Hundreds of thousands of people spent their summer days in Munising
MUNISING -- They call it the U.P.'s best kept secret, but now, that secret's out as hundreds of thousands of tourists spent their summer days in Munising.
"We're getting more international visitors, which is really a change, and a lot different. It used to be people came from downstate. Now people are coming from Texas, Indiana, Illinois, Europe, all kinds of places," said Alger County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathy Reynolds.
According to the Alger County Chamber of Commerce, last year tourism was up 12.5 percent, meaning that over 500,000 people visited Munising. And this year, they're expecting that number to climb even higher.
The Chamber of Commerce says one of the biggest differences this summer is how many cars are on the road. And with fall coming up, they don't expect that to change, as H-58 was just ranked as one of the best roads to travel on in the fall.
The ranking comes from Lake Superior Magazine, who names the winding stretch to Grand Marais as the second best road to travel on in the fall.
"People from all over the United States have heard about that drive, and they're wanting to come and do it because they can stop along the way and hike and visit other things," Reynolds added.
The magazines also features Pictured Rocks, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the U.P. And for Pictured Rocks Cruises, the bulk of their visitors come from downstate.
"Our number one demographics this year has been from Grand Rapids, number two is Ann Arbor. And the top 10 are Michigan-based people that are coming up here to vacation in Michigan and staying close to home and looking at the natural resources and the beauty right here in our home state," said Pictured Rocks Cruises Manager John Madigan.
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