Abandoned Motel Along US-2 in the Upper Peninsula: Manistique

WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.

I’ve said many times there is a seemingly unlimited supply of abandoned, deserted, and empty structures and places throughout Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. So, I have another one for you.

It’s the old Bayside Motel, restaurant, and campground a little east of Manistique on US-2. Yeah, it looks like it was once an elementary school, as you will see.

Get our free mobile app

The travelers who have stayed at the Bayside seemed to always have good things to say about it: “clean”, “lovely”, “nice small bar”, “pretty good restaurant” and so on. The motel closed down in 2010 for reasons that remain unknown; but an educated guess might be that vacationers sought out other places to stay that were popping up everywhere. Especially ones close – or in – casinos.

No plans were ever made to re-open, so it has remained shut down and sealed ever since. Not much vandalism or graffiti seems prevalent, as it does in most abandoned places in lower Michigan and it’s interesting to see the bare campground behind the motel.

Speaking of vandalism, it was just in 2023 – 13 years after it closed – that the state police were called in to investigate a breaking & entering at the Bayside. Someone passing by evidently saw someone inside around 8:30pm on September 5. It didn’t seem that anything was stolen, destroyed, or vandalized – just entered without permission. This is why I always include a disclaimer at the beginning of any “Abandoned Michigan” article.

The Bayside has been up for sale numerous times with no one biting.

In the gallery below, you’ll see some photos from inside, outside, and around this deserted motel on US-2 in the Upper Peninsula...