Itinerary for a 6 days road-trip in the UP of Michigan including Isle Royale National Park. WITH A 5 YEAR OLD!

Isle Royale National Park

Disclaimer: we did stay with family in the lower part of Michigan on both ends of the trip to help break up the drive.

We drove 6.5 hours to Marquette. Stopping of course at the Mackinac Bridge, we packed our lunch and had an awesome picnic right next to the bridge at a lovely park! If you’re stopping at the bridge you also have to get some Mackinaw Island Fudge! 

We woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel and packed some sandwhiches for lunch. 

We did our boat tour from 10am-12:30pm with Picture Rock Cruises. We contemplated doing a kayak tour and we’re very happy that we did not with a toddler. The waters can be a bit choppy on Lake Superior and definitely very cold. The kayak tours are also a bit lengthy and we figured we’d all be happier on a motorized boat. 

Of course we had to stop at the sign for a picture. We drove to Miners Castle viewpoint and ate our packed lunch. 

Then we headed for some Superman ice cream (it’s a Michigan thing) at Donckers! 

We packed up and headed out. We had a hard time deciding whether or not to hike or kayak/canoe in Tobin Harbor. The harbor was so calm and pretty we really wanted to. However they do not have double kayaks that fit a child in the middle. We would have had to rent a canoe. Not being skilled at canoeing and having a rambunctious 5 year old in said canoe just did not sound appealing to us. 

If you do get a chance you have to try a Pastie while you’re jn the UP. It’s a local UP thing and you won’t be disappointed. Unfortunately by the time we made it back to Houghton all the shops with pasties were closed. But maybe grab one for lunch on your way out of town the next day!

After checking in to our hotel and relaxing a bit we ventured downtown. 

We loved this hotel! It was the perfect location, and you could walk to downtown Marquette via a greenway right from the back of the hotel. They have breakfast in the mornings and the pool was also very nice. 

There are so many cute shops and there is also a park with a playground. We also stumbled across a 4th of July festival while we were there. 

We ate at 906 Sports Bar and Grill and it was delicious with just a laid back casual atmosphere. 

We were able to see everything on our boat tour and we were very happy with it.

 Tip: the seating is first come first seated and people will start lining up about an hour to 45 minutes before your leave time. Sit on the right side of the boat to be closest to the rocks on the way out. If you sit on the left you’ll be closest to the rocks on the way back but they will not slow down at points of interest on the ride back. 

After our boat tour we drove to some points of interest in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (only about 15 minutes away). There is now a $10 dollar entrance fee to the National Lakeshore this can be paid online before entering the park. 

Pictured Rocks Cruises

There is some hiking around this point, however it was raining while we were there so we didn’t explore much. The viewpoint is accessible basically right off the parking lot, no hiking required. 

From there we drove to Miners Beach which was just a short distance away. We spent quite a while at the beach, it was gorgeous! The beach is a short .5 mile hike to get to. So many beautiful rocks the look at and return when you’re done. The water is crystal clear and the views are amazing. There is also a river outlet and we saw tons on tadpoles and some baby loon ducks that were adorable. Tons of exploring to do in this area. Bring a swimsuit and snacks you’ll be here a while! 

After dinner we drove an hour back to the hotel. Our son swam in the pool and we relaxed in the hot tub. 

After spending most of the day at the beach we headed to check out Miners Falls.

You can’t take a dip in these falls, you can only view them from a deck. I think if we would have known this we would have done this hike first then hung out at the beach until we were ready to leave. 

This was also a pretty short hike just about 1.2 miles roundtrip. It was a cool waterfall to view though! 

After all of our exploring we headed to downtown Munising which was also really cool with tons of shops, breweries, and restaurants. 

We opted for dinner at Munising Wood Fire Pizza, and their pizza did not disappoint! They also had a cute fenced in lawn area with some yard games that the kids were all over. 

Great place to have some great pizza and also let the kids run around freely. 

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn, Marquette. 

We slept in this morning and had breakfast at the hotel and packed some picnic lunches. 

From our hotel we drove 1hr to Pictured Rocks. Leaving at 8am to get to our boat tour an hour early. 

From our hotel we drove only about 15 minutes to Sugarloaf Mountain for hike to some amazing views. 

The hike was about 1.4 miles, there are two routes up. A little longer but easier climb or a steeper but shorter climb to the top, our 5 year old was easily able to do the harder climb. 

From here it was just a short 10 minute drive to Presque Isle State Park which was an absolute must see! Bring some swim suits and towels if you’re brave enough to jump into the icy water! 

First thing when we pulled into the park we saw the walk to Presque Isle Lighthouse and we checked that out.

The road all the way around the park is closed intermittently during the day at certain hours. We were able to find parking on the opposite side of the lighthouse that was a bit closer to Sunset Point and Black Rocks. But it was a bit of a walk to get there since the road was closed to cars when we were there. 

By walking the main road we were able to see Sunset Point and make it to Black Rocks, where there is cliff jumping. 

I did cliff jump into Lake Superior! It was freezing and a bit of a struggle for me to keep calm and swim back to shore (I’m not a super strong swimmer). But I felt pretty safe the entire time, the water is very calm in the cove. 

We hung out in the cove near Black Rocks for quite a while. Our son searched for sea glass and I warmed up and dried off from my cliff jump. 

The whole park is so pretty and we also ate our packed lunches here. 

After an afternoon exploring we headed back to our hotel room to pack up a bit and prepare for our National Park leg of the trip the next day. 

Once we were prepared we headed out for dinner to Lake Superior Smokehouse Brewpub. YUM! 

This is where the real fun began. We woke up at 4am packed our lunches, and started a 3 hour car ride to Copper Harbor. Our ferry boat left at 8am and attendant led parking and check in begins at 7am. Parking is $10 cash per night of parking. 

BOOK YOUR FERRY TICKETS ON “THE ISLE ROYALE QUEEN” WAY IN ADVANCE IT WILL SELL OUT. 

Ferry Reservations

The seating on this ferry is also first come first seated and a line will begin to form early. 

There is a super cute coffee and bake shop right next to the ferry port and it was perfect since we weren’t able to eat breakfast at the hotel that morning. 

Make reservations to stay in island way ahead of time as well! They book up fast. 

Also the bridge does have a $4 toll for cars. 

At check in they also have tags for your luggage. If you are lodging on Isle Royale they will take your luggage directly to and from your room to the ferry for you. This is important as you will not have access to this luggage until you check in to your room at 3pm on the island. Though you will arrive on the island a little before noon. 

Each passenger can bring one small carry on bag onto the ferry with you. We each packed a day pack with lunches and hiking gear so we could hike before checking in to our room on the island. 

We booked one night in a “Housekeeping Cabin.” The cabin was perfect for us, it had a queen bed and two single beds bunk bed style. Also a small fridge, stove, microwave, and also a full bathroom.

When you arrive in the island there is a short orientation and then they set you free.

We found a picnic table and ate our lunches. We decided on a hike to Scoville Point. Though we ended up taking the shorter loop instead of going all the way to the point as we had our 5 year olds backpack to carry along with our two packs. It had also been a long day. 

Scoville Point Trail via Stoll Memorial Trail 4.4 miles. We hiked the Stoll Memorial Trail just about a 2 mile loop. 

After our hike it was about 3pm and we went to check in to our room. 

‌After settling in to our room we walked around the area a bit and walked down to the sea plane dock. There were some people there that said they were waiting for a seaplane to pick them up. So we hung around and our son threw rocks in the lake while we waited to watch the seaplane land which was super cool!

We headed to the two restaurants on the island which are connected to each other, for some dinner. We ate at the Greenstone Grill which was ok, about as good as you’d expect a very remote restaurant in National Park to be. 

The next morning we had breakfast that we packed, in our room. We also packed some sandwhiches for the day. We went for a very early morning walk (about 6:30am) in search of a moose. With no luck. 

We headed back to the hotel room and took some early morning naps and packed all of our luggage and hiking day packs. 

Check out is at 10:30am and all your luggage needs to be packed by 10am for pick up by the bellhops to be put back on the ferry.  

We opted to hike Suzy’s Cave about 3.8 miles. 

We arrived back to port just a bit after 6pm and we had a 1 hour drive to our hotel in Houghton. 

This was a beautifully scenic trail, with a super cool cave just about half way through the hike. 

We saw tons of wild flowers and we were lucky enough to spot a mother moose and her calf across Tobin Harbor. 

Make sure if you hike you leave enough time to make it back to the ferry for a 2:15 loading time. Seating is first come first seated on the way back as well and a line will start forming about an hour before boarding again. Ferry leaves at 2:45pm for another just over 3 hour ferry ride. 

Isle Royale National Park

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