY]

This past weekend (August 7th through 10th), I made a drive to Michigan's Upper Peninsula for my cousin's wedding. It was quite the adventure!

Let's start at the beginning: Thursday, August 7th.

After driving eight hours across Iowa, Wisconsin, and the western half of the UP, the very first thing I did after arriving at our motel in Seney is change my clothes and get BACK in the car for the 40 minute to drive to Munising. We were scheduled for a boat tour of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore at 6:30, and we didn't want to miss the departure.

Our tour was the Spray Falls Cruise through Pictured Rocks Cruises, and it lasted a little over two hours. We sat up on the very top of the boat so that we could get the best views. It was definitely a windy experience, but totally worth it! I took literally hundreds of photos, but I picked out some of the best ones for the gallery, which you can find down at the bottom of this article.

On Friday morning, my aunt and I took a trip down the road to the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. We did the Marshland Wildlife Drive, which was absolutely STUNNING. We didn't get to see a ton of wildlife, but we did encounter plenty of swans and butterflies, one crane, and one very mischievous chipmunk.

Later that afternoon, we made the 30 minute drive over to Grand Marais, which is the city most of my family was staying in. Before heading downtown for dinner, we made a quick stop at Sable Falls, a gorgeous waterfall near Lake Superior.

Saturday was wedding day, but since it didn't begin until four, my aunt decided to run a 10K that morning (not how I would choose to spend a "vacation," but she loves running for some reason). The race was held at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, which was held about an hour away in the city of Paradise, Michigan. While she did her run, I did a hike at the Lower Falls, made a stop at the gift shop, and took the 189 steps down to the gorge at the Upper Falls. The trek back up the stairs was brutal, but, once again, the pictures made it all worth it!

The wedding was held on the grounds of Superior Orchards in Grand Marais, which is a "glampground" owned by the bride's mom. It was an absolute downpour for 85% of the wedding, but my family has never let a little storm stop us from partying. And, there were chickens to hang out with! It was a BLAST.

Before heading back home to Iowa on Sunday, I made one final stop at the Manistique East Breakwater Lighthouse. I had passed it about 40 minutes before I made my way into Seney on Thursday, so I decided to take a little solo adventure out onto Lake Michigan to check it out. The waves were really crashing hard that morning, which made the experience even cooler!

I honestly don't know why more people in the Midwest don't visit the UP. I spent many summers there when I was a kid, and traveling there again as an adult just reminded me how truly magical it is. Crystal clear water, a seemingly endless number of waterfalls, lighthouses, nature refuges, diverse wildlife, massive forests, adorable small towns... what more could you ask for? Next time I want to visit in the fall!

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Here are some of the (literally hundreds) of photos that I took during my trip to the UP. Next up: Mackinac Island in September!