Page 22 - Allisons Magazine Issue #91

MANY TRAVELERS ARE FAMILIAR
with Michigan’s Gold Coast, the state’s
300-mile western shoreline along Lake
Michigan; however, those wanting more
adventure, untamed wilderness, and
A !uperior eye-popping scenery will venture
beyond the eclectic beach towns and
head farther north to Michigan’s
unspoiled Upper Peninsula, where it’s
Road "rip all about the journey.

written by barbara bloom | photography as noted A great jumping-o! point is Mackinaw
City, at the northern tip of Michigan’s
Lower Peninsula and the southern end
of the Mackinac Bridge. “Mighty Mac,”
once the longest suspension bridge in
the world and still the longest in the
Western Hemisphere, is a majestic "ve-
mile span over the Straits of Mackinac,
which connects Lake Michigan and Lake
Huron as well as the Upper and Lower
Peninsulas. #e “wow” factor starts here
for a road trip you won’t forget.

GETTING TO THE POINT
Like Alice when she steps through
the looking glass, when you cross the
Mackinac Bridge and enter Michigan’s
Upper Peninsula, you instantly land in
an entirely di!erent world. Billboards,
city noise, and freeway tra$c give way
to wide skies, untrammeled forests,
open roads, and, ultimately, the most
Like Alice when she steps unpredictable of the Great Lakes, Lake
through the looking glass, when Superior, the largest freshwater lake in
you cross the Mackinac Bridge the world in terms of surface area. If
and enter Michigan’s Upper drained, the lake would "ll a swimming
pool the size of the lower forty-eight
Peninsula, you instantly land in states to a depth of nearly "ve feet,
an entirely different world. according to the National Park Service.

An easy 80-mile drive north from the
bridge along the tree-lined, two-lane
blacktop of Route 123 leads you to
White"sh Point, where you can enjoy
a spectacular, wide-angle view of the
lake. #e Point is home to the White"sh
© Shriram Patki | iStock | Getty Images Plus | Getty Images

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