We've been visiting Marquette for decades, and our Property Manager, Anna Burnett, was born and raised here. Check out our tips for local shopping, what to do, and where to eat.
*As you explore the natural beauty of the Upper Peninsula, please remember to Leave No Trace: dispose of your waste properly (take all of your trash with you), leave what you find, respect wildlife, and be considerate of other visitors. Our forests, meadows, lakes, rivers, and beaches are habitats for wildlife and a refuge from urban areas - help us preserve them and keep them pristine for generations to come.
There is a great newish museum....not too big....concise but really good......Marquette Regional History Center. There are several other museums in town including the Marquette Maritime Museum, The UP Children’s Museum and the DeVos Art Museum, on Northern Michigan University campus. The Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee, part of the Iron Ore Heritage Trail, is also worth a visit.
Marquette is also home to a thriving arts and culture scene. Baila UP offers free Wednesday night dance classes for beginners in Lower Harbor Park (Dance Zone is the rain location). The Marquette City Band has free concerts at the outdoor Presque Isle Bandshell during the summer - get an ice cream cone before the concert at the Island Ice Cream Store. From the Presque Isle Bandshell it’s a quick walk to Niik Creative Co., a locally woman-owned ceramic studio with beautiful mugs, my favorite tea light candle holders, and charming planters. Lake Superior Theatre hosts performances in a boathouse turned theater during the summer, with an emphasis on historical musical dramas. Northern Michigan University’s Theatre and Dance department also hosts performances during the summer months. HOTplate Pottery & Clayworks is a fun place to make or paint your own pottery on a rainy day. Every summer, Marquette hosts the fine art show Art on the Rocks, the Hiawatha Music Festival (a traditional music festival), along with a host of other events and festivals.
The Saturday Farmer's Market 9am–1pm....is wonderful. It is a block south of Washington at the Marquette Commons at 112, S. 3rd St. Wednesday Evening Market is 5-8pm on Washington St. On Washington Street (a block from the Saturday Market) is Baby Cakes Café. My favorite place for a coffee, muffin, and scones. Under new management since 2023.
The Ellwood A Mattson Lower Harbor Park is a great place to take a picnic, play frisbee or other lawn games, and it has a great playground for kids. Nearby is Thill's Fish Market where you can get fresh Lake Superior white fish straight out of the lake.....it is great grilled or sautéed in some butter.
Marquette Food Co-op.....a great place to buy veggies, fruit, specialty cheeses, snacks, freshly baked breads, and prepared salads and entrees from the hotbar. On Wednesdays they have great Indian food (this the only place in town you can get it). For fresh baked goods, go to Huron Mountain Bakery.
The Peter White Public Library is fabulous. It won the National Medal for Museum and Library Services in 2010 (the nation’s highest honor). My favorite bookstore, anywhere, is in Marquette… Snowbound Books.....just a block north of Baby Cakes on 3rd Street. Third Street is a neat street with some art galleries, a bagel shop, antique shops, etc if you keep going up the hill. Zero Degrees Gallery is a non-profit and the united effort of almost forty established and emerging local artists, exhibiting and selling their artwork through the gallery. Right across the street from Zero Degrees there is a beautiful mural on the facade of Be Well, a wellness and fitness studio with yoga classes, massage, a salt room, and an infrared sauna. You can discover more public art around town.
On the other side of Front Street from the Library is the Landmark Inn...where you can either have tea overlooking Lake Superior or drinks on the top floor. A great place for breakfast or lunch is another Marquette institution... Donckers...a candy store, soda fountain and sandwich shop…also on Washington, a block from Third Street. In 2017 they opened a more formal restaurant, The Delft Bistro, serving “new American fare”, next door.
If you like beer, The Ore Dock Brewing Company is a popular music venue and hangout on W. Spring Street. Marquette is also home to many other popular local breweries, including Blackrocks (live music most nights), Drifa Brewing Company, Barrel + Beam Brewery, and Kognisjon Bryggeri. If you’re looking for something a bit different, Superior Culture has a taproom that features a rotating variety of nano-brewed beers, Michigan ciders, local meads, specialty seltzers, as well as alcoholic & non-alcoholic kombucha. The Honorable Distillery serves handcrafted bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey, vodka, gin, and cocktails. Everyday Wines is a fabulous wine shop that also sells fine cheeses, charcuterie meats, and chocolate. Zephyr Winebar + Cafe has Michigan's longest by-the-glass wine list, great beer, cocktails, espresso, and delicious made-from-scratch cakes. It was started by the owners of Everyday Wines, and is now owned by a former manager at Zingerman’s Delicatessen in Ann Arbor.
A newer restaurant is La Catrina which serves Mexican food. We also like The Rice Paddy…. It serves Thai food, and is more of a pit stop with take-out only. Located on the way out of town going north, at 1720 Presque Isle Ave, we recommend ordering an hour before you want to eat as it can be a bit slow. The Vierling is a popular American restaurant. Jilbert's Dairy is a local favorite for hand-dipped ice cream cones that can be enjoyed outside at picnic tables next to a giant statue of a cow. Frosty Treats on 3rd Street has soft-serve ice cream and is very popular with kids, and Yoop-Phoria has self-serve frozen yogurt.
If you enjoy vintage movies, watch Anatomy of a Murder, the James Stewart movie from 1959. The DVD is upstairs. The movie was shot in the area, mostly at the Marquette Co. Court House right next to the Farmers Market. Part of it was also filmed in Big Bay at the Thunder Bay Inn. If you watch the movie, visit the Marquette Historical Courthouse, it is a splendid building.
Just down the road from the cottage is Lakenenland, a unique opportunity for you to stroll through a sculpture park set on a former mine site, bedecked with gigantic and whimsical beasts and kinetic welded metal structures that arose from the fevered brain of a true American original artist and metal worker. It is free! Don’t miss the bog walk.
Just north of town Presque Isle Park is good to explore with easy hiking along the lake. You will find Black Rocks there…a cliff from which you are likely to see dozens of people, young and old, jumping into the Big Lake. About 5 miles north of Marquette on Big Bay Road (550) is Sugar Loaf Mountain. There are 2 trails about a mile long (one easier than the other) up to the top of this hill with spectacular views of the area. Really worth it if you are feeling energetic! A few more miles north will bring you to a couple of fabulous beaches with a trail between them, Wetmore Landing and Little Presque Isle. The trail south from Wetmore Landing (follow the path to the right when you reach the beach) is gorgeous and has become a favorite. The Michigan Welcome Center will give you a map to help you find these if you are interested. They are special! Little Presque Isle has an island just offshore, but it is not recommended to wade/swim out to the island due to dangerous riptide currents that have caused deaths in past years. A new favorite hike is to Wetmore Pond. The trail head is just north of Sugarloaf Mountain on the west side of the road. Choose the Old Growth Trail from the parking lot…..a lovely mile long walk. Or take the more strenuous 3 mile trail to Hogback Mountain for magnificent 360º views, but be sure to bring a map of the hike so you don’t get lost, and plenty of water.
There are many cycling trails. Information and maps are available at the cottage. You can access the 48 mile Iron Ore Heritage Trail (which takes you all the way, off road into Marquette, Ishpeming and beyond) 2 miles west of the cottage. A video of the trail can be found here. You can rent a variety of bike types (mountain, path, e-bikes, fat tire, kids bikes, etc.) in town from several locations, including Quick Stop Bike Shop (Mountain, E-Mountain Bikes, E-Path Bikes, etc.), E-bikes at Marquette Outdoors, and Marquette Bike Rentals. I took my bike on the Marq-Tran bus (see schedule here) to Negaunee and cycled back downhill to Marquette last fall…..a great ride. Stopped at Midtown Bakery and Café in Negaunee (317 Iron St) and bought a delicious sandwich. Negaunee also has excellent antique shopping.
There are many wonderful waterfalls in the area. Just 17 miles from the cottage is Dead River Falls, a spectacular hike along a series of waterfalls. The trail is steep and rough in places….but very much worth the effort.
Bring binoculars if you have them. It is fun to watch the huge ore ships pass by....also there is a bald eagle’s nest up the beach from the cottage towards Shot Point. We see eagles every year. In the evening or early morning you will likely see a brood of 12 or so red-breasted merganser ducks and a pair of loons.
The nearest grocery store, Lofaro’s Fresh Market, is 10 minutes away in Harvey. On US 41 you will also find Tadych's Marketplace Foods on the left, and Super One Foods, 2 miles further, followed by Target. Meijer is also on “the strip” at the far end. Lakeshore Depot is a cute, independent store with local foods that is “a hybrid between a grocery store and farmer's market”. It is also a great place to buy a hand-dipped ice cream cone after spending some time at nearby McCarty’s Cove beach.
About 25 miles east from the cottage is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore just outside Munising. You can take a boat tour of the shoreline. Or you can explore from land, driving to Miner's Castle, Miner's Beach, and Miner's Falls....a fantastic day out if the weather is good. Not too strenuous at all....but really special. A longer hike (10 miles) with unforgettable scenery takes you to Chapel Falls/Chapel Beach/ Mosquito Beach around Grand Portal Point. Start early, this is an all-day hike with leisurely stops. These are just 2 of the offerings. The Welcome Center will give you a good map....either in Marquette or at the one in the center of Munising. Pick up a picnic lunch from Falling Rock Cafe on the main road through the town on the right. Or stop and buy a UP pasty at Muldoons on the way into town on the left. Pasties are based on the British Cornish pasties introduced by Cornish (from the county of Cornwall) miners in the 1800's. A pastry pie with meat, potatoes, rutabaga, carrots, and onions inside...very hearty! Other lunch suggestions… Eh! Burger serves a great whitefish sandwich, as well as local bison and beef burgers and locally brewed beers. Pictured Rocks Pizza (woodfired) has good reviews as well.
A newer restaurant with rave reviews, in Munising, is Tracy’s at Roam Inn. Try it out and let us know whether you like it. Its sister restaurant, The Brownstone Inn, is a local institution and is along M-28 Highway just outside of Au Train.
Grand Island is another spectacular place to explore. It is a short ferry ride from Munising. There is a mini-bus tour that we thoroughly enjoyed….a few miles along the one (rough) road, stopping at gorgeous beaches (30-40 minutes to explore at each of the stops). Or take a bike or just hike. You can rent mountain bikes at the ferry, and we love exploring the island by bike….very rideable and fun.
Big Bay is a cute little town northwest of Marquette that makes for a nice day trip. The drive there is quite pretty, especially during peak colors in the fall.
The Upper Peninsula is rich with public hiking and mountain biking trails, waterfalls, scenic beaches, and countless rivers and lakes. Below are some of our top recommendations for day trips — all easily accessible from the cottage and well worth a visit.
