Tourists, Bears, Antlers, and Baby Deer: Summer is Here
Summer tourism season has officially arrived in the Upper Peninsula.
Traffic is up, parking lots are filling, and license plates from Alaska, Texas, Florida, and everywhere in between are showing up across Houghton County. The annual migration north is underway as visitors make their pilgrimage to experience all that the UP has to offer.
Houghton County population seems to have multiplied overnight. Every summer, people make the journey to Michigan’s northernmost destination, chasing waterfalls, mountain biking trails, Lake Superior views, fishing adventures, and a chance to experience life at a different pace.
The wildlife traffic has been just as busy as the tourist traffic.
Our trail cameras have already captured four different bears passing through the backyard this spring, bringing the total to six when you include the two cubs we spotted earlier. A couple young bucks have started growing antlers, and while we haven’t caught any newborn fawns on the trail cameras yet, they’re definitely arriving.
Just this week, I had to throw on my emergency flashers in Houghton to stop traffic while the smallest fawn I’ve ever seen scrambled across the road trying to keep up with its mother. It’s a good reminder that summer isn’t just busy for us—it’s busy for the wildlife too.
On the project side, the startup list continues to shrink. What felt like an endless list of renovations, launches, and property improvements earlier this year is finally turning into maintenance, upgrades, and fine-tuning.
That’s good news because it means we can start focusing on the fun stuff:
🎣 Fishing trips
🪨 Rock hounding adventures
🏖 Beach days
👨👩👧👦 Family visits
🚶 Hiking trails
🌅 Enjoying the beauty of the UP
There’s still plenty of work to do, but we’re finally reaching that point where we can step back for a moment and enjoy what we’ve been building toward.
Cheers to a great summer, great weather, and all the adventures ahead.
What’s your favorite sign that summer has officially arrived in the Upper Peninsula?