Michigan's Upper Peninsula has to be one of the most beautiful places to see fall colors. I’m a little late with this post here in late January, but reminiscing about my visit to the U.P. in October 2024 is a good way to brighten a dreary winter day:)

I was able to attend a 5-day photo workshop presented by the amazing artist, Debbie DiCarlo that was just perfect for exploring, learning, and being immersed in the autumn nature of the Upper Peninsula. I arrived in the U.P. a day early and solo camped at Tahquamenon Falls State Park. Not only did I see the picturesque upper and lower falls, but I also got a night photo with some faint Aurora Borealis color!

Aurora Borealis over the Tahquamenon River

After one night of camping, I drove the two hours to Marquette to meet up with the workshop folks and we very quickly hit our first stop…an interesting old trestle bridge and close-by views.

On our first evening, we found a great sunset view of the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse.

The next day was full of backroads, waterfalls, and white birch. I also learned how to do some ICM (intentional camera movement) photography, which was a lot of fun and got me to think more creatively:)

Over the last couple of days, we had been getting alerts that tonight (Oct. 10) had the potential for some great Northern Lights displays. Well…the predictions were correct! We went out to a beach with a view of Little Presque Isle after dark and could almost immediately make out pink hues in the northern sky. Over the next hour, we captured multi-colored lights over Lake Superior. We couldn’t believe how fortunate we were and started packing up our gear to leave once the light show faded…and then BOOM!, the whole sky started to explode all around us to let us know the main event was just now starting! We stayed out for more than another hour and captured even more brilliant colors that were popping within a 360° view. It was truly one of the most incredible experiences of my life and I was thrilled to share it with my new friends!

After a long night, we decided to take a more leisurely drive to our next destination over to Munising. We made a couple of stops along the way, our first being the eclectic Lakenenland sculpture park. This park is one man’s vision with over 100 sculptures ranging from the political to whimsical…a true roadside treasure!

Our second stop on the way to Munising was a beach that was perfect for “rock hounds” and landscapes.

We eventually made it to Munising and hit up a couple more waterfalls and a beautiful sunset.

We headed back to Sand Point Beach for sunrise the next day. The sky and water were an incredible pink that I’d never seen in nature before. It was really remarkable and refreshing to take it all in! This spot also gave us a vantage point of the picture-perfect East Channel Lighthouse.

We spent much of the rest of the day in forested backroads with a diversion to some huge sand dunes along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

On our last full day in the U.P., we found a peaceful lake in the Hiawatha National Forest and then decided to throw the itinerary out and just ramble through the national forest and stop wherever we felt like it. This day was overcast and with some rain, which really saturated the colors. I took this day to also concentrate on smaller details. It was a relaxing and rewarding day out in nature.

Our group would all be going our separate ways in the morning and our time in the U.P. was almost over. We decided to go to one of the more prominent overlooks in the Pictured National Seashore in hopes that the clouds might clear and we would have one last sunset. Unfortunately, there was no golden hour to speak of, but the soft defused light did allow for some saturated photos of the dramatic Lake Superior coastline.

I really am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this “Fall Color Magic in the Upper Peninsula” workshop and for the new friends that were made.