First of all, you can walk on Lake Superior in February and maybe into early March. I do live in the Keweenaw Peninsula which juts out into the lake in the western 1/3 of Upper Michigan. The time of the year you are suggesting is too early. The big difference between the two areas is Lake Michigan has sand beaches and Lake Superior primarily has rugged Bassalt rock shoreline with some sand beaches on the Eastern UP facing Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. I prefer Superior for the variety, but it is hard to knock a good sand beach in the Summer!
If you PM me I can suggest areas to go in the UP and better times of the year to make a visit.
Jerry G
Loc: Waterford, Michigan and Florida
Check the date: April 1, 2017. April Fools Day.
Don't forget, whales are mammals, they breath air, so it is possible they could live in fresh water.
Silverman wrote:
No, most definitely Whales only live in the Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific, etc.
April 1 articles.
In case the OPs from the UK are not aware, April 1 is known as “April Fools Day” in the US. Many publications publish spoof articles.
Earnest Botello wrote:
Don't forget, whales are mammals, they breath air, so it is possible they could live in fresh water.
While they're mammals, their digestive and other biochemical systems are adapted to salt water. They also feed on plankton and other creatures and vegetation which live only in oceanic environs. If you've visited Sea World, the orcas, porpoises, etc., all live in a salt water environment.
You won't see much wildlife besides birds. Lake Michigan coast has many nice photogenic lighthouses. I'd go in the fall. The sun is positioned better for that.
I would love to see a link that shows whales in the Great Lakes.
mark.r wrote:
Hi' Thanks for your reply with the Whales.On Goggle images of the two lakes they are showing the Whales.My wife will be gutted when i tell her because she was looking forward to see them.Still it will be nice to see other wild life which i don't see here in the UK.What is the normal Temperature out there in February and March.Mark
Largobob wrote:
Whales? No, those pixs of our pinfish.
They get rather large here.
You are bad, really bad! I like that in a person.
The north shore drive from Duluth up to Grand Marais Minnesota is beautiful. Have done it many times. There are beautiful parks and waterfalls along the way.
WJH
If you have Passports, you can circumnavigate Lake Superior about which you will find seemingless never ending scenes to challenge you photo talents. All here now expect to bask in your future masterpieces. Forget the coming election season, we all know what is important.
ntonkin
Loc: western Upper Peninusla of Michigan
mark.r wrote:
Hi' I'm looking for help and advice with Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.Next year in February or March myself and family are thinking to visit one of these lakes to see wildlife and most of all to see Whales.Have anyone on here live near these two lakes, or who have been there and spotted Whales in the Two Lakes.Thanks for reading.Mark
Hello: I am glad you are interested in visiting our home. It is a wonderful place. My wife and I have lived in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan for 40 years. If you plan to come in February or March, the big lakes will either be frozen or partially so, and there will be snow on the ground. Right now, we have 26 inches of snow on the ground and we are expecting another 6-8 inches later on this week. It got down to -20 degrees Fahrenheit two night ago. Lakes Superior and Michigan are very large. It will take a few days to circumnavigate both. In Gogebic County, MI and Vilas County, WI, exist the largest concentration of freshwater lakes in the entire world, and this area of the Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin is a World Reserve for glacial topography. If you decide to come, May-October would be a good time frame from which to choose vacation dates. Please understand that we can have snow in May, and our first snows come in October. From late May until early August, the Upper Peninsula has a lot of biting insects around-- biting horse flies and deer flies, mosquitoes and a tiny biter named a "no-see-um". You will need insect repellent all the time. The insects are the wildlife that are easy to see. We have lots of animals--bobcat, lynx, the occasional cougar (never seen, just caught on trail cam), and various weasels, and the ever present deer, and black bears. Most of the animals are secretive and keep to the woods. The Upper Peninsula is very sparsely populated, with only two population centers of any size--the Houghton/Hancock area and Marquette. There are a lot of places without cellphone reception, alot of iron bearing rocks that mess up a compass, and a lot of dirt roads without road signs. The most rewarding things to do here are silent sports that get you out into the woods and onto the lakes--kayaking, canoeing and hiking. In order to pursue those activities, you need basic back country skills-- orienteering(don't rely on GPS as the database is many times inaccurate), hiking and basic first aid. You need to be somewhat self reliant, as help may not be readily at hand. You can stick to the main roads and see some nice things--the tourist areas around the Straits of Mackinac (St. Ignace and Mackinaw City) and the Keweenaw Peninsula which contains the Keweenaw National Historic Park. The British were at the Straits in the 18th century, and there were Welsh miners in the copper mines of the Keweenaw. My wife and I hope you come, and have a wonderful time.
Since the original OP is wanting to go to someplace cold to see whales, maybe the artic to see Narwhals would be a better choice.
don't mean to add to the pile but as a Michigander, I have to say that there ain't never been whales in any of the Great Lakes. I understands one can go whale watching in Pembrokeshire. That's Pembokeshire, Wales. Go to Mackinac, Island. There are no cars on this beautiful place and lots to take pictures of. Good hand made fudge too!
I grew up in Michigan and my ancestors lived in Michigan for at Least 170 years. I still live on one of the Great Lakes. The lakes are fresh water. No Whales. Michigan (outsite of Detroit, Flint and Benton Harbor) is a beautiful state. There is much to see on the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Winter is white with snowmobiling skiing and ice fishing. Summer is time for the outdoors. Swimming , boating, hiking and relaxing. Lots of Historical sights as well.
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