Roadtrip Up the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with Kids

In one day we drove 300 miles. The equivalent of San Francisco to Los Angeles. And on that adventure we fed goats, took a picture with a baby black bear and climbed up and down 200 steps. It was awesome!

Last year when we visited my Aunt and Uncle we ventured across the Mackinac Bridge, and up the Upper Peninsula, what locals call the UP. We road a train, and saw a lighthouse. This time around we were far more ambitious, and the boys had a blast.

We started our day at the Garlyn Zoo. A small, fairly basic zoo that features three different opportunities to feed wildlife. Although only the goats were interested in being fed. Unlike modern petting zoos, you cannot actually pet the animals, they are safely contained behind fences (probably to protect the animals more than the little hands of little kids). The others shied away from the kibble. It was a very simple zoo, you could cover the terrain in less than an hour -- but the boys had fun.

Afterward we headed to Oswald's Bear Ranch where you can have your picture taken with a baby black bear. Now, I was a little wary of the whole taking small kids and getting up close and personal with wildlife. But it was well managed, and overall a pretty cool experience. We also got to see the bear exhibits which were well maintained.

We then headed to Tahquamenon Falls, where we got to hike and climb 200 steps to see the Falls from every angle. The hiking trail is mostly paved, but the view is lovely, and it was great to get out and walk around for a little while.

You would think that this was too much in one day, but the boys, including my 10 year old nephew, all enjoyed the adventure.

Afterward we headed to Wilcox Fish House Restaurant for whitefish. An wonderful day in the UP.

Heading Up Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Near the end of our trip to Michigan we packed in the van and headed to the Upper Peninsula to Soo Junction to ride the Tooneyville Trolley. The train runs through a marsh and ends at the Tahquamenon river.

The Upper Peninsula begins a journey that we would like to take the boys on ... maybe even next year if we don't go to Europe. We'd like to circumnavigate Lake Superior, and roadtrip into Montreal. Jonathan wants the boys to experience a culture where English isn't the predominate language.

We still haven't finalized plans for 2011, but our Michigan trip in July made us want to explore more.

We left first thing in the morning to make the 12:30 pm train. We didn't plan for a radical temperature drop, but that is what we got. When we arrived at the Tooneyville Trolley store we not only got our tickets, but we bought blankets and sweatshirts for the boys.

The train itself was a whole lot of nothing. In fact at first we thought the little green engine would shunt the real engine into place, but that was not the case. There are two trips to select from, one that leaves at 10:30 am and returns at 5 pm and includes a riverboat ride to Tahquamenon Falls. The falls have definitely been recommended, but at $45 for adults, $29 for kids age 9 to 15, and $20 for kids age 4 to 8 that was a very expensive way to see it (kids 3 and under are free). It would also mean getting up and ready early and we were not prepared to do that.  We opted for the second ride where prices were more reasonable -- $15 for adults, $9 for kids 9 to 15,  and $7 for kids age 4 to 8 -- the ride was a one hour and forty five minute ride back and forth from the marsh to the river.

In the marsh we saw cranes and bears. The train operator actually feeds the bears (far from civilization I was assured), so that the mother and cubs know to make an appearance. I'm still not sure how I feel about that.

The boys loved it, although their favorite part was the train table at the store. Go figure. They slept on parts of the train ride. But Xander did get to sit in the engine, Caleb wasn't interested.

After the train ride we stopped at a small friendly family restaurant on the way back for fish, we picked up smoked fish to go. Which was wonderful. The kids fish and chips was excellent as well. 

We also did a last stop by the Point Iroquois light house, before crossing the Mackinac Bridge and heading back to Cheboygan. We packed a lot into the day, but still made it back by 6 pm.