25th Stop - Upper Peninsula / Painted Rocks (MI)
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Blog Post #33 - Written September 9, 2025 Stay: July 5-7, 2025 The UP. What a magical place. It definitely feels like another world up there. But it's not all roses and rainbows. After we crossed the Mackinac Bridge (pronounced "Mackinaw" btw, and so is the island...) as we drove along, I was struck by two things: First, how much of the UP is protected lands. There are 22 state parks, 2 national parks, 2 national forests, and a national lakeshore in the UP. I feel like less than 5% of the UP is 'developable' land, between all the protected parks and 84% of it being forested anyway. Second, how many abandoned motels and little boutique cabin/yurt campgrounds there were. They were everywhere! It was actually kind of sad to see how popular the area/route must've been at some point, and how dilapidated it is now. I'd estimate that only 1 out of every 4 motel-like businesses are still alive up there. Like a Route 66 kind of situation, but I've he...