It was an easy 1 hour 45 minute drive north from Fayette State Park to Marquette and the Tourist Park Campground. We settled into our campsite just in time for lunch.
This was out second time staying at the Marquette Tourist Park. On our previous visit we only spent 3 nights here because we could not find much information about the campground and we were not sure how we would like camping inside the city limits of the largest town in the Upper Peninsula. We squeezed as much as we could into those 3 days and ended up having a great time. With everything that there is to do in and around Marquette we wished we had planned to stay longer. This time we made it our main stop of the trip planning for 5 nights.
Trip Highlights - Click to jump to that section
Camping at the Tourist Park in Marquette, MI
Marquette Mountain Biking - Gorge-ous Trail and Grom Kids Loop
Climbing Sugarloaf Mountain
Marquette Rainy Day Activities - Iron Industry Museum, Jean Kay's Pasties and Downtown
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Marquette Tourist Park Camping |
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| The Tourist Park Campground entrance. |
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| We stayed in site 97 which is the same place we were at the last time we were here. It is a nice big campsite, but there is not much privacy. |
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| We picked this site again because we liked that it backed up to the playground area. This way we could sit by our campfire at night and still watch the kids playing. 10 years ago this would have been the last place we would have wanted to be. It is kind of funny how much your perspective changes after you have kids of your own. |
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| The bathhouse was close, but not too close to our site. |
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| We made a lot of trips around the loop on bikes. |
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Since we were here last they made a small beach area on the Dead River Pond. We didn't have any beach weather while we were here. However, even if we did, I think we would have driven to one of the Lake Superior beaches.
The lifeguard looked pretty board sitting out there all week. |
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Reid spent a lot of the time using his beach shovel to dig up the sand in the playground. People are probably still tripping in all the holes he left behind.
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| Marquette Mountain Biking - Gorge-ous Trail and Grom Loop |
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| The main attraction in Marquette, at least for me, are the mountain biking trails. The trails here were designated by IMBA as a Bronze Level Ride Center in 2014. After setting up camp and eating lunch the family dropped me off at the South Trailhead so I could get in a quick ride while they went out to pickup a few supplies.
I first rode the Gorge-ous Trail (shown in the video above) and then looped back to the parking area on second half of the blue for about a 4.5 miles loop. The kids were not back yet so next I decided to climb up the Benson Grade and ride back down the Flow Trail. I must say after riding the Flow Trail up in Copper Harbor this trail with the same name was a little disappointing. It is fairly tight and technical and didn't really "flow" that well.
**To see the video from the Flow trail and several others visit our Marquette Mountain Biking Page >> |
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| After this everyone was back and it was time for a family ride on the Grom Trail. |
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| The Grom Loop also starts from the South Trailhead. This kids loop is about 1.25 miles long and is designated with purple markers. The trail has been cleared of most of the rocks and roots and is a relatively smooth ride. This was a highlight for our kids on our last visit and they were excited to try it again.
In case you were wondering what a Grom is, this is the definition from Wikipedia: "A grommet(grom) is a young participant in extreme sports. Originally, a grommet was a surfer under the age of 16. In recent years, this has expanded to include other extreme sports, most notably skateboarding and snowboarding." |
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| Regan finishing the ride. |
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| Climbing Sugarloaf Mountain |
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| After biking we went back to the campsite for dinner. While eating we checked the weather and it was not looking good for the next few days. We decided we better take advantage of the sunshine and clear skies while we had it, so we drove out a couple miles north of town to climb Sugarloaf Mountain. |
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| The "easy route" to the top is about a 1/2 mile long and is a mix of rocky trail and wooden stairways. The kids counted just over 300 steps on the way to the top. |
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| A family pic at the Sugarloaf Mountain overlook. |
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| The view looking south toward Marquette. |
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| Resting and taking in the view from the rocky summit. |
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| Little Presque Isle to the north. |
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| The girls and I took the difficult trail back to the parking area. It was steeper than the easy route and there are not any steps, but it is shorter and we didn't think it was too bad.
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| Marquette Rainy Day - Iron Industry Museum, Jean Kay's Pasties and Downtown |
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| Unfortunately the weather forecast was right and we woke up to rain the next morning. The first rainy day activity on our list while in Marquette was visiting the Michigan Iron Industry Museum.
When using the address given on their website in our GPS it had us turning off into a neighborhood well before the actual entrance. I think the entrance coming in off from US41 is new and has not been updated yet in mapping applications. It is best to watch for the big sign above on south side of US41 about 10.5 miles west of the roundabout in Marquette.
Click to see the entrance location on Google Maps >> |
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| Admission to the museum is free. Donations are appreciated, but there was no pressure to make one. |
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| We spent about a half hour reading the exhibits and looking at all the artifacts. Soon it was time to go up and watch the movie in the auditorium. They show an interesting 20 minute video that really helped us get a feel for what life was like back at this time in Michigan history. After just being at Fayette State Park and seeing the iron smelting operation it was nice to come here and learn about where all the iron ore came from. It really helped tie everything together for us.
The movie shows every hour and they ask for a $1 donation per person to see it. |
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| After the movie we went back down to see the last few exhibits that we missed. Then we almost had to drag the kids out of the big gift shop on the way out. I must say that we didn't expect very much from a free museum, but it ended up being a great way to spend rainy morning and we would recommend planning an hour or two to stop here if your are in the area. If it is nice out, there are also outdoor walking paths around the museum to explore.
Michigan Iron Industry Museum website >>
More reviews of this attraction on Trip Advisor >>
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| For lunch we continued with the mining theme by visiting Jean Kay's Pasties. Pasties are a pie crust pocket filled with potatoes, onion, rutabagas, and seasoned beef. They say that the pasty was originally brought to the Upper Peninsula by Cornish immigrant miners. The portable pasty was the preferred lunch to bring down into the mines. |
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| Jean Kay's is consistently ranked as one of the top places to eat in Marquette. It is a small mainly takeout restaurant with just a few tables inside. We were lucky that one of the 2 booths opened up just as we were placing our order. The group behind us had to stand and eat around one of the high top tables in the window. This was the first pasty for the kids and it was thumbs up all around the table. Jean Kay's also serves warm subs, salads and wraps that looked good too.
Jean Kay's website and menu >>
More reviews for Jean Kay's Pasties on Trip Advisor >>
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| After lunch the rain was starting to let up so we went downtown to visit Doncker's Candy Store which is also a top ranked restaurant and soda fountain. Everyone picked a small bag of their favorite candy from the old fashion candy counter. |
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| After Doncker's we walked around and checked out the rest of downtown. We visited a couple stores with toys and souvenirs, but the only thing that really stands out is Book World. This large store has a unique combination of books, magazines, gifts and a smoke shop. We all kept busy for a while browsing books and magazines. The kids each found a new book which was good to have for some rainy day reading. |
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| Regan found this sticker for the wall above her bed.... I can't argue with this. |
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| Before heading back to the campsite we went to try and find the road to the top of Mount Marquette.
The directions from the Travel Marquette website were pretty good: From South Marquette, travel on US-41 about 1.5 miles south, up the big hill and partly down the other side to Cliff’s Power Road on the right. Go right,then down the hill and along the river for about a mile until you see a sign one the right indicating Mount Marquette. Take this dirt road and proceed on way up the winding hill to the summit.
The road to the top was a little steep at times, but it was smooth enough that I think you could make it in almost any car. |
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| We stopped at the first pullout on the right thinking we were at the top. After getting out and seeing the foggy view we realized that we were not quite there. |
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| A little further up the road there is a bigger pull off area and a short rocky trail leads up to the main Mount Marquette overlook. The fog was getting a little lighter and we could at least see the city better than on our first stop.
From here we contiued back down the other side and back to the Tourist Park.
After eating dinner at the campsite the rain moved back in and we had to spend the rest of the night inside the camper reading and watching movies. Make sure to click the link below to see the second half of our stay in Marquette.
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Marquette 2014 Page 2 >>
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| Our Favorites From This Trip: |
GoPro Hero Camera
I have had my GoPro camera for a couple years now and we are still finding new ways to use it to document and share our adventures. It is easy to use and the photo and video quality has been surprisingly good.
Connecting to the GoPro using the smart phone app and the camera's built in Wi-Fi is a really nice feature that allows you to control the camera, change settings and view your videos. The app also has a live view feature that lets you view what the camera sees on the screen of your smart phone. I have found this very useful for framing shots because there is not a screen or view finder on the camera.
Click here to find GoPro cameras on Amazon >> |
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| Also see our Michigan Adventure Guidebook Page >> |
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