M-129 is a state trunkline highway in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

(UP) of the US state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. It runs from Cedarville to

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie is a cross-border region of Canada and the United States located on St. Marys River, which drains Lake Superior into Lake Huron. Founded as a single settlement in 1668, Sault Ste. Marie was divided in 1817 by the establishment of ...

. South of Nine Mile Road in Chippewa County (and in all of

Mackinac County Mackinac County ( ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 10,834. The county seat is St. Ignace. Formerly known as Michilimackinac County, in 1818 it was one of the first co ...

), M-129 overlays the

Michigan Meridian The Michigan meridian is the principal meridian (or north-south line) used as a reference in the Michigan Survey, the survey of the U.S. state of Michigan in the early 19th century. It is located at 84 degrees, 21 minutes and 53 seconds west ...

. The section of M-129 that overlays the meridian is named Meridian Road. The highway between M-48 and the northern terminus is a part of the larger

Lake Huron Circle Tour The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. It consists of routes for circumnavigating the lakes, either individually or collectively. It was designated by the Great ...

. Originally a part of M-12 and US Highway 2 (US 2), the current roadway was formerly designated M-5 from 1930 until 1939. Two other highways were also previously designated M-129. The first was in the western UP in the late 1920s; it was replaced by M-64. The second was in the

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula ( , sometimes locally ) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of " Copper Country." As ...

and was replaced by M-26.

Route description

M-129 starts at an intersection between Meridian Road and M-134 in Cedarville. This intersection is northwest of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Straits of Ma ...

and a ferry connection to the long La Salle Island, part of

Les Cheneaux Islands Les Cheneaux Islands (french: "The Channels") are a group of 36 small islands, some inhabited, along 12 miles of Lake Huron shoreline on the southeastern tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The name is French for "the Ch ...

. The islands are a quiet tourist destination that ''Hunt's Guide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula'' describes as "off the beaten tourist track" and full of "low-key charm". From here north, M-129 follows the Michigan Meridian on Meridian Road. The highway forms part of the north–south Mackinac– Chippewa county line as it approaches the community of Pickford. South of Pickford, M-129 and M-48 merge along Meridian Road at 26 Mile Road. M-129 picks up the Lake Huron Circle Tour designation and the two roads cross together over the Munuscong River, which empties into

Munuscong Lake Munuscong Lake is a section of the St. Marys River in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan, with the northeastern edge of the lake forming part of the riparian bottomland of the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydrologically the lake an ...

, a part of the St. Marys River. These two highways run concurrently through Pickford to 22 Mile Road. At 22 Mile Road, M-48 turns westerly and M-129 continues north. This intersection is also the location of the Munscong Golf Club. M-129 meets the eastern termini of

M-80 M80 or M-80 may refer to: Military * BVP M-80, a Yugoslav military vehicle * M80, a U.S. military type of the 7.62×51mm NATO rifle cartridge * M80, training version of the M19 mine * M80 Stiletto, a 2006 prototype naval vessel * M80 Zolja, a Yu ...

and M-28 at 17 Mile Road and 9 Mile Road, respectively. Just before meeting 9 Mile Road, M-129 jogs to the east, leaving Meridian Road to meet up with McKnight Road, which runs parallel to the Michigan Meridian. McKnight Road and

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

run roughly parallel approaching Sault Ste. Marie from the south. At 3 Mile Road, M-129 enters the city of Sault Ste. Marie east of the southern terminus of BS I-75, and the roadway is renamed Ashmun Street. When BS I-75 meets Ashmun Street, M-129 ends and BS I-75 takes over the Ashmun Street name into downtown. M-129 ends south of the

Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...

campus, home of the annual Banished Words List.

History

The modern M-129 was originally part of M-12 from 1919 until 1926 and

US 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, whic ...

from 1926 to 1933.

Previous designations

The first usage of M-129 on a highway in Michigan was on a roadway connecting

Lake Gogebic State Park Lake Gogebic State Park is a public recreation area covering in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The state park sits on the western shore of Lake Gogebic, the largest inland lake in the Upper Peninsula. The land around the park is sparsely pop ...

to Marenisco and south to the

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

state line; this routing was designated M-64 in 1930. The second usage was for a highway in the

connecting Phoenix with

Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor may refer to several places in the United States: * Eagle Harbor, a development on Fleming Island, Florida * Eagle Harbor, Maryland, a town * Eagle Harbor, Michigan, an unincorporated community and census-designated place ** Eagle Har ...

. This second designation was extended in 1933 to

Copper Harbor Copper Harbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Grant Township. The population of the CDP was 136 as of the 2020 census. The communit ...

and replaced by M-26 in 1935.

Current designation

M-5 was used as the designation for the former US 2 in Mackinac and Chippewa counties until 1939, when it was redesignated as M-129 on maps. The last gravel sections of roadway were paved in 1960 south of Sault Ste. Marie, and the highway was truncated to end at M-134 in Cedarville in 1963. Previous to this, the highway continued south into downtown Cedarville on Merdian Road. A small realignment moved the northern terminus to a new intersection with BS I-75 in Sault Ste. Marie in late 1967.

Major intersections

References

External links

M-129
at Michigan Highways M-129
at Michigan Highway Ends--> {{DEFAULTSORT:M129 129 Lake Huron Circle Tour Transportation in Mackinac County, Michigan Transportation in Chippewa County, Michigan