Photo Gallery Friday: Riptide Ride in Munising, Michigan

Photo Gallery Friday is a regular feature on Travel the Mitten that will help showcase photos from places where one post just isn’t enough to show off everything.

Munising, Michigan offers several opportunities for visitors to experience Lake Superior from the water: Pictured Rocks Boat Cruises, kayak trips with Uncle Ducky Outdoors, Glass Bottom Shipwreck Tours, and Riptide Ride – a trip around Grand Island in a jet boat. The “baddest boat on the bay” is capable of 360 degree spins, and it will also take you past towering and colorful cliffs, two historic lighthouses, seasonal waterfalls, and bald eagle nests. You’ll also get a distant glimpse of the colorful cliffs that give Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore its name, as well as the Miners Castle rock formation.

13,500 acres of Grand Island are part of the Hiawatha National Forest, and as a designated recreation area it boasts amazing opportunities for hikers, campers, kayakers, and bicyclists. The island is also home to a healthy black bear population and variety of other birds and mammals. Historic sites on the island include cabins and farms, and other attractions have enchanting names like Echo Lake, Waterfall Beach, and Trout Bay. While on the Riptide Ride you’ll not only take in views of the East Channel Lighthouse, you’ll also get a rare look at the North Lighthouse. While the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruises and Glass Bottom Shipwreck Tours also pass the East Channel Lighthouse (pictured at top of post), the North Lighthouse is privately owned (and not accessible if you’re on the island) and this is your best chance to see it. It sits atop a 175 foot tall cliff and was constructed in 1867. Consider adding a trip on Riptide Ride to your summer adventure, and find out more at http://riptideride.com/. We’d like to thank Russell Katje for sharing some of his photos with us.