Michigan State Parks: Hartwick Pines; Palm Book;

Leelanau, MI

In Michigan, Traverse Bay area, Petosky and Mackinaw Island

For photography, take US31 north along Lake Michigan with stops at Sleeping Bear, Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula.

At Petoskey, turn off on M119 going through Harbor Springs and along a tunnel of trees along a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. There are several good stops along this route at places like Bliss and Cross Village.

Definitely allow a day and maybe overnight for Mackinac Island.

In the eastern Upper Penninsula, head east to Drummond Island, then head north, visiting the St. Mary's River Cut and on to the Soo Locks.

visit Point Iroquois Lighthouse, just west of Bay Mills. Continue west along the Lake Superior shore to Whitefish Point Harbor and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Musuem at Whitefish Point Light.

Then back down to the upper & lowr Tahquamenon Falls.

Keep going west and visit Grand Marais, Sable Falls, Au Sable Point Light and on to Munising, where you will have the Pictured Rocks and many water falls.

I second Point Iriquois LHouse. The drive and sights are worth the time. I don't know what you have planned for return, but driving along either the Lake Mich shore or Lake Huron (US-23) route will avoid the drive on I-75.

Think about Northern Wisconsin -- Bayfield - Madeline Island - the Apostle Islands -- this is where the early history of the Midwest began -- fur traders - lumber industry etc. The early explorers - their is lot of historic places to see - and lots of nature -The 22 Apostle Islands - along with a stop on Madeline Island - La Pointe - lots of good hiking trails and rock formations. In Northern Wisconsin their are also a number of State Parks -- many have majestic water falls. A neat city to visit is Ashland - on the sides of the buildings they have painted murals of the cities history and its people -- very interesting and very professionally done. On Madeline Island their is a very well known Art School - Photography Madeline School of the Arts.

I am a scenery person as well. Another option would be to head towards Madison as the gateway to the unglaciated areas along the Mississippi & Wisconsin Rivers. They are quite impressive, especially if you get off the main highways. There are hills, bluffs, eagles and a whole lot of wildlife. You will also find pastoral settings with a collection of old, weathered barns that many photographers enjoy. There are many quaint little bergs and photogenic river towns. In southwest Wisconsin you'll find Wyalusing State Park. It has spectacular views of the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers from the scenic overlook and bluffs. There is a basic loop that you can do from Madison west along the Wisconsin River to Prairie du Chien to Red Wing Minnesota Back down to La Crosse and over on Hwy 33 through Amish country, through Wildcat Mountain State Park and back to Madison. If you are interested I could give a few small highways and back roads that we enjoy.

mdwest, I'm not the OP, but we're planning a trip through parts of Wisconsin in May, and I would be interested in reading about your loop.

Lee Ann

We like to explore back roads so this is just a rough guideline. One of our “routes” takes us
West out of Madison on Hwy 14, past Spring Green (also a very scenic area with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin http://www.taliesinpreservation.org/ a slight jog down Hwy 23 south of Spring Green).
Continue on 14 to Gotham and turn south onto Hwy 60 to travel along the Wisconsin River.
Hyw 60 eventually merges with Hwy 61 and crosses south into Boscobel to Hyw 133 west. Watch for the small County Road C that eventually wiggles west right next to the Wisconsin River. This is really off the beaten path but parts of it are picturesque.
Hwy C takes you just about to Wyalusing State Park and glorious views of the Rivers below. http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/wyalusing/
After the park, head north to Prairie du Chien. It is one of the oldest towns in the state and was a fur trading center. The historic Villa Louis mansion at the site of an old fortress right on the banks of the Mississippi River. http://villalouis.wisconsinhistory.org/
Along the River just a few blocks south is a pretty little Lawler Park. From this park there is a boat that provides wildlife eco tours in the backwaters of the Mississippi River that are not accessible without a boat. http://www.mississippiexplorer.com/home.php ( I don’t believe it is a daily event.)
Head north out of Prairie du Chien to La Crosse along the Wisconsin side of the Great River Road (Hwy 35). http://www.explorelacrosse.com/
At La Crosse go across the bridge into Minnesota and continue north along the Mississippi River to Wabasha. It has a cute downtown and The National Eagle Center is there. Continue north to Lake City on the shores of Lake Pepin (actually just a widening of the Mississippi). Just about 15 miles north is Red Wing with a lot of small shops and the historic St James Hotel on the River. We often stop there lobby, tour their shops and have coffee or a meal before starting back south.
Head back south to La Crosse. You may want to cross over into Wisconsin and proceed south along Hwy 35. Personally I don’t find it as scenic as the Minnesota side during this stretch of road but we always stop in the little town of Nelson because of the charming Nelson Creamery. They have wine and cheese but ice cream seems to be the biggest draw.
From La Crosse take Hwy 33 east, through the Amish community of Cashton, past Wildcat Mountain State park and all the way to Hwy 12 near Baraboo. Just south of Baraboo you find Devil Lake State Park that is one of the busiest and prettiest in the state. It is a mecca for rock climbers and hikers. http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/devilslake/
Take Hwy 12 back to Madison.
As I said, we tend to wander so this is just a rough outline of places we enjoy. There are many more lovely areas in between just waiting for me to explore. If you try some of these places or find others, I hope you’ll let me know what you think. Enjoy your trip.