Aug 1, Sunday
Brimley State Park
We headed to Brimley State Park around 10 am. It was only one hour away, so it did not take long. The campground was a large wooded parking lot with 237 sites on a grid. Some sites were close to the beach area, but we were on the opposite side of the campground. None of the sites had water, so we had to fill up at the dump station before setting up. We had site #62, a back-in site, and we had a little trouble backing in because of a stump and the parked cars across from us. One of the campers was kind enough to move their truck for us, though.
Soo Locks Visitor Center
After we set up, we headed up to Sault Saint Marie and the Soo Locks. The downtown area was packed with tourists, and It wasn’t easy to find a parking spot. Eventually, we found one on a side street at a Salvation Army that had just finished church services. We had to show our driver’s license to get into Soo Locks Park. We walked over to the information center that had a few displays about the Soo Locks, but not as many as I would have thought. They were not showing any films because of COVID. We then walked down by the locks, climbed the crowded three-story viewing platform, and briefly watched a super freighter navigate through the locks.
Original Soo Locks Boat Tour
We decided that we wanted to take a Soo Lock Boat Tour. So, after booking a 1 pm tour on the phone, we drove a couple of miles down the canal to Dock #1. We had about an hour before our cruise, so we sat in their patio area that overlooked the locks and ate our lunch.
The boat was mostly empty, and the weather was hot, so plenty of seats were available on the upper deck. The tour first took us past the 1904 Edison Sault Hydroelectric Plant (note the lighthouses in the brickwork), the Valley Camp Museum Ship, the Tower of History, COE dredging cranes, and tug boats. It then cruised around the east side of the canal, looking into Canada until we were permitted to enter the MacArthur lock. Our side of the locks was 21 feet below the upper or west side of the locks. After having seen the locks operate, it was fun experiencing it. After we left the locks, we cruised around the upper river. We went under the International Bridge, through the railroad lift bridges, past a large sawmill on the Canadian side, and then past the dredging operation at the Sabin locks. We then went back through the same lock and returned to our dock. We both enjoyed the cruise.
Whitefish Bay National Forest Scenic Byway and Point Iroquois Lightstation
We then left Sault Saint Marie, headed west of Brimley State Park, and took the Whitefish Bay National Forest Scenic Byway that followed the Lake Superior coastline.
Our first stop was at the Point Iroquois Light Station.
The Point Iroquois Lightstation sits at the St. Mary’s River entry, which flows into the Soo Locks. Point Iroquois references a battle in 1662 between the local Ojibwa and an invading Iroquois war party. The Iroquois had invaded the area to gain influence and dominate the fur trade. Still, the Ojibwa were able to defeat the Iroquois war party, thus halting their westward expansion. The Ojibwa called Point Iroquois ” Nau-do-we-e-gun-ing,” which in their native language means “Place of Iroquois Bones.” The first wooden lighthouse and lightkeeper residence was built on the location in 1855 but replaced in 1870 with the brick buildings that stand today. The tower is 65 feet high. After 107 years of service, it was replaced by an automatic light in the channel off Gros Cap, Ontario.
The lighthouse complex was closed due to COVID, but we could walk around the grounds and down by the cobblestone beach. We were especially excited because this was our first opportunity to touch the Lake Superior coastline.
When we left the light station, we continued west. It was about 5:30 pm when we got to Naomikong Overlook wayside and decided to turn around and head back to the camper.
Cozy Inn
Back in Brimley, we stopped at the Cozy Inn for dinner. It was a large bar and grill with a nice log cabin feel. They were busy, but we were impressed with how hard the few staff members worked. They were popular for their fish, which we both ordered.
We got back to the camper around 7:30 pm.
Aug 2, Monday
Today, we left Brimley around 8 am, hoping to beat the crowds to Tahquamenon Falls. We also avoided the curvy Whitefish Bay Scenic Byway and chose the slightly faster route across M-28 and up M-123. The roads were foggy for a lot of the trip, though.
Upper Tahquamenon Falls
We arrived at the Upper Falls at about 9 am and only saw a few people. There was a nice walkway to the falls and the Brink View Outlook. The falls were impressive at 200 feet across, with a drop of almost 50 feet. Only Niagara Falls has more water that flows over it. It had a copper-brown coloring originating from the tannins that leach from the cedar swamp at the start of the Tahquamenon River. Because of the foam that forms at the bottom, it is sometimes nicknamed “Root Beer Falls.”
A wooden staircase with 94 steps took me to a lower-level platform for a different view. I also went down the additional 166 steps to the Gorge Walk Boardwalk which took me down into the gorge below the falls.
Lower Tahquamenon Falls
After about an hour at the Upper Falls, we drove to the Lower Falls. The Lower Falls are about 4 miles downstream and are a series of five smaller falls around a small island. We walked the nice one-mile roundtrip boardwalk next to most of them.
Tahquamenon Falls Brewery and Pub
We decided to return to the Tahquamenon Brewery in the Upper Falls parking lot for lunch.
We were warned that it tends to get full over lunchtime, so we were there when it opened at 11 am and were the first people seated. The restaurant had rustic decor, a large stone fireplace, and many dead animals on the walls. We ordered a flight of their beers and some lunch. I was very impressed with their service.
Whitefish Point
We headed to Whitefish Point to see the Whitefish Point Light Station and the Shipwreck Museum when we left the brewery. The light station was constructed in 1849 and is the oldest operating lighthouse in the Upper Peninsula. All vessels entering or exiting Lake Superior pass near Whitefish Point. The area is infamously known as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes,” with more than 200 shipwrecks in the immediate vicinity, most famously the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.
We bought tickets and walked through the crowded Shipwreck Museum, which included a very nice gallery of shipwreck information and artifacts, the restored 1861 Lightkeeper’s Quarters, and the 1923 Lifeboat Station Surfboat House. We did not go up into the Whitefish Point Light Tower, which required a separate fee, but we did walk around the light station grounds and the beach.
Whitefish Bay Scenic Byway
On our way back, we drove the entire Whitefish Bay Scenic Byway, which begins in Paradise. We stopped at several waysides on the way back to the camper.
We returned to the camper around 5 pm and started packing for Mackinaw Island the next day.
Aug 3-4, Tuesday- Wednesday
We left the Brimley State Park trailer while taking an overnight trip to Mackinaw Island: Mackinaw Island Trip
Aug 5, Thursday
We left the trailer around 9:30 am and headed toward Oswald’s Bear Ranch.
Oswalds Bear Ranch
This complex is the largest (bear-only) Bear Ranch in the United States. They have 40 bears, two huge habitats (1/2 and 1/3 mile perimeter), and two other habitats (1/4 mile perimeter each). They have an ongoing battle with PETA and the USDA, who claim they abuse the bears.
It costs $20 to enter the parking lot. The first bears we saw were two cubs in a chain-link cage with a concrete floor. Overhead were signs stating we could get a picture with the bears for $10. We watched as the cubs were coaxed with a stick coated with a blob of “food” to crawl up on a log while small groups of people huddled behind the cub and got their picture. The groups then had an opportunity to feed and pet the bear before the next group came into the cage for their picture. We were shocked at the potentially dangerous situation.
We then walked farther into the complex to the larger habitats where the larger bears were. The two front habitats had viewing platforms, and one had a waterfall and a small pond. The two rear habitats were heavily wooded. The Ranch sells bags of cut apples to feed the bears. It was fun watching the bears meander about and eat the apples thrown at them.
Lake Muskallonge State Park
After we left the Ranch, we drove straight north to a picnic area in Lake Muskallonge State Park near Lake Superior, where we ate lunch.
Grand Marais Truck Route
Just west of the State Park, we took the Grand Marais Truck Route, a dirt road that followed the coastline into Grand Marais.
Grand Marais
In Grand Marais, we drove to the inner lighthouse to look over the harbor. Grand Marais is known as the eastern gateway to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
Sable Falls
Sable Falls was one mile west of Grand Marais. Here, Sable Creek tumbles 75 feet over a cascading slope of sandstone formations before reaching Lake Superior about a half-mile downstream. The best view is from the bottom of a long staircase of 168 steps. The trail from the parking area to this staircase was a short one. I also walked the rougher 0.6-mile Sable Falls trail past the falls to the beach where Sable Creek flowed into Lake Superior.
Grand Sable Visitor Center
Near the falls, we stopped at the Grand Sable Visitor Center, which was small. We picked up a map, got our National Park passport stamped, and enjoyed conversing with the Park Ranger there.
Log Slide Overlook
We continued down the lakeshore until we got to Log Slide Overlook. The log slide that once was used to slide lumber down to the water below is long gone, but this outlook sat at the top of a large, sugary dune, which gave us an incredible view of Lake Superior and the Grand Sable Dunes. The Grand Sable Dunes cover a five-mile stretch of coast and rise steeply over 300 feet above the lake. A few people accepted the challenge to run down the steep slope to the coast despite the warning on a nearby sign saying it would cost them $2,000 if the National Park Service had to rescue them. From the top, we could see Au Sable Point (and lighthouse) to the west and the Grand Sable Banks and Dunes to the east. The flies were horrible, and we got several bites before leaving.
Lake Superior Outlook
We continued down the road to the end of the Grand Sable Dunes and to Lake Superior Outlook, where we turned around and headed home.
Drive Back to the Camper
We backtracked along the coast to Grand Marais and then took the fastest way home by driving straight south on M-77 until we intersected with M-28. Then, we traveled east back to the camper around 5:30 pm.
Aug 6, Friday
We left Brimley State Park around 9 am, which gave us an early start at Van Riper State Park.