24 Bridges to Enter the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that Aren’t the Mighty Mac
When many Michiganders who live in the Lower Peninsula think of traveling to the Upper Peninsula, there's just one way to go, the Mackinac Bridge. The majestic structure carries Interstate 75 over the Straits of Mackinac and connects St. Ignace to Mackinaw City.
But if you're looking to hit the UP from Wisconsin, there are at least 24 bridges not named the Mackinac Bridge that you can cross to gain entry to what some consider the Best Place on Earth.
Or maybe you're one of those travelers who gave the Mackinac Bridge a one-star review on a travel site. You need an alternate way into the UP.
Before we look at the bridge crossings, it helps to know a little bit about the Michigan-Wisconsin border. There are three rivers that form portions of the border between the two states. The Menominee River flows into Green Bay at Menominee. Upriver, it meets the Michigammie and Brule Rivers and the Brule continues as the state border. After the Brule turns north, the border runs along land until the Montreal River which forms the westernmost boundary between the states.
Our list runs east to west and begins with the one crossing into the northern side of the peninsula, the international border at Sault Ste Marie. Then we trace the southern border from 1st Street in Menominee to the shores of Lake Superior north of Ironwood.
Note our list only includes vehicular crossings. We left off train bridges and pedestrian crossings like the image above which is a pedestrian-only crossing. Also not included is a unique snowmobile-only bridge connecting Trail 2 in Dickinson County with Wisconsin. We also wavered and eventually left off a bridge that seemed to be indicated on Google Maps at the end of Wisconsin's Forest Road 2150 connecting near Rainbow Trail southwest of Alpha. We couldn't determine if a bridge existed or not.
Check out the 24 bridges that you can use to enter the Upper Peninsula that aren't the Mackinac Bridge.
Credit the uploader on the Pure UP Facebook sharing a photo of the Veteran's Memorial Bridge near Iron Mountain that got this discussion started.