The sixth stop on our big Michigan Road Trip was Munising and the Pictures Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan. We went there right after staying at Tahquamenon Falls (click for my blog post). When we were looking up places to visit, I Googled the most beautiful places in Michigan and Pictured Rocks came up, so it became the goal and one of the main reasons we planned this whole trip. It’s beautiful! We loved Pictured Rocks because it was so pretty, had so much to see, had many kid friendly options, and was rather remote and pleasant for it being prime tourist season. If you can make it this far north, I highly recommend at least one day in the area! However, by my research it seemed like you needed at least one day for a boat tour to see the rocks from on the water, and one day for exploring the rest of the area, so we decided to stay for a few days. This post is about our 3 days (2 nights) at Pictured Rocks with a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and a baby on the way!

Note: this was in 2020 so some info might have changed since then 🙂

About Pictured Rocks

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is located on the north edge of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, aka the south shore of Lake Superior, and spreads between Munising on the west to Grand Marais on the east. It is known for its beautiful sandstone cliffs that rise up to 200 feet above the lake and that have been sculpted into castles, arches, and caves. The rocks’ colors come from large amounts of minerals, along with streaks created by groundwater leaching out and evaporation. Its other claim to fame is being the first National Lakeshore established by the National Park Service, in 1966. The National Lakeshore is 42 miles long, with 15 miles of it being the cliffs.

Between Munising and Grand Marais runs Alger County Road H-58 – what I call “the scenic route” – which provides access to little offshoot roads leading to scenic overlooks, trailheads, waterfalls, campgrounds and beaches. (FYI many are closed in the winter due to snow). There is also an 1874 lighthouse, maritime US Coast Guard buildings, and early logging exhibits. Inland contains tons of recreation, many of it remote, including almost 100 miles of trails to streams, bogs, beaches, and 22 backcountry campgrounds.

The last thing to know is that you must have a pass to enter (7-day, annual, or American the Beautiful National Parks Pass)! You can purchase it at the Munising Falls or Grand Marais Visitor Centers (no cash) or buy it online (I’d recommend ahead of time because reception out there can be spotty).

 Where To Stay

Munising vs. Grand Marais

There are lots of random beaches and backcountry camping spots in Pictured Rocks, but for our trip I wanted 1) on the beach, 2) electric hookup, 3) bathrooms, and 4) reservable. By my research it seemed like those places were either in Munising or Grand Marais.

Grand Marais is the “eastern gateway” to Pictured Rocks. Its name is French for “great marsh” (like the harbor). It is very very small (population a couple hundred) but has plenty of options for resorts, hotels, cabins and campgrounds. I’ll admit I don’t know much about it – for more info about Grand Marais see this article.

Munising is the “western gateway” to Pictured Rocks. Its name comes from an Ojibwe word for “island” references the 8-mile-long Grand Island just off the coast. It is quite a bit larger than Grand Marais (population a couple thousand), and a little less remote: 40 miles from Marquette, and near the Hiawatha National Forest and Grand Island National Recreation Area. It feels small town but has grocery stores, restaurants, and lots to do: boat and kayak tours, trails, beaches, shipwrecks, 15 waterfalls, and 5 lighthouses. For more information check out Explore Munising, Michigan.org’s Munising page, and Travel MI’s Munising page.

These were the campsites that fit my list:

  • Woodland Park (Grand Marais)- allows reservations but also has first come first serve sites
  • Twelve Mile Beach (near Grand Marais) – no hookups, allows reservations, has pit toilets (no flush toilets, no showers, no electricity, no cell service, no wood for sale), nights can be cold, but gets really great reviews
  • Munising Tourist Park (Munising) – allows reservations, has sites right on the beach, modern bathhouses, camp office with firewood

(For a good list of more camping options, including nonelectric and backcountry, see this article by FlashPackingAmerica.)

We chose Munising!

Munising Tourist Park Camping

In the end we decided to stay at the Munising Tourist Park because they had the dates we needed, all the amenities we wanted, and good reviews (such as MyMichiganTrip’s post about staying there). What more, it turns out that Munising is where the boat tours depart from, so we lucked out in that we didn’t have to drive far to get there (like an hour from Grand Marais), despite my lack of research.

The Munising Tourist Park sits right on Lake Superior, a bit northwest of Munising proper and just off the main road. It has over 100 campsites – over half with water and electric, some sites with full hookups, and some rustic tent sites – and two bath houses. Most of the campsites are in an open grassy area with a few trees, and over 30 sites are “on the water,” meaning a strip of grass separates you from a narrow strip of sand that everyone can use. There is a camp office that sells ice, firewood and a few supplies. There is noise from the main road but it’s not bad. The beach had a small access path across from the bathrooms and while it wasn’t huge, our kids still loved it, and there was a pretty driftwood arch that was perfect for taking pictures. At this time of year it seemed like we got the sunrise and the sunset over the water.

We liked the Munising Tourist Park mostly because it was so close to everything and because of the beach. It had good lighting at night (for bathroom visits) and nice views of the sunset and the sunrise. However, at the time we were there it seemed not as well cared for – the sites and bathrooms weren’t super clean, and multiple hookups and spigots were damaged and not working (obviously backed into by vehicles). Also, the campsites were small, especially for trailers and RVs, and not very secluded (which is great if you’re camping with friends). Still, we enjoyed our time there and would recommend it.

What To Do With Kids at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore & Munising, Michigan

The following is a list in order of when we did it, and is therefore kind of grouped by location, starting with the drive from Tahquamenon Falls, through Pictured Rocks, to staying in Munising. For the really nice park Map see here.

OUR FIRST DAY:

Highway 58 “Scenic Route”

There are two ways to get from Tahquamenon Falls to Munising:

  1. Hwy 123 South > Hwy 28 West all the way (1.5 hr)
  2. Hwy 123 South > Hwy 28 West > Hwy 77 North to Grand Marais > Hwy 58 West to Munising (2.5 hr)

The first one is the direct route, very easy. The second one takes you in via Highway 58, which is the only road that runs the length of Pictured Rocks Park. It parallels the shoreline and has many offshoot roads leading to trailheads, campground, beaches, and gorgeous views of the lake. We obviously chose the latter! (Be aware that Hwy 58 is closed in the winter).

One thing to be aware of, when you Google directions for “Tahquamenon to Grand Marais” it might tell you to go north from Tahquamenon early on, and it looks like there are lots of roads that could be shortcuts, but from my research those other routes are all dirt roads without cell reception and pretty sketchy for normal cars. Therefore we took Hwy 123 South all the way to Hwy 28 West, before turning north onto Hwy 77 to Grand Marais.

This is the route we used, click to see it bigger!

(Thank you Google Maps)

As follows are the points of interest on the route in order from Tahquamenon to Munising (east to west). Those listed below in bold we actually visited, the other ones I had hoped to visit but we ran out of time (or the kids were napping).

Oswald Bear Ranch

The Oswald Bear Ranch is just off Hwy 123 near Tahquamenon Falls, on the way to Pictured Rocks. It looks like a neat place to visit but we did not have time, however I thought I’d mention it in case you do!

Grand Marais

At 10 am (ish) we left Tahquamenon Falls to drive the 1 1/2 hours to Grand Marais, with a gas stop along the way. Grand Marais struck me as very small and sleepy; its claim to fame is being the Eastern Entrance to Pictured Rocks, and therefore has quite a few hotel and dining options, along with one main street and a Pickel Barrel House. It’s mostly a launching pad for doing activities in Pictured Rocks. I had planned on going straight to lunch at Grand Marais, but it took us less time than expected (about an hour) so it was too early. Instead we headed on to:

Grand Sable Visitor Center

At 11 am (ish) we stopped at the Grand Sable Visitor Center, which is only about 7 minutes from Grand Marais and has restrooms, exhibits, and National Parks Sales. Unfortunately, in 2020 it was closed due to Covid, so we just went pee and moved on. However, from the visitors center you can:

  • hike the Sable Creek Trail 1 mi to the Sable Falls parking lot, continue .2 mi on the Sable Falls Trail to the beach and dunes (see below)
  • hike the Sable Creek Trail .8 mi to the intersection with the Grand Sable Dunes Trail, continue under 1/3 mi (with hills) to see the dunes from the top (note the Grand Sable Dunes Trail starts from the Sable Falls parking area)
  • access to North Country National Scenic Trail (which crosses 8 states from NY to North Dakota)
  • hike the Grand Sable Loop, which is one of the only options for a long day-hike loop within the park, about 12 miles (see dwhike’s report and amazing maps)

Sable Falls

Since we still had prime child-awake-time before lunch, we drove 3 minutes from the visitor center to the Sable Falls trailhead parking lot, to hike the short quarter mile Sable Falls trail and explore the beach. See the trail map on Sable Falls on AllTrails!

So at 11:30 am we set off. From the parking lot we hiked a trail along Sable Creek. About halfway you reach the falls, which are pretty. The trail includes a staircase with some overlook spots. There were many stairs (168 steps) going down to get to the falls.

If you keep going the second half of the trail leads to a beach with views of the Grand Sable Dunes, and a fun big dune to climb. Be sure to continue all the way to the beach, we thought it was better than the waterfall! It was a lovely first introduction to  Lake Superior and the dunes. We even saw eagles!

The Sable Falls trail leading from pretty woods to the beach with glass blue waters was so dreamy!

Crossing the creek to get to the dunes.

The boys actually climbed halfway up the dune! I was impressed. (Okay, Daniel carried the 2 year old).

This was a very neat and easy hike for the kids, and they especially loved playing on the dune. It was one of our favorite stops.

The Dunes Saloon (Lake Superior Brewing Company)

Then it was lunchtime so we went back the few minutes to Grand Marais for food at 12:30 pm at The Dunes Saloon of Lake Superior Brewing Company. Because of covid we had to eat outdoors but it was enjoyable with a little view of the lake. I think you could probably get your meal to go and walk across the road to the beach to eat it. The food was quite good!

Log Slide Overlook

Next we drove 7 miles west of Grand Marais, about 15 minutes, to Log Slide Overlook. This is one of the most beautiful views in the park of brightly colored sandhills from about 500 feet above Lake Superior. The Au Sable Lighthouse is visible to the West, the Grand Sable Dunes to the East, and the lake is straight down – you can hike down it, but beware it’s fast down and really tough going back up!

Log Slide gets its name from the past, when loggers built a long wooden chute to send logs down to the lake, where they were floated to saw mills in Grand Marais. The short walk from the parking lot goes past historic logging equipment. The trail is nice and easy until you get to the sandy part, then it’s…sandy, with a short uphill to the top of the sandhill, at which point it looks like you’re going off a cliff. We went down the sandhill a little and to the left on a “trail” for a good view, but it’s very unclear and perhaps unsafe. It was harder to get a good view than I thought, but I had a little kid with me I was trying to keep from falling off and it was pretty windy with sand blowing in our faces, so I didn’t explore a ton. I later read that there used to be a viewing platform that was destroyed in a storm. It was still worth it for the little view!

Log Slide Overlook

The trail down to the shore… very steep.

At this point it was nap time so we stopped stopping and let the kids sleep for an hour while we continued down H58 toward Munising. Therefore we did not see the next few stops but they sounded like great options!

Au Sable Light Station

Light Station = lighthouse + keepers’ quarters + outbuildings. The Au Sable Light Station was built in the 1870’s, is 86 feet high, and extends 23 feet underground into bedrock. To visit you must park at the Hurricane River Campground day-use parking, find the trailhead in the campground, and hike 1.5 mile (one way). The lighthouse has views of the lake, sandstone, and a shipwreck.

Twelve Mile Beach

This is a long beach stretching 12 miles along the Lake Superior shoreline in the middle of the park. Reviews say it’s a pristine, isolated beach and a good place for long walks, especially at sunset. For more info see the NPS’s Twelve Mile Beach or 12 Mile Beach on TripAdvisor. There are a few kid-acceptable access points:

  • Hurricane River Campground – besides the trail to Au Sable Light Station, the day-use parking area has an entry to Twelve Mile Beach
  • Lake Superior Overlook – Just past Hurricane River Campground, there is a day-use parking lot with an overlook platform and a short staircase to Twelve Mile Beach
  • Twelve Mile Beach Campground & Day-Use – from the day-use parking lot (before reaching the campground) there is a long flight of stairs to the beach. Or stay at the campground and practically sleep on the beach!

Then the road turns inland and you drive around some backcountry areas. The Beaver Basin Wilderness, which is preserved for back-country experiences of “quiet, solitude, wilderness recreation, and spiritual renewal,” has two trailheads at the end of long dirt roads from which you hike to Twelve Mile Beach or all over the back country. There is also the Chapel Falls & Beach, and Mosquito Falls & Beach, at the end of the backcountry Chapel Road (Google them for more info).

Bear Trap Inn for Pasties

After the big curve when the road straightens out near Van Meer is the Bear Trap Inn, which gets good reviews for pasties, a popular Michigan hand pie type of food. I wanted to stop there for snack but the kids were still asleep so we just kept going.

Miners Castle

The kids do not nap long in the car, so the timing was perfect for them to wake up, have a snack, and stop at the Miners area. As Steph Purk put it, the Miners area is a perfect place to get a little bit of everything in Pictured Rocks: there’s the colored cliffs, a beach by the turquoise lake, and a waterfall with a short hike!

First up was Miners Castle, a striking rock formation with beautiful views of Laker Superior and the famous colored rocks. It is an easy walk to the upper viewing area, and then a short .1 mi hike down a switchback path with some stairs to the platform right next to Miners Castle. The rock gets its name from miners exploring for minerals in the 1700’s, though none were found. The colorful patterns on the rocks are caused by mineral stains on the surface.

Miners Castle, upper viewing area.

There is a .8 mi trail to Miners Beach from the path down to Miners Castle, but it’s all downhill so we drove to the beach instead (to avoid the all-uphill later).

Miners Beach

Our main goals for the day, besides getting beautiful views, was some beach time for the kids – so we spent an hour at Miners Beach, the park’s longest beach that’s easy to get to. From the parking lot it’s a short flat walk through a jack pine forest and picnic area to a platform overlook with a few stairs to the beach below. The beach is beautiful, a mile long with soft sand and clear waters (and flies, I’ve heard, but not when we were there). You get a big view of Lake Superior, Miners River flowing into the lake to the west, Bridalveil Falls crashing down in the east (best viewed from the far west), and the little Elliot Falls to the east where the beach meets the cliff. We spent a long time playing on the beach, the kids loved it so much! My husband even took a swim!

Miners Beach

Miners Falls

If you have time, nearby is a relatively easy half mile trail to Miners Falls, where Miners River drops about 50 feet to create the park’s most powerful waterfall. It is not rain dependent so it’s always going to be flowing, and I hear it’s an especially nice hike in the spring with wildflowers and in the fall with colored trees.

Potato Patch Falls

This lesser known seasonal falls is near the Miners Area and only a .1 mile hike although all uphill. For more info see the WaterFallRecord’s post or TravelTheMitten’s post. I’m just trying to list all the short hike options for you!

Munising Falls & Visitors Center

If you have time, I’d recommend squeezing a stop at the Munising Falls and Visitors Center since it’s on the way into town and only a quarter mile walk. We visited the next day (see below) but it was kind of backtracking.

Pasties

After our time at the beach we did not have time for any falls or visitors center because we wanted to set up camp and cook dinner before the sun set. So we drove through town, stopping at Miners Pasties for a pasty to take to the campsite because I wanted to try it at least once while in the Upper Peninsula! The hype does not disappoint, I thought it was delicious – so much so I went back the next day. Muldoons Pasties also gets good reviews. If you get really into Pasties, you should check out The Pasty Guy’s Pasty trail through the U.P.

Sunset on the Beach

So, on we went to the Munising Tourist Park where we set up camp, ate s’mores, and watched the sun set on the beach with some ducks. It was lovely. If you can watch the sunset on the lake while you’re there, go for it – I have read that twelve mile beach is a nice spot for it, too.

OUR SECOND DAY:

Pictured Rocks Boat Tour

There are several different boat tours you can do in Pictured Rocks, but we decided to do the scenic boat tour with Pictured Rocks Cruises (huge thank you to ExplorationAmerica’s post comparing tours which helped us decide). The cruise line has several tours and all of them take you in a big boat from Munising along Pictured Rocks, past the colorful cliffs, rock structures, and waterfalls that it’s so well known for. I cannot remember which tour we did, but it was a short one in the morning.

We were very impressed with Pictured Rocks Cruises! They were clear about their policies for covid and weather issues, and they were more than willing to give refunds or change ticket days. On the day we went, the waves were so big that the office told everyone we could either go on the boat and possibly get turned back halfway (and get a partial refund), or we could change our tickets to another day. We decided to go ahead with the tour since we had no extra days in town. Unfortunately, it was so windy and rocky we did have to turn back, but they made sure we got to see the arch and were very professional about everything.

The tour recommends getting there an hour early, which felt like a long time to wait around, but I’m glad we did because seating is first come first serve. There were bench seats inside and out. We got some nice seats outside but it was so windy we quickly moved inside, where there weren’t many people.

The ride that day was definitely rocky and wavy… I think I took some Dramamine but I should have given it to the kids, as they both got pretty woozy and one even puked. Luckily the boat driver decided the waves were too rough and turned back halfway at the arch, and the boys were so exhausted they fell asleep the whole (much smoother) ride back to harbor.

Miners Castle

The cliffs we did see were really cool. After leaving the harbor we saw Miners Castle, a strip of beautiful colored cliffs, and the Arch. They were similar other cliffs we’ve seen but redder and with different trees; and it was really neat to see them from the viewpoint of a boat. However, since it was morning the sun was behind the cliffs, casting a shadow on them and making their colors hard to see (and photograph), so an afternoon or sunset ride would be better if you’re in it for the good photos.

Shady pictured rocks

The trip back to harbor was smoother, we must have been going with the wind. On the other side of the boat the sun against the island was beautiful, even though the cliffs were smaller. Since both kids fell asleep, it was really quite relaxing and enjoyable after the whole bucking bronco boat adventure.

While it was a fun adventure, I do remember thinking that the length of time of the full tour might have been too long for the kids, so I was actually glad it ended early and felt like we saw enough even just going halfway. The views we had from the beaches and viewpoints were better than I expected, so it was not a huge loss not to see all the pictured rocks from the boat.

When we got back one boy stayed asleep all the way off the boat, so we laid down in the park for a catnap until he woke up. Then we decided to search for hidden wetlands, picnic tables, and pink sank!

Sand Point Marsh Trail

Sand Point Marsh Trail is a hidden gem! It’s a little half-mile wheelchair accessible interpretive trail with a boardwalk that meanders through wetlands. Our kids loved it because they could run down the boardwalk, and they saw frogs and butterflies. I loved it because it was fun to see a different little ecosystem tucked into the bay, and because we could turn the kids free and not worry about them going off trail.

We brought our lunches and were hoping to find a picnic table on the trail, but there were none so we used the tables at the trailhead parking, which were nicely facing Sand Point Swim Beach for a lovely lunch. This beach is popular for sunbathing, evening sunset walks, swimming and small boat launching because it’s a little shallower and warmer – so it was fun to people and boat watch.  However, I had read that the second beach area had pink sand, so…

Sand Point Beach

Next we drove a quarter mile up to Sand Point Beach’s north spot.  I had read that this beach has pink sand which comes from garnet eroded off the cliffs and washed in to shore. At first we couldn’t find the sand, but as the kids played and we dug deeper down, the sand turned pink! So, make sure to dig down deep! We really liked this beach, although it was windy at the time, the pink sand was fun, and you could see pretty rock cliffs and I think even Miners Castle a ways off.


Pink sand!

For the afternoon we tried to get the boys to take naps at the campsite but failed because it was too late in the day and they were unruly, so my husband had them play on the beach while I took a pregnancy nap and made dinner. If I were to do it over again, I’d just have them take naps in the car while we drove somewhere to fit in one more hike in before dinner.

OUR THIRD DAY:

The third day we saw a bunch of waterfalls on our way out of town, then stopped at Kitch-Iti-Kipi and stayed overnight in Petoskey. We packed up early and treated ourself to breakfast at 9:30 am at the Falling Rock Coffee & Bookstore in town. They serve coffee, pastries, and breakfast and have a ton of seating. It was enjoyable.

Munising Falls

At 10:30 am we stopped at Munising Falls. The trailhead starts at the Munising Visitor Center and it’s a short 1/4 mile paved trail to a 50 ft waterfall with 3 viewing platforms – one on the right and two on the left. The top one is 93 steps, the bottom one is 0 steps, the middle one is a few steps. This is a fun and easy falls to visit and I recommend it. Note: If you arrive into Munising from the east, it’s an easy first stop plus you get the Visitor Center, but it was closed when we were there due to covid.

Alger Falls

Alger Falls is right on the highway as you leave Munising going south. There is not much room to stop and see it, so we just waved hi as we drove by.

Wagner Falls

At 11:30 am we did Wagner Falls, right after passing Avery Falls. It’s a short kid friendly hike, website say .1 mile out, I think it was a big longer, wheelchair accessible. There is not much parking and no facilities, but it was very pretty!

Visit All the Falls

Munising has a lot of waterfalls within 15 minutes of town. If you have more time than we did and want to see a few more, here are some suggestions:

Picnic at the McQuisten Recreation Area

After the waterfalls, it was already lunch time, so on the way out of Munising we were happy to find the Robert McQuisten Recreation Area. It had picnic tables, a playground, bathrooms, and a pond with a boardwalk trail. It was perfect! It’s only a 5 minute drive from the T in Munising so you could come here even if you’re not leaving town this way.

Visit Kitch-Iti-Kipi

Kitch-Iti-Kipi is Michigan’s largest natural freshwater spring, with teal clear water and a free raft ride across. It is 1 hour south of Munising and well worth the side trip to see it. It’s gorgeous. You can ride a free raft across the spring for views of the waters, fish, and bubbling vent below. If you go there from Munising, drive through Manistique to get there, otherwise Google takes you on a long dirt road “shortcut.” For more info and pictures, see my next post where I group it in with our drive south and home!

Itinerary

Here’s what we did, if you want the short version (at the end of a long blog…):

  • Day 7
    • 10 am left Tahquamenon Falls (5 hr drive to Grand Marais)
    • 1130 am Sable Falls
    • 1230 pm lunch at Dune Saloon Lake Superior Brewing Company
    • Log slide overlook
    • Naps
    • Miners Castle and Beach
    • Set up Camp at Munising Tourist Park
  • Day 8
    • 10 am Pictures Rocks Boat Tour (Spray Falls tour)
    • Sand Point – marsh trail, lunch, beach
    • (could have fit another hike in at this point)
    • Beach play at campsite
  • Day 9
    • Depart campsite
    • 930 am breakfast at Falling Rock Coffee & Bookstore
    • See waterfalls in Munising on our way out
      • 1030 am Munising Falls
      • Pass Avery falls by the road to
      • 1130 am Wagner Falls
    • 1230 pm Lunch at Robert McQuisten Recreation Area
    • Drive to Kitch-Iti-Kipi (1 hr), kids nap in car
    • Kitch-Iti-Kipi
    • drive to Petoskey (2 1/2 hr)
      • dinner at Petoskey Brewing
      • camped at Petoskey State Park
      • (more on this in my next blog post)

Conclusion

We loved pictured rocks and are so glad we went. There is so much to do and see there, definitely stay a good few days! It was nice camping near town, where we could get anything we needed. And there were so many options of things to do with kids. If you can swing it, definitely visit Kitch-Iti-Kipi too!

If you want more ideas, here are some helpful websites that I used to plan our trip to Munising:

For the next post in this series, click here:

For the previous post in this series, click here: Camping at Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan with Little Kids