Touring Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP) is like taking a two-week trip by station wagon. Not in terms of time—you can sample plenty if four days is all you have. It’s about stepping back and appreciating a place of raw scenic beauty dotted with roadside attractions, blinker-light towns, rustic cabins, and hand-painted signs advertising smoked fish and homemade jam. With the second edition of 100 Things to Do in the Upper Peninsula Before You Die, discover a land mostly surrounded by the Great Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, linked to the state’s mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula by a five-mile suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac. The UP surprises with Victorian-era and car-free Mackinac Island, millions of acres of forests, waterfalls, wildlife, remnants of the prosperous copper mining era, and 1,700 miles of spectacular shoreline. It’s home to about 311,000 hardy Yoopers (UP-ers), just 3 percent of Michigan’s population across a third of the state’s territory. Cell phone service can be spotty and the top speed along two-lane highways is 55 mph—all the better to slow down and embrace the UP, whether you’re in search of extreme sports experiences, soft adventure, or a simple slice of solitude.

Touring Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.) is like taking a two-week trip by station wagon. Not in terms of time—you can sample plenty if four days is all you have. It’s about stepping back and appreciating a place of raw scenic beauty dotted with roadside attractions, blinker-light towns, rustic cabins and hand-painted signs advertising smoked fish and homemade jam. With 100 Things to Do in the Upper Peninsula Before You Die, discover a land mostly surrounded by the Great Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior, linked to the state’s Mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula by a five-mile suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac. The U.P. surprises with Victorian-era and car-free Mackinac Island, millions of acres of forests, waterfalls, wildlife, remnants of the prosperous copper mining era, and 1,700 miles of spectacular shoreline. It’s home to about 311,000 hardy Yoopers (U.P.-ers), just 3% of Michigan’s population across a third of the state’s territory. Cell phone service can be spotty and the top speed along two-lane highways is 55 mph—all the better to slow down and embrace the U.P., whether you’re in search of extreme sports experiences, soft adventure or a simple slice of solitude.

To the Anishinaabe-Ojibwa people it was a gathering place, a sacred burial ground, and the home of the Great Spirit Gitchie Manitou. Throughout the 1600s French voyageurs, explorers, missionaries, and fur traders arrived at Mackinac Island. Its strategic location in the straits between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas made it a military outpost the British and Americans found worth fighting for through the War of 1812. By the late 1800s Mackinac was a destination for city dwellers seeking fresh air, scenic beauty, recreation, and amusements. Today, passenger ferries transport visitors to the car-free island, where getting around is by foot, horse-drawn carriage, or bicycle, the air is still clean, and the scenery spectacular. Most of Mackinac is a state park, fringed with grand Victorian cottages and the whitewashed fort overlooking the compact village of pastel-colored hotels and shops (including the famous fudge makers). 100 Things to Do on Mackinac Island Before You Die helps you make the best of a day trip and reveals dozens of reasons to spend a night—or longer—at this captivating spot.

How did a sparsely populated landmass surrounded by Great Lakes and completely separated from the rest of the state become the Upper Peninsula of Michigan? At the end of each winter what do Yoopers—those hardy souls who call the UP home—measure with a 30-foot tall “thermometer?” And should you put ketchup or gravy on a pasty? You’ll find the answers to these questions and many more in Secret Upper Peninsula: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. You may know that the UP inspired Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha,” but what about works by Ernest Hemingway and Da Yoopers? Find out where a popular Chicago cartoonist summered in a cottage shaped like a giant pickle barrel, and where a ghost town comes alive once a year for a gathering of the descendants of copper mining families. Discover why believers say the mysterious Paulding Light is the lantern of a railroad man who perished on the tracks, or where to find the world’s longest porch and one of the least-visited National Parks. Local author Kath Usitalo takes you deep into the densely forested peninsula that might seem like one big, isolated secret to an outsider. Delve into this insider’s guide to learn about the fascinating quirks and curiosities of the land of Gitche Gumee.

A Michigan writer recounts the chilling tales of the UP’s spectral history. Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula plays host to some of the state's most spine-tingling ghost stories. At Old Victoria, a ghostly apparition continues to rock in her favorite chair. Visitors can still hear the screams of miners trapped and killed in the wreckage of the Mansfield Mine disaster. Trampled to death over false claims of fire, the victims of the Italian Hall Disaster linger on in Calumet. And Mackinac is home to more than one hundred ghosts, making the island one of the state's most haunted places.

Little known tales and lore from Michigan's Upper Peninsula uncover mysteries, curses, and strange beasts in this collection of offbeat and fascinating stories. That's the best I've ever seen you look," the barber said to the corpse. What kind of filthy decedent could inspire such derision? Learn the answer and read myriad other little-known tales from Michigan's northernmost region in Forgotten Tales of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Find out what happened after an aggrieved husband aimed a gun at his wife's lover and then asked the crowd, "Shall I shoot him?" Meet the sleeping man who rode the rails without a train. Discover the truth behind the rumors that one mining town was cursed with the ten plagues of Egypt, and learn why hugs terrified an entire city. And what were those hairy, bipedal beasts haunting the woods? Join Yooper Lisa A. Shiel as she brings to the fore these wonderfully offbeat and all-but-forgotten tales from the UP's history.

The clippity-clop of horse-drawn carriages on cobblestoned streets under the Spanish moss-draped trees of the Lowcountry transports you to another era in Charleston, the sweetheart of the Southeast. And with so much architecture, history, and rich cuisine to explore, you'll want to maximize your visit to this South Carolina gem. Let 100 Things to Do in Charleston Before You Die be your guide for where to go, what to see, where to dine, and where to shop 'til you drop. Taste oh-so-Southern favorites like shrimp and grits and she-crab soup before taking in the lush landscapes and antebellum architecture. Explore Civil War history at Fort Sumter, or be a part of sea turtle recovery at the South Carolina Aquarium. Don't forget to pick up a famous seagrass basket at the City Market and take advantage of all the seasonal activities and suggested itineraries the book provides.