The U.P. Hidden Coast Recreation Route stretches sixty-four miles along the western shoreline of Lake Michigan in the central Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In its entirety, the route traverses in a south-north direction through Menominee and Delta counties. The two counties are home to Menominee, Escanaba and Gladstone cities, as well as Menominee, Ingallston, Cedarville, Ford River, Wells, and Escanaba townships. In all, the Heritage Route links nine jurisdictions, and several small communities, as it navigates between water and wilderness. In all, the U.P. Hidden Coast includes segments of three state trunklines: US 41, M-35, and US 2.

The southern beginning point of the Recreational Heritage Route is at the Michigan-Wisconsin border in the city of Menominee, the single largest entry point into the Upper Peninsula. It is at this location where the Menominee River, a river of historical significance from the fur-trading age to today’s modern industry, divides the two states.

The northern beginning point is the city of Gladstone’s northern boundary; an area where, in the winter, visitors can witness thousands of fishing shacks nestled on the Little Bay de Noc.