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The Atlas/Michigan/Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive — Lake Michigan Overlook

Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive — Lake Michigan Overlook

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.

Michigan
Region
Viewpoint
Stop type
Standalone stop
Atlas
// Why riders stop

The M-22 corridor is one of Michigan's premier motorcycle byways; Pierce Stocking adds a short paved detour to a jaw-dropping 450-foot dune-edge overlook — highly photogenic and NPS-maintained with accessible parking.

// Rider photos

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// Nearby & related
StopMichigan
Brockway Mountain Drive Overlook
Michigan
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.
StopMichigan
Brockway Mountain Drive Summit
Michigan
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.
StopMichigan
Copper Harbor Village
Michigan
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.