Winter in U.P., MI?

[Fermion]

My wife and I were thinking about doing part of the Great Loop in our sailboat and then staying somewhere in Michigan and experiencing the winter there. We currently winter in Washington state but have ridden almost every trail on our snowmobiles multiple times and just looking for something a bit different.

What would be the housing situation for maybe October through March? Would we be better to look at a 6 month lease, or try to find a snowbird's house to sit, or look at VRBO? Anyone familiar with renting in that area during the winter?

 

[Backpacker]

I'm in northern lower peninsula, but around here it's pretty common to find 6 month house rentals at a reduced rate. I'd try digging around craigslist to see what's available.

 

[ckelly78z]

We like staying in the Neebish Island area along the St. Marys river during the Summer at some of the fishing cabins, There are some nice rental houses available that have a few more amenities, and most likely a deep water dock as well, but Winter in the U.P. is brutal, and preparedness is vital.

 

[COcheesehead]

I’ve been to the U.P. many times in winter. Very cold, very snowy, very desolate and oh so very beautiful. Winter usually lasts from October to September LOL.

 

[omni550]

Winter usually lasts from October to September LOL.

I was in the U.P. for a week around Labor Day a few years ago.

It was sunny, no snow, and about 70F. Guess I was lucky and caught their week of "Summer".

omni

 

[RAE]

I've lived in the U.P. for over 30 years, but now DW and I winter in Florida now for about 5 months. You should not have any problem finding a place to rent for the winter months, as there are not many people looking to rent a house at that time of year. I would narrow it down to what town/area in the U.P. you are most interested in, and then start looking in that area. If you want to snowmobile, be aware that you most likely won't have enough snow to do that during October/November, so December through March will be your main months for snowmobiling. The towns in the northern part of the U.P. get more lake-effect snow, so the best snowmobiling is generally there (Munising, Newberry, Houghton, etc), although in some winters there is plenty of snow everywhere. If you rent in a town like Houghton or Marquette, though, you will almost certainly pay more (those are college towns), so if you don't need the amenities of a college town, you can rent something in a smaller town for much cheaper, probably. And be aware that all that snow you want for snowmobiling may cause some other issues that you may have to deal with...........like snow removal from your driveway, just so you can get your truck/trailer out to the main road. Be sure to ask about stuff like that (and also how/where to access the snowmobile trails) before you agree to rent a place.

 

[meierlde]

Just a comment I saw today that Houghton has had 215 inches of snow so far this year, above average. The kewanaw penninsula gets lake effect snow from three sides so gets over 240 inches total per year. Clearly 4 wheel drive would be a great idea. There have been some videos on long haul larry on youtube where he went snowmobiling around the peninsula. Just seeing them does show that a lot of places are closed for the winter. In Traverse city they have had about 50 inches by contrast.

 

[NW-Bound]

Wow, 215 to 240 inches of snow is a lot!

Valdez, Alaska, prides itself as the snow capital. It gets 300 in. of snow on the average. A "good year" may see 500 in. or more.

 

[RAE]

Just a comment I saw today that Houghton has had 215 inches of snow so far this year, above average. The kewanaw penninsula gets lake effect snow from three sides so gets over 240 inches total per year. Clearly 4 wheel drive would be a great idea. There have been some videos on long haul larry on youtube where he went snowmobiling around the peninsula. Just seeing them does show that a lot of places are closed for the winter. In Traverse city they have had about 50 inches by contrast.

Yeah, much of the U.P. has had above-average amounts of snowfall this winter. Much of it came in late November and December, which is a little earlier than normal. And a lot of that snow was of the very wet, heavy variety, with freezing rain/sleet mixed in at times. As a result, quite a few snowmobile trails ended up being closed for quite a while, until all the bent-over and broken trees (brought down by all that wet snow) could be cleared. I just read the other day that some trails are still closed. So, this is the kind of thing that can happen in the U.P. during winter. I actually just talked to my neighbor the other day (who loves to snowmobile), and he said he has not even been out once so far this winter yet, as he's had to spend virtually all his time (after work each day) just removing wet, heavy snow from his driveway/walkway, to provide access to his house/garage. Last winter (2018/19), February was the big month for snow in the U.P........record amounts of snow that month. So,be aware that things can change (sometimes a lot) from year to year, but there will always be snow.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I was in Munising a couple Februaries ago and the town was hopping with snowmobilers. Winter recreation up there has boomed since snow cover has become less reliable further south.


IMO, Marquette would be a great place to spend some winter months. It's centrally located (Porcupine Mountains and Mackinac Island are within an easy day's drive) and the city is a lively college town with good services and year-round amenities. Yet, wilderness is minutes away. It has a good harbor and marina. Unfortunately, the Michigan State Pen has closed its gift shop, so you can no longer buy prisoner crafts.

 

[RAE]

I was in Munising a couple Februaries ago and the town was hopping with snowmobilers. Winter recreation up there has boomed since snow cover has become less reliable further south.


IMO, Marquette would be a great place to spend some winter months. It's centrally located (Porcupine Mountains and Mackinac Island are within an easy day's drive) and the city is a lively college town with good services and year-round amenities. Yet, wilderness is minutes away. It has a good harbor and marina. Unfortunately, the Michigan State Pen has closed its gift shop, so you can no longer buy prisoner crafts.

Just for info., Mackinac Island is technically open for recreation during the winter months, but very few people go there then (and of course there is no snowmobiling on the island). Some hotels/restaurants/shops are open, but most are closed at that time of year. The ferry boat runs over there during the winter if conditions permit, but in cold winters the lake freezes over and then there is an ice road leading over there, when the ice is thick enough.

The highway between Munising and Marquette is sometimes closed for a period of time during the winter months because of the snow and wind coming off of Lake Superior. Driving on that stretch of road can be treacherous when conditions deteriorate.

 

[Ronstar]

I was in Munising a couple Februaries ago and the town was hopping with snowmobilers. Winter recreation up there has boomed since snow cover has become less reliable further south.


IMO, Marquette would be a great place to spend some winter months. It's centrally located (Porcupine Mountains and Mackinac Island are within an easy day's drive) and the city is a lively college town with good services and year-round amenities. Yet, wilderness is minutes away. It has a good harbor and marina. Unfortunately, the Michigan State Pen has closed its gift shop, so you can no longer buy prisoner crafts.

The restaurant by the Munising wharf has two big photos on the wall. A summer scene at the wharf - some type of celebration with lots of people milling about - maybe Independence Day - with fire trucks blowing water streams.

Then the other photo - same wharf - but in the dead of a nasty winter. Not a soul in sight. I don't know if I could handle that for a few months.

I agree with you on Marquette. Seems like a lot of things to do in Marquette where you could get in out of the weather when you have to.