Summer Michigan Trip : U.P. Edition
For the third summer in a row, my friend and I had the opportunity to explore some of the small towns in Michigan. Our first year, we visited Sleeping Bear Dunes, Traverse City and Mackinac Island (blog here) and last year it was Western Michigan with most of our time being spent in Saugatuck (blog here). This year we knew we wanted to visit the U.P. and although getting there might be a challenge, we were excited. The Upper Peninsula is huge and it’s important to decide where you want to plant your feet when you are there. We made our home base in Marquette so we could explore the area and then decided to do a day trip to Munising. I hope to return someday to explore some of the more remote areas in the U.P.
Coming from Buffalo, NY it required two flights and a 4.5 hour car ride to get to the town of Marquette so our first day was a long one. By the time we got into town and checked into our Airbnb (which was great and in a good location), we decided to grab drinks and dinner and get to bed early.
The Crow’s Nest at the Landmark Hotel had the best drinks and a great view. I highly recommend stopping there if you are in town. For dinner we hit up the local Mexican restaurant, Sol Azteca. It was so good! Caught part of the sunset and headed to bed!
Day two we were up bright and early to grab coffee from 231 West and some muffins and sandwiches from Baby cakes to take with us to Sugar Loaf Mountain. Sugar Loaf is a short hike with amazing views at the top and is great for all ages. It’s about a a 10-15 drive from downtown Marquette and think it’s a must do when visiting the area. You can reach the top in about 15 minutes and there are multiple viewing platforms to take in the scenery. After Sugar Loaf, we had to stop at Phils 550 to check it out. We grabbed some t shirts and a beer each for our next stop.
Our next stop was the beautiful Presque Isle State Park (only 10 minutes from town) to check out the famous Black Rocks that I saw all over Instagram and TikTok. The Black Rocks are known as a great place to cliff jump into Lake Superior. It took a bit of courage to do the jump, but it was so cool and I have zero regrets. The water was surprisingly warmer than I imagined and it was crystal clear. Word of advice… don’t stare at the water, just jump and plug your nose haha.. We saw people overthink it and never actually take the plunge. I am so happy I had this experience with my friend Laurie. After we each jumped twice, we cracked open our beers from Phil’s and enjoyed them while taking in the view.
After our adventurous morning, we went back to shower and change and to hit the shops in town before dinner. Our Airbnb was located right on Washington Street, so close to everything! We bought a few items to bring home (you must check out Donckers), stopped at Yoop-Phoria for some fro-yo, walked down to check out the Ore Dock (it is massive in person and the history of these docks is so cool), got hot so we stopped for a beer at Ore Dock Brewing and then grabbed dinner at Iron Bay Restaurant. I forgot to take pics of our dinner but it was great! Of course we had to try the Superior whitefish tater tots while we there. They were pretty good! We also shared a smash burger and a salad. Atmosphere was great and is a solid choice while visiting Marquette.
Day three we were up early for our 10 am kayaking excursion in Munising! The drive is about 50 minutes from Marquette right along the shores of Lake Superior. We stopped at Baby Cakes again for coffee and sandwiches to take with us. I might also add that their muffins are outstanding! I want to share a few pics of the beach we stopped at along the way. Nobody there! The sand and water were so clean!
We booked our Kayak excursion through Pictured Rocks Kayaking. I was so impressed with how they ran their tours and would tell you to look no further if you plan on doing something like this. They offer two options, one that is 3 hours ($99) and the other is 4-5 hours ($168) and in my opinion, they are very affordable for what you get. We chose the Miners Castle Tour that was 3 hours because we had other plans for the rest of the day. If you don’t kayak regularly, this is a good choice. I think you’re actually kayaking for about 90 minutes but it was still a workout!
Some other details about our experience:
If you are a single rider they will pair you up with someone else or a guide. All of the kayaks are for two people.
If visiting in the summer, book your spot in advance. The tours sell out!
You have to arrive early to check in and have a safety session. It was very helpful!
I was brave enough to take pics but there is a high probability that you could drop your phone in Lake Superior. Your guide takes pics during the tour so there is always that option for captured memories.
The boat follows along for the whole tour, with restrooms and access to belongings. We didn’t need a restroom, but it was nice to know it was available.
Our guide was wonderful and knowledgeable and made the tour so fun!
After kayaking we walked around the town of Munising. We found some shops and grabbed a coffee while we waited for our next adventure. I wish we had more time to explore the area but we were booked for an afternoon ride on the Riptide Ride Boat. There are some incredible hiking trails around Pictured Rocks with waterfalls and insane views. Check out this post from All Trails for more info. I really hope to return someday to hike some of them.
We discovered there are many ways to see the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Grand Island. Our morning was spent on a leisurely kayak tour and our afternoon was in a high speed jet boat, but you could take a sailboat ride or of course see them on foot. We loved both of our choices! Riptide Ride was seriously so fun. And they make sure you get your fair share of splashes and wow moments.
Some other info about our ride:
The ride is 1.5 hrs | $45 for adults | $35 children 3-9
Book your tickets in advance! The tours do sell out.
The seating on the boat is first come, first served so get in line early if you want seats together or in the front.
Riptide Ride focuses on hidden gems and you will see about 25 miles of Pictured Rocks along the coastline of Grand Island. You’ll see the tallest cliffs towering at 300 feet, versus 200 feet in the national park, sea caves, beaches, the North Light Portal, and as a bonus two lighthouses.
I thought I took more pics but I guess not haha.. I was too busy laughing and getting soaked!
After our ride we stopped to try the famous U.P. Pasty. There are a few different places that sell them in Munising, but Muldoon’s happened to be right next to Rip Tide Ride.
The history of the Pasty according to Muldoon’s website: Pasties were the perfect, hardy meal for the miners. Their wives were able to use the potatoes and meat from leftovers, and envelope them in a crust which could be placed in the miners' pockets in the morning, and they would still be warm at lunchtime. Pasties came to be known as a "one-handed meal." The miners, with their dirty hands, could hold on with one hand and eat their way through the pasty, leaving only a small crust left over. To this day, pasties remain a staple food and tradition for many Upper Peninsula families.
We tried an original beef, a veggie and an apple dessert pasty. My friend and I thought they were all great and they reminded us of a shepherds pie or an empanada!
We headed back to Marquette after our full day in Munising. It was our last night so we relaxed at The Honorable Distillery and had a few drinks and then had a late dinner at Third Coast Pizzeria. We both wished that we had one more day to do some more exploring but we had to be up early to head back to Milwaukee to fly home.
Some other restaurants that we didn’t get to but would have loved to try if we had more time:
As our time in the U.P. came to an end, we were already discussing the towns we should visit next summer. Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever been or if the U.P. is on your list for the future!
As always, happy traveling!!
x, Julie