Travel with Dom

August 2026/October 2024

Easily one of my favorite cities I have been to is the city of Marquette, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. There are so many cool areas around to Hike and the city itself has plenty of cool things to do. I have been here two times now. One time most recently at the end of summer and the other time two years ago in the Fall. Both times have been an awesome experience different from the other. The Fall with the leaves turning offering amazing views during the hikes. The summer offers nicer weather to swim. The first time we went, we stayed at an airbnb along the coast of Lake Superior near the city. The most recent time we stayed at an airbnb in downtown. This city has lots of different hotels and places to stay on the airbnb app. A place on the coast may be a bit more pricey but the views from the beach are insane. Being away from the city too, you can possibly catch northern lights and a clear view of all the stars.

While exploring downtown there are lots of cool restaurants to see. Northern Michigan University resides here along with a large ship port. The Harbor is the last remaining iron ore dock in Michigan. Along it are two marinas: the Cinder Pond Marina and the Presque Isle Marina.

Hiking

My favorite spot here, that I always hike first, is up Sugarloaf Mountain. It is located 12 minutes from the city and has a good size parking lot with free parking. I love going up this small mountain for the 360 degree view of the surrounding area at the top. From the parking lot, the trail is a short 1.5 mile loop with a little under 300 feet of elevation gain. As you progress up you’ll find a couple of viewpoints that are great for photos. At the top there are a few platforms to stand on but it’s pretty flat at the top. Since the last time I went, 2 years ago, they have built a lot more stairs and paths for this trail that makes it a lot easier. At the top you will have views of Wetmore landing and Little Presque Isle and lots of other small islands. The forest in the fall looks really cool up here with all the different colors. You can also see Hogback Mountain from up here.

Wetmore Landing goes from the bottom of Sugarloaf all the way to Little Presque Isle. Along the trail you’ll eventually come across a big section of boulders that have lots of cool spots to see the water. There is also one boulder with a big space under it to take photos in. If you do decide to go in, be careful, the water can be slippery. Wetmore Landing Overall, going all the way through and back, is 3.5 miles and 300 feet of elevation gain. Theres a point about halfway through where you will go up/down a long staircase.

Little Presque has a parking lot near it too, if you wanted to start from there. You will see a lot of people gather on the beach around Little Presque. If you are comfortable doing so, you can wade through the water all the way to the Isle. It is honestly a blast doing it and so fun with others. As you walk through you will find the general path. Bring water shoes for this, it will make it a lot less painful with some of the sharp rocks. The waves can also be unrelenting at times, but once you get across there are some cool views on the Isle. We did this in the most recent visit with the warmer weather. Lake Superior is the coldest fresh water lake in the country all year round. So the heat with the sun helps with getting across. The walk is about 200 feet to the Isle.

Downtown near the port is Presque Isle, the bigger brother. This Isle has a big loop you can do around the whole thing. There is a large parking lot with a little walkway near the start to the Marquette lighthouse.

The loop has cool views of the cliff faces. As you approach the northern side of the Isle you will start to see Black Rocks. These are actually ancient volcanic rocks made of basalt and serpentinized peridotite. They are remnants from the Midcontinent Rift that almost split North America in two. They will take you down right to the water and there is a spot where people will do cliff jumping.

Presque Isle Point at the very most north point on the Isle has very cool rock formations on the beach. There is a parking lot at this spot and a popular area to see the sunset. The entire Isle loop itself is about 3 miles and takes about an hour to go through.

The new trail we did this year was the Dead River Falls trail. The trailhead is 12 min from the city and has a decent size parking lot. Fair warning, this trail is not well maintained. There were a few fallen trees when we went on the trail and some steep sections. Near the start there is a creek you walk across with the options of a log or a pile of sticks to do so. Be very careful when going through this trail. It is an out and back trail that is 2 miles total. There are 5-6 different waterfalls to see throughout this trail. We went after it rained the day before and the falls were flowing beautifully. Dead river falls itself is all the way at the end. It is a cliff jumping spot so sometimes there are people jumping there.

Marquette is an amazing place to get away for the weekend and go outside. There are plenty of beautiful views and things to do with friends and family. I couldn’t recommend it more. The past two times I have come here with friends we also went to Munising to see Pictured Rocks.

Chapel Beach Loop in Munising

The trail is located an hour and fifteen minutes from Marquette. The parking lot is usually a MESS here with how popular the trail is. I recommend coming here very early to avoid the rush. When parking fills up, people will park on the right side of the road (going out). At some point though people will start parking on the other side, which you aren’t supposed to do and it makes leaving a mess and a royal pain. There are bathrooms at the start and dogs are not allowed on the trail to protect the ecosystem. A thing I love about the Loop is it has like one of each natural formation. There are streams, waterfalls, lakes, cliffs, unique rocks formations, a beach, lush forest, literally everything. If you are interested, the beach offers campgrounds to do aswell! The loop overall is over 7 miles and 415 feet of elevation gain. It usually takes around 2 and a half to 3 hours to do.

Chapel Falls is about a mile and a half into the trail with two different spots to view it from. You can go into the creek it runs from all the way near where the falls go off the side. Under a quarter mile later you will get a cool view of the falls from afar.

You will reach the beach two miles later through the forest. The views here are very rewarding. The beach has Chapel Rock, a cool rock formation with a tree on top that has its root connect to the other side like a bridge. You will go across a wobbly bridge and find an entrance to the beach that has beautiful views of Superior, Chapel Rock, and the Pictured Rocks.

The rest of the trail is through the forest with a view of Chapel Lake later on. This part of the trail we have seen deers pass through every time so be on the lookout! There is a cool lookout point to take photos. This spot is very beautiful in the fall.

This is so far my favorite trail in the Upper Peninsula and I highly suggest trying it out in different times of the year. The difference in summer and fall is very noticeable. If you are planning a fun trip up North stay in Marquette for a couple days and go to Munising for a day to experience this hike!