Morning at Whitefish Point + Tahquamenon
So about a month ago now (phew, need to catch up on blog posts!), I headed over to Whitefish Point with a friend to catch the sunrise on the 45th anniversary of when the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost on Lake Superior with its entire crew of 29 men. It was rainy/overcast, but still a beautiful morning… loved spotting a freighter out in the water where the Edmund Fitzgerald would have been! Whitefish Point is also one of my favorite places. I’ve been here several times — I mean, they call this area Paradise, MI for a reason, right? It was actually one of the first places I ever visited in the UP when I was 23 years old, and I was just back a few years ago and got to climb to the top of the lighthouse tower! And while you’re at Whitefish Point… you have to hit Tahquamenon Falls, since, I mean, duh. And it was the first time I had ever visited where not another soul was around. Such a cool experience!
It was a little rainy when I was snappin’ these photos with my tripod, so some of them are a little soft/blurry, but I loooove overcast moody beach vibes. Like way more than bright, sunny, middle-of-the-day beach vibes. And this outfit is pretty much my UP uniform… Carhartt hat, jeans, rain/anorak jacket, some cozy sweater or sherpa, my Transport Tote so I can fit my mini tripod, camera, entire life, lol, and my Blundstone boots. I never got much use out of these last winter in Grand Rapids, but they are on repeat up here. I love that they’re waterproof and yet stylish! But yeah, I don’t know. I don’t think I qualify as a fashion blogger anymore. Maybe once I get back to GR I can step out of my uniform, I don’t know, we’ll see, haha.
But if you’re visiting the UP, you should definitely head to Whitefish Point. It’s a 1.5 hour drive from the Mackinac Bridge, and pretty easy to hit if you’re heading out to Pictured Rocks, Marquette or the west side of the UP. Definitely a good road trip spot. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is also located here, where you can go inside to see shipwreck artifacts, artwork, models, lifelike mannequins, when they’re open for the season. They have a little 15-minute video, and you can tour the lighthouse and climb to the top for a gorgeous view of Lake Superior! You can also STAY THE NIGHT here in the Coast Guard Lifesaving Crew’s Quarters, so that’s definitely a bucket list item of mine. But there are more than 200 shipwrecks lying in the immediate vicinity, so this area is known as Lake Superior’s Shipwreck Coast. Anyway, add it to your UP bucket list if you have never been. It’s a must-visit.
Afterwards, there was a quick stop to Tahquamenon Falls… since it’s so close! And it was the first time I’ve ever been here… where I didn’t see another visitor in sight. The parking lot was empty, the trails were empty, it was crazy! Every time I’ve gone, it’s been buuuuuusy. But again, I was here a few years ago… got to rent a boat out to do the lower falls, and of course, visit the upper falls as well. But to mirror my last blog post on the area (which you can read here), the Upper Tahquamenon Falls is considered one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi after Niagara Falls and Cohoes Falls. It drops nearly 50 feet, and more than 200 feet across. The brown color of the falls is from the tannins from cedar swamps since the area is so rich in cedar, spruce and hemlock trees. It's the biggest naturally dyed waterfall in the United States! The pathways are all paved, and with beautiful stairs, through an old growth forest. Phew! Go and visit! (I’ll be back… lots more UP content coming your way!)
