Weekend Road Trips: Circling Lake Michigan
By Joe Capraro
Saturday: Milwaukee, Green Bay, Gladstone, Mackinaw City
This trip is not for the faint of heart or bony of posterior, as Saturday brings more than 350 miles of driving over about seven and a half hours. But that’s why we call these road trips, and nothing good ever comes without some effort.
You can save a half hour and actually improve your view by opting for I-43 along the lake over WI-32, so feel free to do so with my blessing. You’re about to enter the Land of No Interstate anyway.
Green Bay is one of my favorite small cities in the US, with every variety of American neighborhood seemingly piled atop each other. Stop off at the National Railroad Museum or Bay Beach Amusement Park but don’t dawdle too long in Green Bay, for a quieter and visually stunning afternoon awaits you.
The next stretch can be a bit tricky to navigate, so rely on your passenger or, lacking one, a lot of roadside map check stops to get you from County Road J, through S and Y, to WI-64 (briefly) and eventually to WI-35 in Menominee.
This is where this trip goes from “hmmm” to “WOW” and you will find your internal beat slowing as the trees loom thicker on one side and the lake stretches out on the other.
WI-35 to Rapid River is dotted with fantastic spots to stop and picnic along the lake, but there is also lots of private property, so be aware that you aren’t resting in someone’s backyard.
You will certainly want to stop at one of the route’s many local farm stands and grab some cheese curds and fresh produce for the ride. You will also want to keep your stops relatively brief on Saturday, which is definitely less of a burden when the scenery is this spectacular.
I can not stress the importance of this next stop strongly enough. You MUST stop at Gram’s Pasties in Escanaba MI for one of her sublime calzone-pot pie hybrids, stuffed to their breaking point with your choice of meats, vegetables, and more meats.
I realize the food offerings this far haven’t been the most healthy, but the emphasis is on local and palate-pleasing foods over life-extending ones. You are free to substitute celery sticks and carrots for any of the greasy piles thus far suggested, but road trips are for breaking from your everyday concerns and routines.
Leaving Escanaba, US-41 will take you north to MI-2 and the Upper Peninsula. The forest will get thicker and the towns smaller as you head east, so be sure to gas up before you think you need to.
The last 40 miles or so are right along the lake, so the west-southwesterly views should give you the opportunity to catch a magnificent sunset.
Take WI-2 to its end in St. Ignace, where it turns into State Street then left along the lake to the Moran Bay Motel and the Colonial House Inn, both of which offer stunning lake views perfect for the morning sunrise.
