Traveling from Fla to Michigan Upper Penninsula

[DCSaver]

This is our first road trip.  We are traveling from Clearwater Fla to the Upper Penninsula area in our new purchase of a 2018 42 Tiffin Allegro bus.  Any suggestions for camping, visiting, etc. would be greatly appreciated.  Never been on a forum, new to all of this, yikes!!!!!  Looking forward to RVing though!!

[wildebill308]

When are you going and how long are you going to take?

Bill

[DCSaver]

Hi Bill.  We are leaving on 6/8 and thinking it will take 3 days.  Thank you for responding.

[elkhartjim]

Clearwater, FL to Mackinaw City, which is the southern most city in the UP, is almost 1500 miles. 500 miles a day in a motorhome that you're not familiar with will most likely take you 10+ hours of daily drive time.  Fuel stops, eating, rest stops, checking the toad, etc is all time consuming. Plan on staying in Walmarts or something similar. You're only going to see or visit whatever you see out of the windshield. Your trip would be 5-6 days for me and I've been doing this for 25+ years.

[wayne77590]

The journey is the destination.

.

[wildebill308]

18 hours ago, DCSaver said:

Hi Bill.  We are leaving on 6/8 and thinking it will take 3 days.  Thank you for responding.

How long do you have to make this trip? I think 3 days in a car would be optimistic. First trip in a RV I don't think so. First of all I would plan on a short driving day the first couple of days. 150-200 miles make shure you have a place to stay reserved so you can get in get set up when it is still light and relax. Learning a new rig is stress full and tiering even if you have had one before. Getting into a place and setting up in the dark while being exhausted from driving takes a lot of the fun out of travel. I have found that 50 mph is about what you average on a travel day. You might be driving 70 but add in fuel stops and rest stops and lets not forget traffic slowdowns. You will find you average about 50 mph. So Yes go re read what elkhartjim said to.

Let me know 

Bill

[DCSaver]

Thank you Bill and Jim for the suggestions.  Any suggestions for what to see while up there or where to stay?  

 

[elkhartjim]

Where in the UP are you going? 

[DCSaver]

We have reservations at Newberry and Cederville.

[wildebill308]

23 hours ago, DCSaver said:

Thank you Bill and Jim for the suggestions.  Any suggestions for what to see while up there or where to stay?  

 

One place I consider a must see is the Ford Museum of innovation.  It will take several days to see everything. I recommend buying a membership that is good for a year. It is cheaper than a 2 day pass. https://www.thehenryford.org/

Bill

[wildebill308]

1 hour ago, DCSaver said:

We have reservations at Newberry and Cederville.

What made you pick them? Family in the area? Go up and see the Soo Locks to.

Bill

Edited May 21 by wildebill308

[DCSaver]

No reason.  Looked on a map.  No family, heard it was beautiful up there.  Do you have any better suggestions?  Thank you!

 

[elkhartjim]

Its not the UP but we enjoyed the Traverse City area last year. The sand dunes are amazing. We stayed at Wild Cherry RV Resort. 

https://www.wildcherryresort.com/

[DCSaver]

Wow, great!  Thank you

[akadeadeye]

Go to Munising and take a boat tour to see the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore from the water.  And, I agree that spending some time at The Henry Ford Museum is something you will be glad you did.  I agree that you should take longer to get there.  We will be driving to California from San Antonio area.  It is 1,290 miles and it will take us 4 1/2 to 5 days.  We too average about 50 mph.  Lake Superior is a wonderful site and a beautiful drive to get there.  Go to Mackinaw Island from Mackinaw City.  See the Grand Hotel.

Don

[carolrn6]

I lived in the UP for 11 years.  It's very beautiful and somewhat remote.  You will be near enough to visit a few good places:  Tahquamenon Falls is a must.  They have a Brewery on site.  Pictured rocks in Munising, Seney wildlife refuge (there is a Thomas Dambo giant troll in Germfask), Fayette State Park on the garden peninsula, kitch-iti-kipi spring, great lakes shipwreck museum in Paradise.  There are a couple casinos and lighthouse as well. No big box stores in the area but lots of small mom and pop places to check out!  

[DCSaver]

WOW, thank you for the great ideas!!!!

[superbus]

I hesitate to add to this post as the UP is a fairly unspoiled area and not overly visited.  Us Michiganders like it that way, well at least those of us who cross the bridge and make it past the falls Each time we talk about it we feel we let our little secret out.  Of course, it's not a secret, but just lesser known.  Just promise not to tell anyone!

First, to set the facts straight, Mackinaw City is the last city in the Lower Peninsula before you cross the bridge.  The city and more so the island are neat places to see, and the bridge is still a marvel of engineering and construction.  The first city in the UP after the bridge is St. Ignace.  They host a great car show every year.  If you are going to make that long of a trip to get to the UP, definitely see the places recommended above, but continue westward and spend some time in the Keweenaw Peninsula.  You will not be disappointed.