7 Reasons to Choose Germfask for Your Upper Peninsula Family Vacation

ByAshley Pichea Last Updated on

Most people couldn’t tell you where Germfask is (in fact, you’ve probably never even heard of it)… but I’m here to tell you that this tiny town smack dab in the middle of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is THE place to make your home base for your next family vacation.

1. Convenient Location

I recently discovered Germfask when I was looking for a home base for our central UP adventures.

We wanted a stopping point between our home in northern Wisconsin and Battle Creek (our next destination) that would allow us to break the drive up while still being near attractions we wanted to explore.

Google maps screenshot showing where Germfask Michigan is located

Germfask is just a few miles north of US-2 on M-77, and it was the perfect “halfway point” for us while being “close” to so many of the UP adventures on our Michigan bucket list.

Fun Fact: Germfask derives its name from the names of its eight founding settlers from 1881. The names of these founders are John Grant, Matthew Edge, George Robinson, Thaddeus Mead, Dr. W. W. French, Ezekiel Ackley, Oscar Shepard, and Hezekiah Knaggs.

AwesomeMitten.com
outside view of the Smith Cabin in Germfask

We rented a VRBO in Germfask for a couple of nights. The Smith cabin was the perfect home base for our family of seven plus one (we had a friend with us).

  • Great price (more affordable than two hotel rooms)
  • Easy to find (close to town but in a country setting)
  • Modern amenities in a rustic setting (hunting cabin vibes)
  • Big yard (the kids are all about playing two-hand touch football right now)
  • FAST internet (they recently got fiber, and the internet speeds were blazing fast which was perfect for my husband who had to work remotely while the kids and I were out exploring)

Don’t let the poor-quality photos on the VRBO listing mislead you. This is a cute and cozy cabin, and we’ll definitely be back for more family fun in the Upper Peninsula!

Northland Outfitters

2. Northland Outfitters

When I decided on Germfask as our home base for this Upper Peninsula family vacation, I knew I wanted to paddle the Manistique River with Northland Outfitters.

Not only is being on the water one of my “happy places,” but seeing Thomas Dambo’s troll, Benny the Beard Fisher, in person has been on my bucket list since I wrote this article about him a couple of years ago.

We met up with Levi and Durea – the owners of Northland Outfitters – at the campground where they matched us up with kayaks, lifejackets, and paddles before they shuttled us to the drop point.

Fun Fact: While talking to Levi, I learned that they had never been to Michigan (originally from Colorado) and had never even heard of the Upper Peninsula before they heard about Northland Outfitters being for sale a few years ago. When they came to check out the outfitter and campground, they paddled the same section of river we were about to paddle, and they were sold!

Since my husband had to work, the bigger boys got single kayaks while Jennie and I were in doubles with the littles, and we paddled the 2.5-hour (it took us closer to 3 hours) “10 Curves” section of the river.

paddling the Manistique River with Northland Outfitters
paddling the Manistique River with Northland Outfitters
paddling the Manistique River with Northland Outfitters
paddling the Manistique River with Northland Outfitters
paddling the Manistique River with Northland Outfitters
seeing Benny the Beard Fisher troll while paddling the Manistique River with Northland Outfitters

While the trip was a little too long for the littles (they got bored about an hour in since they weren’t paddling their own kayaks), it was a great morning on the river.

As we rounded the final curve before reaching the campground, we saw Benny sitting alongside the river, his beard hanging over the banks. Levi had given me a heads-up that there was a logjam directly across from Benny, so I paddled into it to grab some photos before heading to the boat ramp.

The staff at Northland Outfitters met us at the ramp and helped us exit the water (we very much appreciated their assistance!), and then we followed the path to visit Benny.

I was honestly surprised at how “busy” Benny was on a Monday morning. We had to wait our turn to get photos with him (and then we still didn’t manage to be alone in the photo as people were approaching from behind).

seeing Benny the Beard Fisher troll while paddling the Manistique River with Northland Outfitters
seeing Benny the Beard Fisher troll at Northland Outfitters
seeing Benny the Beard Fisher troll at Northland Outfitters
seeing Benny the Beard Fisher troll at Northland Outfitters
seeing Benny the Beard Fisher troll at Northland Outfitters
seeing Benny the Beard Fisher troll at Northland Outfitters

He is truly a work of art and you’ve really got to experience him up close to appreciate the level of detail. I would have loved to stick around for a bit to check him out more fully, but there were others waiting for their turn for a photo and the kids were ready for lunch.

I’ll just have to wait until next time…

3. Sable Falls at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

After lunch back at the cabin, we jumped in the car and set our GPS for Sable Falls.

I’d never explored the Grand Marais area before, only ever experiencing Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore from the west end in Munising.

The drive was “short” (about 40 minutes from Germfask) and pretty straightforward (mostly main roads), and we found the parking lot easily.

A short hike that included 168 stairs led us to the waterfall. It was beautiful.

And then we saw that the downward path continued, so we followed it, not knowing where it led.

We found a creek to play in.

And then we kept going down the path (hoping it’d be worth the adventure).

Let’s just say it was worth the adventure.

4. Lake Superior & Sand Dunes

We found Lake Superior.

And my kids experienced sand dunes for the first time in their lives.

Had we known we would be getting up close and personal with Lake Superior, we’d probably have been better prepared, but that didn’t stop the three youngest from swimming in Gitchee Gumee.

None of us wanted to leave the lakeshore.

5. Ice Cream in Curtis

Another perk of staying in Germfask and having chatted with Levi at Northland Outfitters was learning that Curtis was less than a 20-minute drive from our cabin… and in Curtis, there’s an ice cream parlor on the north shore of South Manistique Lake: Goodale’s Sweet Spot.

Since a vital part of any family vacation is finding the best ice cream parlor, we piled into the vehicle and made the drive to Curtis.

Goodale’s did not disappoint. The prices were very reasonable and the portions were generous.

6. Proximity to the Mackinac Bridge

For us, it was important that our Upper Peninsula family vacation home base was fairly close to the Mackinac Bridge as we’d need to be able to get to Battle Creek by lunchtime when leaving the UP.

An early morning departure had us in St Ignace in just over an hour, allowing us to cross the Mighty Mac and arrive at our next destination around 12pm, even with a few stops along the way.

7. More to Explore from Germfask

Since we only had one full day to explore, our Upper Peninsula family vacation was limited to just a few activities and attractions.

Our list of “want to visits” within an hour or two of Germfask continues to grow as we anticipate future vacations:

And so many more great day trips in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Germfask really is an amazing home base for all of your central UP adventures!


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