The Upper Peninsula rewards not having a plan. We set out with two stops on the list, a small wildlife park and Michigan's biggest freshwater spring, and came home having also been tilted sideways in a crooked cabin and launched down a zip line we had no intention of riding that morning. This is one of those days where the detour ended up in the title.
The Mystery Spot
If you've driven through St. Ignace, you've seen the signs. The Mystery Spot is a classic roadside attraction where balls appear to roll uphill, people stand at angles that shouldn't work, and your inner ear files a formal complaint. Is it an optical illusion built on a slope? Almost certainly. Is it still disorienting and genuinely funny when your partner looks taller than you from one side of a platform and shorter from the other? Absolutely. The tour leans into the cheese, and that's the charm. Fabiola grew up in Brazil without this particular flavor of American roadside weirdness, so watching her react to it was half the fun.
The zip line we didn't plan for
The Mystery Spot also has a zip line, and this is where the day went off script. We hadn't planned on it, one of us was not entirely sure about it, and somehow tickets got bought anyway. The line runs through the trees and it's longer than it looks from the ground. We'll let the video show who screamed. No refunds were requested, which tells you how it went.
Garlyn Zoo Wildlife Park
From St. Ignace we headed west to Garlyn Zoo Wildlife Park, a family-run wildlife park along US-2. It's small compared to a city zoo, and that's exactly why we liked it. The paths are quiet, the animals are close, and you can take your time. Wolves, bears, big cats, and a camel that clearly runs the place. If you're crossing the UP with kids, or you're two adults who still get excited about bears, it's an easy stop to justify.
Kitch-iti-kipi, the Big Spring
We saved the headliner for last. Kitch-iti-kipi, near Manistique in Palms Book State Park, is Michigan's largest freshwater spring: 200 feet across, 40 feet deep, and clear in a way photos undersell. You cross it on a hand-cranked observation raft with a window in the floor, and below you the sand boils where more than 10,000 gallons a minute push up from the limestone. Huge trout drift through water that stays 45 degrees year-round. The whole thing costs nothing beyond the state park pass, and it's one of the best things we've seen in Michigan, period.
Why the UP keeps pulling us back
Nathan grew up in Marquette, so the UP is home turf, but days like this remind us why we keep showing it off. Within a couple hours of driving you get a tourist trap worth the stop, a wildlife park with no crowds, and a natural spring that belongs on any Michigan list. None of it required reservations or a schedule. That's the UP's whole personality, and it's a good match for how we like to travel.
Watch the full video on YouTube for the zip line verdict and the view through the raft floor. We also send a short weekly newsletter about where we are and what broke this week. The signup form is on our newsletter page.