US Highway 2 ( US 2 ) is a component of the United States Numbered Highway System that connects Everett , Washington , to the Upper Peninsula ( UP ) of the US state of Michigan , with a separate segment that runs from Rouses Point , New York , to Houlton , Maine . In Michigan , the highway runs through the UP in two segments as a part of the state trunkline highway system , entering the state at Ironwood and ending at St. Ignace ; in between , US 2 briefly traverses the state of Wisconsin . As one of the major transportation arteries in the UP , US 2 is a major conduit for traffic through the state and neighboring northern Midwest states . Two sections of the roadway are included as part of the Great Lakes Circle Tours , and other segments are listed as state @-@ designated Pure Michigan Byways . It are several memorial highway designations and historic bridges along US 2 that date to the 1910s and 1920s . The highway runs through rural sections of the UP , passing through two national and two state forests in the process .