Traveling Huntleys

Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.

Lake Superior

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan

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Last Updated: July 2, 2026

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore stretches along the southern shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and it earns every superlative thrown at it. The park is named for its stunning multicolored sandstone cliffs — streaked with minerals that paint them in shades of copper, iron, and manganese — rising as high as 200 feet above the water. Add in around 17 waterfalls, miles of pristine beach, and some of the clearest water in the Great Lakes, and it’s easy to understand why Condé Nast Traveler called it the most beautiful place in Michigan.

Colorful sandstone cliffs of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore viewed from a boat on Lake Superior, Munising, Michigan
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Gurney, Saxon, Bayfield Wisconsin & Houghton MI

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Last Updated: July 2, 2026

Gurney is a small community in northern Wisconsin, tucked near the shores of Lake Superior. For us, this stop was more than just a destination — it was a homecoming of sorts. Michael’s father, Jim, grew up here. Jim was born 25 miles away in Bessemer, Michigan, where his father worked in explosives for a copper mine. When the mines began to shut down, Jim’s family moved to Gurney to farm — a fortuitous decision, as the land kept them self-sufficient through the Great Depression.

Vast cornfield in Gurney, Wisconsin, near where Michael Huntley's father Jim grew up during the Great Depression
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Grand Portage National Monument & Duluth, Minnesota: Fur Trade History, High Falls & Lake Superior

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Last Updated: June 22, 2026

Grand Portage sits at the very tip of Minnesota’s Arrowhead region, pressed against the Canadian border on the western shore of Lake Superior. It was once one of the most strategically important spots in North America — a crossroads where French and British fur traders, Ojibwe people, and voyageurs converged on the greatest of the Great Lakes. The scenic drive from Voyageurs National Park is curvy and beautiful, hugging the Lake Superior shoreline through dense boreal forest as you climb toward the Canadian border.

Sunset over Lake Superior at Grand Portage, Minnesota — on the shore of the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, photographed by Michael Huntley travel blogger
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