From a map, it would seem logical for Michigan's Upper Peninsula , separated from the rest of the state by the Mackinac Straits , to be part of Wisconsin. However, when Michigan entered the Union in 1837 (eleven years before Wisconsin), its legislators, keen to tap the peninsula's huge mineral wealth, incorporated it into their new state.

Before then the UP, as it's commonly known, figured prominently in French plans to create an empire in North America. Father Jacques Marquette and other missionaries made peace with the native people and established settlements, including the port of Sault Ste Marie in 1688. The French hoped to press further south, but before they could get much past Detroit, the British inflicted a severe military defeat in 1763.

Vast, lonesome and wild, the Upper Peninsula is full of stunning landmarks, exemplified by the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore . Most of the eastern section is marked by low-lying, sometimes swampy land in between softly undulating limestone hills. The northwest corner is the most desolate, especially the rough and broken Keewanaw Peninsula , and Isle Royale National Park fifty miles offshore. The UP's only real city is Marquette , a college town with a quiet buzz - a good base from which to explore the UP's rugged terrain. Until 1957 you could get to the UP from lower Michigan only by ferry. Today, the five-mile Mackinac Bridge ($1.50 toll), lit up beautifully at night, stretches elegantly across the bottleneck Straits of Mackinac.

Upper Peninsula

• Upper Peninsula

Explore Upper Peninsula

• Isle Royale National Park
• Keewanaw Peninsula
• Marquette
• Paradise
• Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
• Sault Ste Marie

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