Marquette, MI (8/15-8/21/2021) What an amazing week in Michigan’s U.P.!
The weather could not have been better (80 degrees and sunny every day). We had a plethora of bicycle trails to ride, sandy beaches everywhere you look, more waterfalls than we had time to see, spectacular scenery, and we enjoyed a laid back pace amongst some friendly locals. Karen and I enjoyed our uninterrupted time together without the usual obligations and distractions that you have at home.
We rode a total of 121 miles on numerous trails, swam almost everyday (at a little beach steps from our hotel) and ran about 10 miles for the week.
On our first full day in Marquette we rode the Iron Ore Heritage Trail from Marquette to Ishpeming for a total of 36 miles round trip. The 18 miles to Ishpeming was all uphill and proved to be fairly challenging. But, of course, the ride back was a breeze. Ishpeming was lackluster and a bit disappointing.
On Tuesday we drove to Munising. We hiked to a couple of beautiful waterfalls near Pictured Rocks. We also were able to hike to a beach right on the Pictured Rocks shoreline.
Later on Tuesday, we went on the Shipwreck Express glass bottom boat tour from Munising. We were able to see two ship wreaks up close through the viewing glass. Both ships were about 100 years old. The tour also took us by Grand Island and near some of the pictured rocks. Overall it was a worthwhile adventure.
Although we prepared half of our meals ourselves, we did get out for a few nice meals. The Vierling Restaurant and Brewery is right in downtown Marquette with great views of the harbor. It’s been around for a long time and Karen’s whitefish and my salmon were both excellent. As a bonus they also are a micro brewery and Karen loved her blueberry wheat ale beer.
On Wednesday we biked the east (of Marquette) side of the Iron Ore Heritage Trail. As we rode past the Jibwa Casino the trail turned from limestone to dirt and became too difficult to ride with hybrid bikes. So we turn around and spent the afternoon at the beach. For dinner we rode to the Lake Superior Smokehouse Brewpub in nearby Harvey, MI. Karen had an outstanding smoked, dry rubbed chicken and I had the best burger (custom blend) that I can remember eating. The Dragon’s Milk Madagascar Vanilla Stout was a great complement to the meal and Tanya (our waitstaff) provided excellent service.
On Thursday we biked around Presque Isle Park, the Northern Michigan University campus, and a tough uphill ride to the Wright Street waterfalls. We spent another afternoon at the beach swimming and watching the demolition of the old coal burning power plant. After dinner in the room we headed to Black Rocks Brewery (named after the cliff diving rocks in Presque Isle Park). The beer was good, there was live music outside and we sat with some wonderful locals (Dennis & Chris) who told us all about life in Marquette.
On Friday (our last day before heading home) we repeated some of our favorite experiences. We biked Presque Isle again, went to the beach, and had another meal at the Lake Superior Smokehouse and Brewpub. Karen tried the whitefish this time (superb) and I had the same great burger. Afterward we walked around downtown Marquette and finished the evening at Jilbert’s Dairy Farm with some outstanding, fresh from the cow, ice cream!
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