We are planning our annual Christmas to NY ride. Last year we went to Munising 2 times (once at Christmas and once in Feb). We had a great time, but were thinking we would like some different scenery this time. We have heard that the most crowded areas in the UP are from Newberry to Seney to Munising. We talked to some people over in the Marquette area and they said that area didn't get as crowded and the trails stayed groomed better. Could I get some honest opinions from you UP regulars. We drive 15 hours to get to Munising, so we don't want to drive a whole lot further, but another 1/2 hour wouldn't be a big deal.
Thanks

try the bergland area and hit piston alley bring that 1200 to life on it wide open and extremely long road takes you up to the lake of the clouds

Just drive to Munising and ride your sleds West. Marquette's only an hour by sled, a slow sled.

I'd rather stay some where that we would have new scenery and trails in all directions. If I stay in Munising, every direction I go in is something we have ridden many times. I was thinking that if we stayed in Marquette, we could head towards the Kewenaw much easier.
Thanks

You need to go further west then Marquette, like snowballer said Marquette is pretty close to Munising. You would be riding pretty much the same trails. I would recommend the Greenland area or Bergland area. Awesome trails and scenery in all directions in both locations.

This is good logic , in fact I would recommend going just slightly further , into Ishpeming . You'll miss having to ride through town on the trail system in Negaunee and Ishpeming and be in wilderness as soon as you get rolling . Anywhere to the north and west is spectacular and totally unlike the sand country you have been riding , you'll be on the Canadian Shield with granite outcroppings everywhere and lots of elevation changes on twisty , turny trails , LOTS of off trail opportunities as well ! Traffic is much lighter here due to the limited access .

What tommc56 said. Closer to the Keeweenaw area. Beatiful country over there. Doo it. You'll be glad you took the time to drive a little further.

If you do not want to drive that far, try the Soo area and travel that area and to the south and east. If you have not already. Or stay in St. Ignace

Take a look at the post in this forum about Eastern UP riding.

click here

The Keeweenaw area is spectacular. You could trailer to Munising, ride a day to Houghton/Hancock, ride up to Copper Harbor for a day, then back. It is my favorite place to ride. I ride all over the UP and this area is my 1st choice.

Last time we went up...We stayed all the way East at Paradice and road West from there. It was great trails and if snow is questionable the lake effect seems good along the Southern Shore.

But....Where your coming from, Why not go North? Take 1/2 the time and Go up to Bracebridge and ride to North Bay, stay there and ride in all directions from there. What you will save in gas you can buy Canadian permits! The trails are a little better believe it or not. Not a lot better, just a little, but a great change of pace. There's a place called Fanny's in North Bay that is a favorite. (If your a guy)

No one grooms better than Seney. It can be crap eveywhere else but you can bet Don and the boys have the trails smooth as glass.

I do want to try Ontario this winter. We have heard good things about their trails. On this trip, we have people coming from Chicago to meet us, so that would be further for them.

I heard Seney had good riding, but also that alot of people from Lower Mich stay there to save driving, and that it gets crowded. We came through that area on the way back from Paradise last Feb, and the trails were beat around dinner time. We had beautiful trails from Munising, to Grand Marais, to Paradise. But from the falls all the way back to Munising they were terrible. It was my idea to make that trip, so I felt bad that the rest of the group got beat up on that ride. I don't want to take the group there if that is where the crowds stay at that time of year. When your driving 15 hours, another hour or so is no biggie.

Thanks

Call your friends in Chicago and tell them to go to Wisconsin...Tell them to send you pics. Then go to Canada!...LoL I'm sure you will have fun wherever you go. Seney to Munising is a lot of trafic. We go mid-week to avoid the issues! Good luck..

Last year between Christmas and New Years the UP was not as busy as normal because there was snow throughout the state of MI. Normally there is not good snow cover in lower MI, WI and MN and the UP snow belt area is jammed with sledders at that time. If that is the case it will not matter where you stay the trails will be beat by late afternoon each day as the groomers can't keep up with the number of sleds on the trails. Newberry is a good central location in the Eastern UP as you can ride in all directions and see some new territory. Newberry also has some options for dining out and lodging compared to some of the other towns in that area. My preference is Munising but I understand that you want to ride a new area. I take my family to Munising that week every year and expect lots of traffic on the trails. We do quite a bit of off trail riding due to it.

I think that if you want some terrain change you should (i hate to say it) drive past Marquette a bit. Maybe Champion or Three Lakes. Then sled west, north, and south from there. During the Christmas/New year time trail 8 will be heavy traffic if the snow is not good else where (cuts across most of the UP). The Copper Country is normally busy do the the great riding opportunity. Big Bay is a great place to sled too as well as Republic, Sidnaw, L'Anse, Baraga. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it may be worth the little longer in the seat for some wonderful riding

I think I am leaning towards staying in Ishmeping and riding in all directions from there. Hopefully the crowds will stop further east to stay.

X2!!!!! That area is the UP at it's best! Last time I was there a few years ago, we got 27" in one night. That's some real snow!

Anyone riding through keweenaw (Hancock) will be riding right infront of my house across the street. Which is badass, since the trail system I can almost toss my sled onto the trail from the front yard.

I need to make it to the Keeweenaw some time. I think we are going to try and stay in Marquette this winter and ride. Probably gonna go up there at the end of Dec., weather permitting of course.

Look at a trail map of the U.P., if you make a shorter drive to Seney or Curtis you get a lot more options for different trails to ride each day. Lots of area's in there to ride off trail if you like. Just an option since you didn't want to drive much further than Munising. The far west end of the U.P. has some great riding also but you would need to drive at least 2 more hours further west than Munising.

We do a weeklong crosscountry across the UP every year and alter our routes a bit every year.
ishpeming to calumet to the Keewanaw will never be left out. The bridge you have to cross in Houghton is unique.
As said earlier, that run up to Lake in the clouds is a great place to wind her out. Very wide and safe.
The view is spectacular.

Go to twin lakes and you can ride keweenaw and ride south too!