About three miles off the Upper Peninsula's Lake Superior shoreline, between Skanee and Big Bay, sits a chain of eight rocky islands most Michiganders have never heard of. At the top of one of them stands the Huron Island Lighthouse, guiding ships since 1868, a remote light station that few people ever see up close. Over Labor Day weekend I rode out by Sea-Doo, hiked the island's two trails and had the whole place to myself. Here's what it's like and how to plan your own trip

Fayette is one of the largest and oldest ghost towns in Michigan, and arguably one of the best preserved. From 1867 to 1891 it was a busy iron-smelting town on Lake Michigan's Snail Shell Harbor, home to nearly 500 people at its peak. Today it's Fayette Historic State Park, and you can walk its streets, peek into its buildings and stand inside the old furnace complex. I visited in November, right after peak tourist season, and had the parking lot to myself. Quick facts Locati

SkyBridge Michigan at Boyne Mountain is the world's longest timber-towered suspension bridge, and it's one of the best reasons to visit Northern Michigan outside of ski season. I first went on a sunny weekend in late summer, rode the chairlift to the top, walked across, grabbed lunch on the far side and walked back. I've been back a few times since, stayed overnight at Boyne, and seen the bridge in different seasons, including the October fall festival and the holiday lights.

On the foggy morning of January 17, 1781, in a South Carolina pasture called the Cowpens, an outnumbered mix of Continental soldiers and militia pulled off one of the most brilliant tactical victories of the Revolutionary War. Cowpens National Battlefield doesn't get the attention of Yorktown or Lexington, but the battle fought here changed the course of the war in the South. I walked the battlefield trail with the park's self-guided tour, and it's one of the best history sto

I took a road trip to the U.P. over the Fourth of July holiday, and my first Sea-Doo launch of the trip was in Munising. The plan: ride out to the lighthouses on Grand Island, then cruise along the cliffs of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. It was my first time taking the new 2024 Sea-Doo Explorer Pro 230 out on Lake Superior, and there's nowhere better to do it. Quick facts Location: Munising, Michigan, on Lake Superior Getting there: Launch from Munising. Grand Island is