Highly recommend going mid week to avoid traffic and the rough trails.
what you’re describing is a nice loop. Start in Bergland , north to Porkies , end day one around Twin Lakes. Day 2 thru Houghton up to Copper Harbor , end the day back in Houghton. Those 2 days should hit your daily mileage goal. Someone else can chime in on Houghton to Marquette and Marquette back to Bergland as some trails have changed or closed and I haven’t ridden that direction for a number of years.

 

Trail numbers as follows :
Day 1 : from Bergland take 102 to 11 then 1 to reach Lake of the Clouds , then 12 to 101 to 13 and you’ll be in Twin Lakes , 13 from Greenland to Twin Lakes takes longer than 3 but a very nice loop
Day 2 will be quite a bit of rail grade trail : 3 to Houghton , 17 from Houghton , back on 3 , then 130 (Eagle River loop) , back on 3 up on Brockway Mountain to Copper Harbor (lunch and gas there) , then 134 loop back to 3 and return to Houghton or stay in Copper Harbor or Calumet if the day is a bit long. Trails 124 and 122 are options but seem to get less grooming at times.
Day 3 from Houghton to Marquette is what I’m not sure of as I think 15 and 109 are closed. Also keep in mind 8 and 2 are mostly rail grade and on low snow years can get rocky.

 

Go Monday-Thursday/Friday for sure

 

Where do you plan to starting riding from? There a lot of great trails and things to see in the western UP. Bergland, Copper Harbor, Big Bay, LOTC, etc.. I recommend that you plan your trip and make hotel reservations ahead of time. It can get crowded even during the week. Nothing worse than not being able to find a room after a long day. Gas and food are easy to find.

 

Where do you plan to starting riding from? There a lot of great trails and things to see in the western UP. Bergland, Copper Harbor, Big Bay, LOTC, etc.. I recommend that you plan your trip and make hotel reservations ahead of time. It can get crowded even during the week. Nothing worse than not being able to find a room after a long day. Gas and food are easy to find.

We’re thinking of starting from somewhere in the south west UP. We’re assuming the best places to see are in the western UP up through the Kewenaw but we’re open to suggestions not locked in to any certain region. We can actually access the eastern UP easier for instance start in St Ignace. But I’m just thinking for conditions and attractions the western UP is our best bet.


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I will agree lake of the clouds is a must see, also up to copper harbor and brockway mountain also. Another spot to see could be Bond falls waterfalls. One thing I have found is the BRP app is can help to plan you can set waypoints to get a route with mileage it will pick shortest route so you just have to add pins to the exact route you are thinking and can get a pretty close on mileage. From other post 15/ 109 is open but has been rerouted some. More of a problem going east from western UP can be the Baraga area grooming especially on trail 8 and parts of the 15/109 so getting from the keweenaw over towards Marquette can be the tricky part for having good trails. So just really do your research and have a pretty good idea of what you want to accomplish.

 

Not to high jack this thread but is there a trail to pass from upper to lower Michigan?

 

No trail across but the bridge authority has a transport service that will take you across.

Here:

Transport Services | Mackinac Bridge Authority

Driver Assistance Service Availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Cost for service $10, plus the appropriate toll for the vehicle driven To request from the north side Request the service from inside the administration building. To request from the south side Pull over on the wide shoulder...

www.mackinacbridge.org

-grover

 

The hardest part is getting to the bridge from the trail that goes thru Mac City. There’s no designated route thru town to the bridge. Mac City is kinda missing the boat not having snowmobile routes through town but then again half of it is closed in the winter. The trail goes up and loops thru Mac City but not much to stop for or see. Kinda disappointing.


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I did it maybe 10 years ago and it wasn't too bad in Mackinaw City, you go to the welcome center and they call from there to pick you up. Don't think it was too far from the trail. They dropped me off right next to the Shell gas station in St Ignace.But it was 10 years ago

 

Still the same way now.

There is a private company that will take you across. You don't have to go to the Visitors Center, they will pick you up anywhere in Mackinaw City. They will also drop you off in St. Ignace right at the trail head by the Little Bear Hockey Arena. Not sure what they charge.

The Bridge Authority has only certain hours. I believe this company is 24/7. Sewalds Towing 906-643-6006.

Don~

 

Am I remembering wrong as a child but did people used to cross the straights over the ice on sleds? This would have been 1993-95 or so.

 

No way. The ice heaves are huge, not to mention the Coast Guard Cutter keeps the shipping lane open all Winter.

In 93--95 I was in my mid 40's and riding that area. Only place that sleds crossed was Moran Bay (Ice Bridge) from St. Ignace to Mackinaw Island.

Don~

 

Marquette is not very snowmobile friendly, but is easily bypassed