Places UpNorthGal Wants to Go

Large one-man sculpture park in Michigan.

This lone tree and dramatic sandstone outcropping are so beloved by Michiganders they can be found on one of the state’s coins.

This lighthouse and shipwreck museum keep a torch burning for the memory of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

This little barrel-shaped cottage by Lake Superior was once a cartoonist's summer retreat.

Two dozen rescued bears roam (mostly) free at the largest bear ranch in the U.S.

Once a home for cows and hay, this barn has been transformed into an event cathedral.

It leads to a former hospital’s old root cellar.

This enchanting forest trail leads to ethereal abodes and a giant bird's nest.

A 12-foot sculpture serves as a constant reminder of the importance of protecting and restoring the Boardman River.   

This scenic overlook commemorates the tragic death of a soon-to-be-married lumberjack.

Part taxidermy workshop, part natural history museum this Michigan destination shows off its dead animals and helps you mount your own.

Talula the swan has been welcoming visitors to Elk Rapids, Michigan, for more than four decades.

A 30-foot-tall sculpture pays homage to what was once the Steering Wheel Capital of the World.

One man’s vision of living among dinosaurs credits Jesus Christ as the engine of biological evolution.

This museum in the woods evokes the work and lives of Michigan's 19-century lumberjacks.

Michigan’s most famous shoe tree.

This tremendous trout welcomes visitors to a northern Michigan town with a rich fishing history.

There is an art, a science, and certainly a responsibility to occupying the Big Red Chair, and this is where it's learned.

This unusual three-way wooden foot bridge spans two rivers at once.

This log cabin gallery is one man's gnarly, hand-carved tribute to his favorite trees.

This enormous fish commemorates the unplanned release of brown trout into a Michigan river.

A charming remnant of 19th-century fishing towns sits on Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula.

Legs Inn provides Polish food, a cornucopia of Odawa artwork, wood carvings, and mounted deer heads.

This whimsical sculpture garden is a local treasure.