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ADAM JOHNSON / BROCKIT INC.
Michigan
The view from Brockway Mountain Drive (here looking northwest) includes trees and water as far as the eye can see, with a blanket of orange, yellow and green in the fall.
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Michigan Maps
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ALADINO MANDOLI
Part of U.S. 41 is a colorful covered highway outside of Copper Harbor.
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AARON PETERSON
Alger County Road H-58 serves up a splash of fall color and a serene ride between Munising and Grand Marais. Since being transformed into a new road just a couple of years ago, H-58 has become one of the favorite Lake Superior routes in the region and has boosted visitor numbers at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
Eagle River to Copper Harbor
Take M-26 along the Keweenaw Peninsula and turn onto Brockway Mountain Drive for spectacular Lake Superior views, then drive to Copper Harbor and return on U.S. 41, a national scenic byway.
Miles: 40
Approximate driving time: Devote the day and savor the scenery.
Tree mix and colors
The drive from Eagle River to Copper Harbor on M-26 is a dandy. Highlights include Great Sand Bay and a new roadside park that makes for a nice sightseeing stop or a spot to have lunch. On this route, you’ll pass 50- to 60-foot dunes and sand that’s like sugar, says Jason Mittlestat, forester with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Heading east, watch for signs for the turnoff to Brockway Mountain Drive near Eagle Harbor. The drive starts a little beyond Silver River Falls Bridge and brings travelers to the highest road in America between the Alleghenies and the Black Hills of South Dakota. There are pulloffs along the road to stop and look across a large valley; to the south is the golf course at Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. The color palette includes the orange of sugar maples and the fluttering yellows and golds from the aspen and birch. The greens of large white pines poke through the yellow. On a clear day, it’s possible to see Isle Royale on the horizon, but barely, says Jason. Isle Royale National Park is about 50 miles out. Some oak grows at Brockway Mountain’s peak, bringing in rust, but mostly what you see looking down is yellow of aspen and birch with crimson of red maple trees mixed in.
Best time for color
Around the third week of September is typically best for color, and it usually lasts a couple of weeks into the first week of October.
Attractions
The drive over Brockway Mountain features panoramic views of Copper Harbor. The view from the top is more than 700 feet above Lake Superior. Brockway Mountain is also a major raptor migration flyway.
Other highlights include the Eagle Harbor lighthouse and Copper Harbor’s marina, lighthouse and Fort Wilkins Historic State Park and mine tours along the route.
From Copper Harbor, follow U.S. 41, part of the Copper Country Trail National Scenic Byway that extends down through the peninsula. “It’s gorgeous,” Jason says. “Maple trees completely cover the highway. It’s a covered drive” for about 6 miles. This spectacular drive provides splashes of yellow, orange and red. Stay on Highway 41 to Phoenix, or return to Eagle River.
Alger County Road H-58
This highway linking Munising and Grand Marais was rebuilt in the last few years and the new road has become a favorite of tourists, including motorcycle riders.
Miles: 52
Approximate driving time: 1 hour
Tree mix and colors
What you find here is predominantly hardwoods that include sugar maple, red maple and beech with some yellow birch and black cherry in the mix. Sugar maples produce more of the yellows and oranges, and red maples stir in the brilliant reds. The beech are among the last to change color and become yellow to brown.
The ride takes travelers through areas of mixed white and red pine, which “are also beautiful because they generally have a component of red maple, aspen and white birch within them,” says Bob Burnham, manager of the Michigan DNR’s Shingleton Unit. “Aspen and birch also create mostly a yellowish color.” (The beech, sadly, are falling out quickly because of beech bark disease.)
Best time for color
Most deciduous trees usually start to turn colors in mid-September and typically will reach peak color during the first two weeks of October, Bob says. Seasonal conditions can affect the period of color change. Trees that are stressed from drought, or those in wet areas, may start to turn early.
Attractions
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is an amazing 73,000-acre park with everything from multicolored sandstone cliffs to inland lakes, forests and towering sand dunes. There are seven major waterfalls, including the remote Spray Falls, best viewed from the water. One way to get a unique fall view is on a sightseeing trip with Pictured Rocks Cruises, departing from the city pier in Munising. Another waterfall option is Munising Falls in the city limits, near Munising Memorial Hospital. Pictured Rocks also is a hiker’s paradise, with 90 miles of trails.
Munising is located on a natural Lake Superior harbor, protected by Grand Island, second-largest U.S. island on the Big Lake. Hiking, camping, biking are available at Grand Island National Recreation Area. Take the ferry to Grand Island; private cars are not allowed.
Along H-58, Pictured Rocks has a recently built walkway and overlook.
The village of Grand Marais at the other end of H-58, has four neat museums to explore. Sunset Boardwalk at the north end of town has stunning views of the Lake.
This highway linking Munising and Grand Marais was rebuilt in the last few years and the new road has become a favorite of tourists, including motorcycle riders.
OTHER MICHIGAN FALL DRIVES
M-123 running from Paradise to Newberry, Michigan, through Tahquamenon Falls State Park, about 37 miles.
In Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, South Boundary Road through the park to Highway 107.
Wisconsin
Highway 13 to Bayfield Orchard Loop
Minnesota
Highway 1 to Wanless Road & Ely
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Comment FeedFall Drives
Marilynn Bachorik more than 8 years ago