A Day in Ontonagon County

Here’s a quick 24 hour trip to Ontonagon County in autumn… including a couple of must-see places like Lake of the Clouds and Bond Falls. While there’s so much more to do in this area, these are the quick hitters, especially in autumn. I always love to go to Lake of the Clouds in October… it’s just pure magic. 🍂 Unfortunately I think I hit it a little too soon this year… it was still surprisingly green! When the sun set and it was golden, it looked a lot more “peak” but I’d say it has another week to go, which feels like it’s a week behind here… while more inland felt like peak was a week earlier this year! Sort of a weird fall, but nevertheless… just gorgeous, stunning, magical, lovely, just… swooooon. I love this time of year so much.

I’ve blogged this place several times, maybe every year… minus one since I’ve been living up here. But if you haven’t been yet, especially during autumn, Lake of the Clouds is one of my favorite spots. It’s located in the Porcupine Mountains, in Ontonagon County. It’s an easy drive, an easy parking lot, an accessible little hike to the top, with the most majestic views. It was fun to sort of go down a different trail and see a unique view this time, made the small mistake of going on a Saturday and it was so busy. That feels strange living in the Upper Peninsula because it’s typically so remote up here, but thankfully, avoiding people is a little easy if you just hike out into a trail a little bit.

Everything in the area closes at 8pm for dinner though… so be sure to plan ahead. We ended up eating an early dinner, because sunset doesn’t wrap up until like 7:30-7:45pm, so then by the time you make the trek back into town, everything is closed! But dinner at Paul’s Restaurant & Lounge was quite good for being a hotel bar, and the bar stays open later, so you can always grab a drink after sunset. But an easy stay is at the Americinn, but I’d prefer to stay in a cabin in this area, but you gotta book them much farther in advance than I did. The next morning, coffee/tea and a walk along the river and Lake Superior was so lovely. Just a quiet moment, skipping a few stones, taking in the scent of a nearby campfire, a warm October morning, just… I love those simple, peaceful, quiet moments.

Ontonagon Lighthouse

Spent the mid-morning/early afternoon in downtown Ontonagon… eating breakfast at Syl’s Cafe (classic breakfast and biscuits & gravy were pretty good!) and checking out the Ontonagon County Historical Society and taking a little walk by the river to see the Ontonagon Lighthouse from afar. The lighthouse was still open this time of year, but I’ve done that one a few times, so skipped that this go-around, and just checked out some of the history and the fresnel light inside the museum. After exploring Ontonagon, enjoyed the beautiful fall colors and backroads over to Bond Falls.

Bond Falls is another place that just… doesn’t get old. And it’s an easy one to see for everyone, an easy drive, an accessible parking lot, boardwalk, and as soon as you sort of meander through the trail, hear the waterfall get closer, and you see it, it’s just like… 😍 every time. I didn’t realize there’s an entire loop you can hike that takes you all around the waterfall, up toward the dam and the overflow lake, and back to the other side, so it was lovely to do the entire loop. You see so many little waterfalls along the way, and there are so many photo opportunities. But just the scent of autumn leaves, the warmish breeze, but a cooler October day, sun peeking through but mostly cloudy, just… it was wonderful. I loved every second of this visit. And stopped to the outpost after to get an ice-cream brownie treat to enjoy at a picnic table. Love!

Hope you enjoyed a quick 24-hours in Ontonagon County. If you had more time, I’d also say to check out… Summit Peak in the Porcupine Mountains, Bonanza Falls (which is right in Silver City), and then… the Paulding Light, which is a mysterious orb of light that appears along a stretch of road near Watersmeet… a long-standing Upper Peninsula legend that is said to be from a ghostly lantern. I mean, it is spooky season after all! 👻✨