Travel Guide
Hotels, Restaurants, and Things to Do
🏨
Where to Stay
🏨
🏨
The Landmark Inn - Historic downtown luxury hotel
with stunning lake views
🏨
Hampton Inn & Suites - Modern amenities with
complimentary breakfast
🏕️
Camping Options - Tourist Park lets you camp right
in the city and Rippling River Resort lets you camp or rent a cabin
in the woods just outside of town.
🏠
Vacation Rentals - Airbnb and VRBO have great
lakefront properties
🏨
Quality Inn Marquette - A more budget-friendly
option off the highway.
🏨
Superior Stay Hotel - Stay just a five minute walk
from the reception venue.
🎯
Things to Do
🎯
🥾
Hiking - Sugarloaf and Hogsback Mountain are both
popular options near town.
🪨
Preque Isle Park - A beautiful city park with the
over one billion year-old Blackrocks. Jumping off these is a popular
activity, but be aware Lake Superior is very cold in June!
🍺
Breweries - Blackrocks Brewery is the most famous,
with some national acclaim. Oredock Brewing has a multi-level venue
in the heart of Marquette. Lake Superior Taphouse offers
kombucha.
🚢
Marquette Harbor Lighthouse - Tour the historic
and beautiful Marquette Lighthouse and check out the nearby Lake
Superior Maritime Museum!
🚣
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore - About an hour
away in nearby Munising, these are 200 foot tall cliffs that tower
over Lake Superior. Tunnels and archways are carved into the
colorful cliffs. You can charter a tour boat, rent a kayak, or hike
along them.
🧗♂️
Rock Climbing - The western Upper Peninsula is the
greatest place to climb in the Midwest. On Presque Isle, you can
climb Pinnacle, while further out of town has the expansive Slugg's
Bluff. If you have an extra day, venturing out to Silver Mountain or
even the Keewenaw will provide more routes than you can complete. If
weather is poor, you can indoor climb at NMU's PEIF gym.
💦
Dead River Falls - Inside city limits are a series
of beautiful waterfalls, which are a fun short hike to enjoy. Be
warned, the trail is heavily eroded in some places.
🏖️
Beach - If the weather is warm enough, you can
enjoy a relaxing day on a white sand beach at McCarty's cove.
Further out of town is the more isolated Hidden Beach.
🍽️
Where to Eat
🍽️
🥬
Bodega - Farm-to-table restaurant offering
seasonal dishes.
🥩
Elizabeth's Chophouse - A pricey, but delicious,
steakhouse.
🍕
Main Street Pizza - Only $3.75 for two slices of
arguably the best pizza in town.
🍴
The Delft Bistro - New American cuisine in a
retrofitted theater.
🇹🇭
Thai House & Rice Paddy - Both of these Thai
restaurants punch above their weight for an isolated Midwest
town.
🍝
Pasta Shop - Marquette County has a surprisingly
large amount of Italian heritage and The Pasta Shop is the best
place to get good Italian food.
🌤️
Weather
🌤️Predicting the weather in the Midwest is a fool's errand. It could be a heat wave, there could be thunderstorms, or it could be snowing. Maybe all three if you're lucky! Most likely, it will be partially cloudy and mild. Here's what you can expect from historical trends:
Historic Average Temperatures for June 6th: High of 65°F (18°C), Low of 47°F (8°C).
Historic Highs and Lows for June 6th: High of 93°F (34°C), Low of 30°F (-1°C).
I have found that Weather Underground provides the most accurate and up-to-date weather forecasts for Marquette. Check it before you leave so that you are prepared.
🚗
Extending Your Trip
🚗
🌲
The Keweenaw Peninsula - A beautiful, rugged
peninsula that's only a few hours drive from Marquette. It's home to
Copper Harbor, a remote town with no cell service, waterfalls,
lakes, and has some of the best hiking and camping in the
Midwest.
🐎
Mackinac Island - A car-free island in Lake
Michigan. People get around by bike or horse carriage. Nicknamed the
"Fairy Isle", it's a truly magical place, with both historic sights
and beautiful nature. Take the ferry from St. Ignace to get
there.
🏕️
Isle Royale National Park - The most remote and
least visited national park in the contiguous United States. Located
in the middle of Lake Superior, it's a truly wild place, with no
roads or infrastructure, and only accessible by boat or plane.
Moose, wolves, and bears are common, and the views are stunning.
Great for a few days of backpacking or camping.
🦔
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park - An
actual wilderness area in the Midwest! Good for a couple nights of
quiet backpacking through the hilly old-growth forests and along the
shores of Lake Superior. Or go for a day trip to the stunning Lake
of the Clouds. Don't miss the waterfalls on the western side of the
park!
🏝️
The Apostle Islands - A stunning 21-island
archipelago off the coast of Wisconsin in Lake Superior. Features
dramatic sea caves, historic lighthouses, sandy beaches, and diverse
forests. You can hike, kayak, camp, and take a ferry through the
islands.
🦟
Outdoor Safety - Once you venture into the
backwoods, you'll be confronted with the downsides of wet
summer weather and woodlands: mosquitoes and ticks.
Picaridin is my
preferred defense against both, as well as wearing long sleeves and
pants (plus tucking the legs into your socks). Additionally, there
are bears, cougars, moose, and wolves in the Upper Peninsula.
Attacks on humans are extremely rare, but be aware of
how to handle such animals
in case you ever encounter one.
