Yoopers ride free at Pictured Rocks

MUNISING — If you’re looking for a way to enjoy the outdoor beauty of the Upper Peninsula this weekend and don’t want to spend any money, you’re in good luck.

This weekend will be the fourth annual Yooper Ride Free days for boat tours of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The tour normally costs close to forty dollars, and the Alger County Chamber of Commerce urges Upper Peninsula residents to take advantage of this opportunity.

“We want to show everybody in the U.P. what they have in their own backyard,” said Alger County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathy Reynolds, “it’s beautiful, and it gives people an opportunity that maybe didn’t have an opportunity before. It’s a way to show off and showcase the area and show what a beautiful thing we have here in the Upper Peninsula.”

Tickets will be available at eight a.m. each day on a first come, first serve basis. If you have to wait for boat, you can walk across the street to Bayshore Park for the 3rd annual Pictured Rocks Days Festival. The Festival is also free and will have music, food vendors and activities for all ages. The free boat tours will be a trip you don’t want to miss, rain or shine.

“I’ve found that sometimes some of the most beautiful colors out there on the rocks are right when it’s raining or right after the rain,” Reynolds continued, “and they do have an interior on the boat so people will stay dry.”

For those who are interested in taking the free cruise, you must present your Upper Peninsula photo I.D. with zip code at the ticket counter.
There will be another great opportunity to visit the area on Wednesday, when Chief Meteorologist for ABC News and Good Morning America Ginger Zee will be broadcasting live from Miners Castle just a few miles away.