Road	Length	High point
Brockway Mountain Drive OverlookStop The lookout at the top of the 9-mile Brockway Mountain Drive off M-26 — 735 feet above Lake Superior with 360° views (Isle Royale on a clear day), billed as the highest drive between the Rockies and the Alleghenies.	—	—
Brockway Mountain Drive SummitStop The 9-mile Brockway Mountain Drive climbs to 1,320 feet above sea level — 720 feet above Lake Superior — making it the highest paved road between the Rockies and the Alleghenies. The summit overlook delivers a 360-degree panorama: Copper Harbor below, the Keweenaw wilderness stretching south, Lake Superior to the north, and Isle Royale visible on clear days roughly 50 miles offshore. The two-lane road is entirely rideable, connecting M-26 between Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor. Spring hawk migrations are visible from the overlook in May. The road is seasonal (typically May through November) and maintained by Keweenaw County.	—	—
Copper Harbor VillageStop Copper Harbor sits at the northernmost tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula — the end of the road for riders completing the full peninsula loop on M-26 and US-41. A tiny village of roughly 136 permanent residents, it serves as the gateway to Brockway Mountain Drive, Isle Royale National Park ferry departures, Fort Wilkins Historic State Park (Michigan's oldest fort), and Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. Rider Magazine has profiled the Keweenaw Peninsula as a multi-day motorcycle destination centered on Copper Harbor. The town has restaurants, lodging, and a general store, and riders regularly use it as a natural end-of-ride gathering point after looping the peninsula.	—	—
Good Hart General StoreStop An authentic 1934 general store sitting mid-route on M-119 at the heart of the Tunnel of Trees, Good Hart General Store is a beloved rider waypoint 13 miles north of Harbor Springs and 8 miles south of Cross Village. The store has operated for nearly a century and stocks deli food, a full bakery, groceries, and a U.S. Post Office under one roof. The store's own website maintains a 'Biker Corner' page dedicated to motorcyclists on the Tunnel of Trees. The surrounding village of Good Hart is an unincorporated community directly on M-119 where the tree canopy is thickest.	—	—
Keweenaw Loop (US-41 / M-26 / Brockway Mountain Drive) A roughly 110-mile loop from the Houghton area to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, combining US-41's tree-canopied final miles into Copper Harbor, the M-26 shoreline, and the 9-mile Brockway Mountain Drive climb — the highest above-sea-level drive between the Rockies and the Alleghenies. The mapped route follows the Copper Country Trail National Byway (US-41); ride M-26 and Brockway Mountain Drive to complete the loop.	47 mi	—
Legs InnStop A stone-and-driftwood castle at the northern terminus of the Tunnel of Trees on M-119, Legs Inn opened in 1921 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Polish immigrant Stanley Smolak hand-carved fantastical creatures into every surface using tree roots, limbs, and driftwood. The roofline is crowned with inverted cast-iron stove legs — giving the inn its name. The menu leans Polish (pierogis, borscht, kielbasa) alongside UP pasties and lakeside garden seating. Motorcyclists fill the parking lot from spring through fall; the Discovery Channel listed M-119 as a Top 10 North American motorcycle ride, and Legs Inn is the natural bookend.	—	—
M-123 Tahquamenon Scenic Byway A 63-mile designated Scenic Heritage Route running through Michigan's eastern Upper Peninsula, from M-28 near Newberry north through old-growth forest to the village of Paradise on Whitefish Bay. The byway passes Tahquamenon Falls State Park — home to the 200-foot-wide Upper Falls, one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi — and continues along the Lake Superior shoreline near Paradise. The route's U-shaped alignment and forested corridor make it a natural anchor for eastern UP motorcycle loops. Part of the Lake Superior Circle Tour.	96 mi	—
M-22 Leelanau / Sleeping Bear Shore A 116-mile loop highway tracing the Lake Michigan shoreline of the Leelanau Peninsula, from Manistee in the south through Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, north to Northport, then south along Grand Traverse Bay back to Traverse City. Designated as both the Leelanau Scenic Heritage Route and a Pure Michigan Byway, and part of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour. The route is rolling and mostly wooded with lake views, vineyard scenery near Suttons Bay, and access to the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. Voted the nation's best scenic autumn drive by readers in 2015.	44 mi	—
M-28 Lake Superior Corridor At 290 miles, M-28 is the longest M-numbered state highway in Michigan, crossing the Upper Peninsula east-west from Wakefield to near Sault Ste. Marie. The most scenic segment runs between Marquette and Munising, where the highway closely parallels Lake Superior's southern shore and provides direct access to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Grand Island National Recreation Area, and Scott Falls roadside park. The route crosses sections of both Ottawa and Hiawatha National Forests. Three segments of M-28 are designated part of the Lake Superior Circle Tour. Featured by UP Travel and Rider Magazine as a core UP motorcycle corridor.	158 mi	—
Old Mission Peninsula (M-37) A 17-mile state highway running the full length of Old Mission Peninsula from Traverse City north to the 1870 Mission Point Lighthouse, designated a Michigan State Scenic Byway (2008) and a Pure Michigan Heritage Route. The road passes orchards, vineyards, and bluffs rising up to 200 feet above both East and West Grand Traverse Bay with panoramic water views. The peninsula sits on the 45th parallel — halfway between the equator and the North Pole — and its microclimate supports cherry and wine-grape agriculture that lines the route. Motorcycle-specific itineraries pairing M-37 with M-22 and US-31 are promoted by northern Michigan tourism organizations.	64 mi	—
Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive — Lake Michigan OverlookStop Stop #9 on the NPS-managed Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive inside Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the Lake Michigan Overlook sits 450 feet above the water atop a perched sand dune with unobstructed views of Lake Michigan, the Manitou Islands, and Sleeping Bear Bay. The 7.4-mile one-way paved loop begins off M-109 near Empire and is open to motorcycles. Twelve numbered stops span the route through beech-maple forest and open dune; the overlook is the crowd standout. America's Most Beautiful Place in a 2011 Good Morning America viewer vote, Sleeping Bear Dunes draws 1.3 million visitors annually.	—	—
Tahquamenon Falls — Upper FallsStop The Upper Tahquamenon Falls is the largest waterfall in Michigan and one of the largest east of the Mississippi — 200 feet wide with an amber-colored flow stained by tannins from cedar and spruce swamps upstream. The falls drop 48 feet into a pool surrounded by old-growth forest inside Tahquamenon Falls State Park, accessed via M-123 from Paradise. A paved trail from the parking area reaches the main overlook in under half a mile. The Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub is located within the state park at the Upper Falls trailhead (24019 Upper Falls Drive), serving UP pasties, house-brewed beers, and full meals — a rare combination of a world-class natural feature and an excellent on-site brewpub.	—	—
Tunnel of Trees (M-119) A 20-mile state highway running north from Harbor Springs to Cross Village along a narrow, winding bluff above Lake Michigan. Michigan's only centerline-free state highway, M-119 passes beneath a continuous hardwood canopy of oaks, maples, birch, and cedar — the 'tunnel' effect is densest in the mid-section near Good Hart. The Discovery Channel named it a Top 10 North American motorcycle ride. Tight hairpin curves and no fuel between Harbor Springs and Cross Village keep the character pure. Designated as a Michigan Scenic Heritage Route.	28 mi	—
US-2 Top of the Lake (Lake Michigan Shore) The eastern segment of US-2 in Michigan's Upper Peninsula runs approximately 96 miles from Manistique east to St. Ignace, following the northern shore of Lake Michigan. Designated the Top of the Lake Scenic Byway from Thompson to St. Ignace, the highway passes through Naubinway, Brevort, and several scenic overlooks. Highlights include the Cut River Bridge — a 147-foot arch over a deep river gorge with a beach access stairway — and multiple soft-sand Lake Michigan pull-offs. Part of both the Lake Michigan Circle Tour and the Lake Superior Circle Tour, and featured by UP Travel as one of seven signature UP motorcycle routes.	140 mi	—

By Switchback · Updated 2026-07-08

Best season

May–mid-October

Helmet law

Conditional (age + insurance)

Lane splitting

Illegal statewide

Signature terrain

Great Lakes shoreline & UP forest

Michigan hands riders two completely different states for the price of one plate. In the Lower Peninsula, routes like M-119 and M-22 thread bluff-top hardwood canopy and Lake Michigan dune country within a few hours of each other. Cross the Mackinac Bridge and the character shifts: the Upper Peninsula is quieter, less populated, and built around a different scale—M-28 alone runs nearly 300 miles east to west, and US-2 traces the full north shore of Lake Michigan from the bridge to Wisconsin. The UP's roads can also close unexpectedly: Brockway Mountain Drive is a seasonal route that depends on snowmelt and storm-damage clearing before it opens each spring. Both peninsulas reward patient, attentive riding—deer crossings are common, gravel washes onto curves after rain, and the narrow, centerline-free M-119 demands full concentration rather than momentum. None of that diminishes the appeal. The combination of shoreline mileage, fall color, and the sheer variety of terrain—dunes, old-growth forest, copper-country highlands, and Lake Superior cliffs—makes Michigan one of the more genuinely diverse touring destinations in the Midwest.

Two Peninsulas, Two Different Trips

Most riders plan a Michigan trip around one peninsula or the other, and that's a reasonable approach—trying to combine both in a single week means too many miles on US-23 and I-75 threading between them. The Lower Peninsula's strongest riding is concentrated in the northwest corner: the Leelanau and Old Mission peninsulas give you lake views and vineyard country on roads that work well on any bike, while M-119 north of Harbor Springs is a different assignment entirely—slow, tight, tree-canopied, and demanding of full attention.

The Upper Peninsula operates on a longer scale. Corridors like M-28 and US-2 cover serious distance between stops, and small UP towns can be 40–60 miles apart with limited fuel options. That spacing is part of the appeal for riders who prefer uncrowded roads, but it requires more trip planning than the Lower Peninsula does.

Choosing Your Route Type

If you're on a large touring bike or two-up setup, M-22 around the Leelanau Peninsula and US-2 along the Lake Michigan shore reward that platform—wide lanes, good sight lines, and pull-offs with lake access. M-119 and Brockway Mountain Drive suit any bike size but reward a measured pace over momentum; the narrowness and surface variation are the challenge, not the length.

For multi-day UP loops, the Keweenaw Peninsula pairs naturally with M-28's Pictured Rocks corridor and M-123's Tahquamenon run. These three segments cover distinct terrain—copper-country highlands, Lake Superior cliffside, and old-growth eastern forest—and can be linked into a week-long tour without significant backtracking.

Seasonal and Logistical Notes

Brockway Mountain Drive is a seasonal road that closes in winter and reopens in spring after snowmelt and storm-damage clearing—confirm current status with the Keweenaw County Road Commission before routing through Copper Harbor.
Fall color in the northern Lower Peninsula peaks around mid-October; the UP follows. Both windows bring heavier traffic than riders expect on routes like M-119 and M-22.
Fuel gaps are real in the UP. Between Harbor Springs and Cross Village on M-119 there is no fuel. Plan Keweenaw Peninsula loops out of Houghton or Hancock with a full tank.
Deer crossings are a statewide concern, most active at dawn and dusk and through October and November. Gravel washing onto curves after rain is common on M-119 and Brockway Mountain Drive.
Sand on pavement near Sleeping Bear Dunes and along M-22 is worth watching for, especially near pull-offs.

The Michigan BDR

Riders interested in adventure touring should know the official Michigan Backcountry Discovery Route is still in development as of 2025–26, per ridebdr.com. The community-curated Michigan Adventure Route (Phase 1) covers roughly 180 miles of seasonal dirt two-track and gravel through Manistee National Forest via Narrow Road Adventures—a separate, unofficial option for those equipped for unpaved surfaces.

// ShareFacebook Reddit X

// Frequently asked

Michigan's helmet law is conditional, not universal. Riders and passengers under 21 must wear a DOT-approved helmet at all times. Riders 21 and older may ride without one if they have held a motorcycle endorsement for at least two years (or completed an approved safety course) and carry a minimum of $20,000 in first-party medical benefits insurance. Eye protection—a windshield, goggles, or a face shield—is required separately for operating at speeds above 35 mph without a windshield. Regardless of legal status, wearing a helmet substantially reduces injury risk.

No. Both lane splitting and lane filtering are prohibited under Michigan Vehicle Code Section 257.660. Motorcyclists must remain within a single marked lane and may not pass between lines of traffic. Two motorcycles may ride abreast in one lane, but passing between vehicles or riding on the shoulder is not permitted.

Brockway Mountain Drive is a seasonal road maintained by Keweenaw County. It is closed in winter—converted to a snowmobile trail—and reopens in spring once snow is cleared and road restrictions lift, typically sometime between mid-April and late May depending on the severity of the preceding winter. It generally closes again in late October or early November. Check the Keweenaw County Road Commission or Visit Keweenaw for current status before planning a trip to Copper Harbor.

Deer are the most consistent threat statewide, especially at dawn and dusk and through the fall rut. On M-119, the road is narrow, has no centerline, and has no fuel stops between Harbor Springs and Cross Village—plan accordingly. Gravel washes onto curves after rain on both M-119 and Brockway Mountain Drive. The UP's secondary county roads often have unmarked gravel sections. Sand on pavement is common near dune areas along M-22 and the Sleeping Bear corridor. In spring, Upper Peninsula roads can be soft from snowmelt.

For the western UP and Keweenaw Peninsula, Houghton or Hancock gives you a central launch point for the full Keweenaw Loop (US-41 / M-26 / Brockway Mountain Drive). For the eastern UP, Newberry or Paradise work well as bases for M-123 and the Tahquamenon Falls corridor. Copper Harbor is the natural end-of-ride destination at the tip of the Keweenaw—it has restaurants, lodging, and ferry access to Isle Royale National Park.

Yes, but M-119 is Michigan's only state highway without a centerline, and its 20-mile run from Harbor Springs to Cross Village includes roughly 135 curves. The road is narrow—meeting an oncoming vehicle in a tight section on a wide touring bike requires real attention. It is more of a slow, deliberate ride than a flowing one. Riders on baggers and large tourers regularly complete it, but the character is tight rather than sweeping. There is no fuel on the route itself.

//Sources & references

Michigan Motorcycle Laws Guide for Law Enforcement Officers — Michigan State Police ↗MCL Section 257.660 — Michigan Legislature (lane use / lane splitting) ↗7 Scenic Summer Motorcycle Routes in the U.P. — UP Travel & Recreation Association ↗Brockway Mountain Drive — Visit Keweenaw (official tourism site) ↗Brockway Mountain Drive open for the 2025 season — The Daily News (Iron Mountain) ↗