Just up north, there's a vast wilderness of lakes, virgin forest and wild rivers lined by waterfalls and rapids. It isn't like other north-woods forests - not as they are in this century, anyway. It's a wilderness unto itself, and though it's no farther than the state parks farther up Minnesota's North Shore, it seems a world away. It feels a world away, too.
Go to story ...The snow appeared on cue, just as Wisconsin faded into the Upper Peninsula. One minute there was a dusting, and the next a whole layer, white and inviting. It seemed too perfect, as if there must be snowguns hidden behind the "Welcome to Michigan'' sign. But there was snow beyond that, too, right up to the doors of the three ski resorts that line U.S. 2 just inside the state line. That's why they call this Big Snow Country. Winds from the west whip across Lake Superior, picking up warmth and moisture, and dump it as snow — more than 17 feet annually, on average — when they hit the cold inland air of the U.P.
Go to story ...Ah, the smell of Coppertone in spring. Leaning back on a chairlift, basking in sun bounced off acres of snow, I was getting quite a tan — on St. Patrick's Day.
Go to story ...In a blizzard, nothing is better than holing up with an expert cook, a bottomless cookie jar, a steam room, a big hot tub and one of the best ski-trail groomers in the Midwest. One January, the stars aligned in the heavens and I found myself in the best possible place to be during a blizzard: Maplelag. This ski resort in northwest Minnesota is renowned for many things - all-you-can-eat meals, personable owners, hundreds of stained-glass windows and signs from defunct train depots - but it's most famous for its ability to conjure a bit of snow into world-class ski tracks when the rest of Minnesota is bare.
Go to story ...In Ironwood, there's one thing people can count on besides death and taxes. Blown in over Lake Superior, the snow starts falling as soon as days cool down in late autumn and keeps falling until spring sun turns the pink-tinted piles into slush.
Go to story ...On the western tip of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the Black River is only one of more than 200 rivers that feed Lake Superior. It punches far above its weight, however, in providing waterfalls: Five of them in one short stretch draw visitors year-round. Part of the million-acre Ottawa National Forest, the Black River is so scenic it's part of two national trails - the North Country Trail for hiking and the Black River National Forest Scenic Byway for driving.
Go to story ...On the far end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park always rewards those who make the effort to get there. When 12 of us did, steering through a blizzard in cars heaped with snowshoes and skis, our prize was even more snow — falling every day from the sky, swirling in stiff winds and piled high on the earth.
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