Pictured Rocks & More Lighthouses – Marquette/Munising, MI
For the second installment of our Great Lakes zoom-through we decided to hit the central section of South Lake Superior. This part of the Great Lakes is a laid-back area, thick with trees and miles of deserted shoreline, highlighted by two things that keep the place humming -> a University town and a rather unique formation of multi-colored cliffs. The former is in the bustling town of Marquette while the latter is just ~40 miles down the road in the sleepy city of Munising.
With no reservations to our “beastly” name, we decided to hit both places for a few days each taking advantage of another great overnight RV parking option = the wonderful world of free Casino camping. We’ve stayed at several of these spots over the years and although it’s rarely glamorous or scenic it’s usually easy and convenient. Here in Michigan some of the Casinos even provide (limited) free electric hookups, and if you sign-up for their Players Club you typically get some free play too. That’s like being paid to stay, which really can’t be beat.
Our first couple of nights we chose to stay at Ojibwa Casino just East of Marquette. It has 7 wonderful (think state park-like) electric sites, but also no stay limit so folks tend to dig in and hog up the sites. There were all occupied by what looked like pretty permanent campers when we arrived so we just parked in their very spacious (but also very sloped) lot.
Our next couple of nights were in the much tighter/smaller Kewadin Christmas Casino where we managed to snag one of the 7 electric sites in the early AM. Not much space here, but the park is literally right across the road from gorgeous Bay Furnace Campground where we were able to walk Polly and take her swimming in the lake everyday. Super neat.
From our convenient bases we were able to explore plenty of cool spots and curiosities around both towns:
Marquette Harbor Light – Marquette, MI
Our time in Marquette actually coincided with Paul’s Bday so we decided to load Polly in the car and make a day-trip out of it.
Our first and very much anticipated stop was the lovely 1866 Marquette Harbor Light. Another red brick beauty she’s super easy to access just north of downtown Marquette. Sadly when we arrived we discovered she could only be visited on a tour (no self-guided options), that the tours were only offered 3 times that day aaaand that the interior of the lighthouse was closed for renovations (no interior tour!). We decided to pass and just took a few shots from the beach north of the lighthouse. Sadly, this light was a bust 🙁
VISIT NOTES: Light station and museum open June-Oct from 11AM-4PM on Tues through Sun (closed Mon). Tours are $6 and were only offered at 11:30AM, 1PM and 2:30PM when we were there. Click for more info HERE.
BRING DOGGIE? NO. No dogs allowed on lighthouse grounds (or the beach north of the lighthouse) and since you can only visit on a 40-min tour there’s no easy way to rotate through even if there’s two of you.
Dog-Friendly Beach & Beer – Marquette, MI
To make up for our lighthouse bust we decided to head to a little-known spot that I’d discovered online as part of my pre-Bday research. Just 20 mins north of town are several green areas, one of which is known as Little Presque Isle Point where you can freely hike & play with doggie. We drove down CR 550, parked the car at the trailhead and enjoyed a good hour of doggie fun walking the woods and hanging by the practically empty shoreline. Superb spot!
Also being a University town Marquette has quite the selection of breweries and eateries, so to quench our thirst from doggie-beach we decided to sample one of the top-rated Yelp options with an outdoor seating area. What we weren’t aware of was how strict the dog-rules are here. Apparently Marquette (and much of the UP?) prohibit dogs even in areas with outdoor seating and no food…ugh! The strange “trick” to get around this is to find a spot with a patio where you can put your dog outside the official seating area on the pavement (so, you sit “inside” on the patio while the dog sits “outside” on the pavement). Very odd, but apparently that’s what works.
It turns out Ore Dock Brewing Company is just such a spot. It’s got an outdoor seating area surrounded by a chain link, so as long as doggie is officially on the other side of the link you can sit and enjoy your brew there. We got a flight of their excellent brews and totally enjoyed the experience. Not much in the way of dark beers here for me, but Paul was totally enamored by their hoppy Reclamation IPA and bought a growler of it for evening Bday consumption.
A good day out all-in-all!
VISIT NOTES: Little Presque Isle is a pay area managed by the MI DNR. You can buy a single day-use pass for $9 at the park (cash only).
BRING DOGGIE? YES. Little Presque Isle Point is dog-friendly (you do need to have a MI State Park pass or buy a $9 day-use MI DNR pass to visit). Ore Dock Brewery has an outdoor area where you can sit with doggie as long as you put him/her on the outside of the chain link.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore – Munising, MI
They say you can’t come to Michigan without seeing the Pictured Rocks and I have to admit they’re probably right. This 42-mile stretch of protected shoreline contains 15-miles of multi-colored sandstone cliffs that extend 200 feet above the lake. The geology here extends back 500-800 million years and the many layers of time and mineral deposits have created a tapestry of color that delights tourists to this very day.
Considering how popular it is there are surprisingly few roads that lead out to the cliff-edge and IMHO all of the easily accessible overlooks are only so-so. As a result there are only a few ways to *really* see the cliffs. One is to hike/backpack the many miles of shoreline trails (some of which do get pretty close to the cliffs) and the other is to see them from the water either with a kayak or an organized boat tour. Given our limited time and the fact that none of the trails in the park are dog-friendly we decided on the latter.
We chose Pictured Rock Cruises and decided on a “regular” 6PM tour instead of the much more popular 7PM “sunset tour”. That turned out to be a great decision, not only because it was waaay less crowded (we were able to board a mere 15 minutes before our tour time and still get a top-side seat while folks were already standing in line for the 7PM tour an hour and a half before departure!), but also because the late afternoon light was at the perfect angle to light-up the cliff-face and “pop” the colors.
The 2 1/2 hour cruise was perfect. Lovely, flat water (a bonus for sea-sick easy Nina) and plenty of fine light for the cliffs. My only trouble was actually photographing the darn things. It’s bleeding hard to get any kind of real perspective on these cliffs and most photos just turn out bland and uninteresting. My “winner” (the shot at the bottom of this blog post) came towards the end of the cruise after hundreds of less-than-interesting shots. I decided to try a hand-held multi-exposure shot against the setting light and finally captured something I could work with. Gotcha, finally!
VISIT NOTES: Pictured Rocks is free to visit by car/foot and there are many miles of hiking trails inside the park. Click HERE for a map of the park. To get the best view of the cliffs I recommend either taking a boat tour or renting a kayak.
BRING DOGGIE? Probably NO. No dogs allowed on the boat cruises and, apart from one exception (the trail to Munising Falls), none of the trails inside the Pictured Rocks are dog-friendly either. You can take your dog to a few of the overlooks and a couple of beach areas (specifically Sand Point & Miners Beach), so you can do a little day-trip in your car that way, but if you want to see the most scenic sections of the cliffs you have to leave doggie behind. See more doggie info HERE.
Au Sable Lighthouse – Munising, MI
I actually love lighthouses that take a bit of an “effort” to get to. Not only does it drastically cut down on the number of people visiting, but it also gives you a certain sense of achievement to get there and that makes the result all the sweeter when you do. Au Sable Lighthouse isn’t quite as serious as some (Dungeness Spit in WA comes to mind), but it does require a respectable ~1.5 mile hike (one-way) to get there and the tours only run at around hour intervals so you have to time it pretty tightly if you want to make full use of the trip.
I was pretty determined to see this gal having had her on my “bucket list” for a while, but we were stymied were two things. One was that the lighthouse trail was almost an hour from Munising and the other was that it did not allow dogs, meaning that if we both went we’d be leaving Polly behind for at least 5 hours during the day. Plus we were scheduled out again that evening for the Boat Cruise. That was too much doggie-away time for us, so Paul graciously passed on the lighthouse giving me the chance to do it on my own while he stayed behind with the dog (what a gentleman, eh?)
I arrived at the trail on a very humid, grey morning and trekked out along the wooded shoreline to the lighthouse in a record 30 minutes to make the first 11 AM tour. First lit in 1874 she is a wonderfully preserved girl and a testament to some of the heaviest & most treacherous days of shipping on Lake Superior. The tour was lovely, the 3rd order Fresnel lens in the tower (although no longer working) was quite pretty and being able to walk outside the tower and hang around the grounds was priceless. A worthy visit!
VISIT NOTES: It’s a flat ~1.5 mile hike to the lighthouse (one way). Free parking at the trailhead. Tours cost $3 and run Wed through Sun from mid-June through the end of September at 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.. No tours on Monday and Tues. More info HERE.
BRING DOGGIE? NO. No dogs allowed on the trail to the lighthouse.
Oh, the other thing we “discovered” in this part of Michigan? They’re famous for their Cornish Pasties here. Believe it or not pasties arrived in Michigan in the 1800’s with English miners who migrated to the state, and it became a staple in the local mines. There’s now a festival every year and 3 of the top 10 pasties in the state are just around the Munising area. We tasted one of the samples from Lawry’s and although I paid dearly for it later (wheat intolerance, you know) I have to admit it was quite authentic.
Where To Park Your RV:
If you decide to come this way you could do like we did and make use of the two free Casino’s in the area. Alternatively you can head on over to the Tourist Park (the one in Munising offered hookups and looked quite nice) or see if you can snag a site at one of the lovely forest service campgrounds in the area (Bay Furnace and Au Train Lake are primitive but offer large, private sites).
Useful External Links:
- Visit Marquette MI – Visitors website HERE
- Visit Munising MI – Visitors website HERE
- Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore – Official site HERE
- Marquette Harbor Lighthouse – Click HERE and HERE
- Au Sable Lighthouse – Click HERE and HERE
My “winning” shot of Pictured Rocks. They sure are pretty in the right light 🙂
Don’t know if your heading that way, but Whitefish Point Light Station has a shipwreck museum that you folks might like. A bit off the main road, but very interesting. They have the bell of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitefish_Point_Light
Sadly we missed Whitefish Point. We wanted to make it out there (we really did) but it’s quite a bit off the beaten track. That’s one we’re going to have to come back for.
Nina
We just came from there! Gorgeous! Your beast couldn’t fit into the campground at Twelvemile Beach but it’s so worth the visit. A good place to stay if you travel on to Sault Ste Marie is Hewadin Casino. Hookups for big rigs like yours and only $20. Water and dump on site. Close to the Soo Locks.
I’ve heard about the lovely campground at 12-Mile Beach. Didn’t make it out there, but I saw the reviews and agree it would be an awesome choice for smaller rigs. Cheers for the tip in Sault St.Marie. We ended up at the Elks Lodge here which is actually more expensive than than the Casino, but does have a water view.
Nina
That last shot is incredible! I also love the one of the tree growing out of the rock, with the big root stretching through the air to shore! Munising is one of my favorite places in the U.P. And I’d like to point out that Muldoon’s also has fruit pasties that are to die for! Warm and yummy….$3.75 each but big enough to share.
We really did enjoy the little town of Munising. Compact, close to lots of pretty stuff and very relaxed/laid-back. Plus pasties of course 🙂
Nina
This was like a blast from the past for me, with much better photos. We loved our time at Pictured Rocks, taking both the boat tour and doing a lot of hiking along the shore. And we hiked out to the Au Sable Lighthouse as well. We really did enjoy so much about Michigan, particularly in the fall when the leaves are changing. Your photos just keep getting better Nina.
Thank you my dear. I definitely can’t wait until summer is over and that wonderful fall weather starts. It’s been nice up here, but hot and humid plus the campgrounds are still all full with summer vacationers. Once Labor Day is passed I think things will ease up.
Nina
Will you still be up there after Labor Day? You know all the campgrounds in the Ottowa National Forest are free then?! Usually the water’s turned off, but you still get the picnic tables, etc. That’s the hardest thing about boondocking and dispersed camping for me; no picnic tables!
Yes we will and I did not know that! Great little tip! Thank you.
Nina
Thank you for the amazing photos! Stunners.
First of all, gorgeous pics and great information. We hope to make it that way when we retire in June. My question is about the third picture where you are parked on black top. It looks like your tires are parked on plastic leveling blocks and I can’t make out If your jacks are down. Can you tell me why you did this? It looks nice and level…Just a newbie question.
Yes, we were parked on Lynx leveling blocks (stacked 3 high!) and we had a wooden block under the front jack too. The reason we did that is the parking lot was VERY sloped and if we tried to level without the blocks our front wheels would be off the ground. I’m a firm believer in keeping “all wheels down”, especially with a 33,000 lb “beast”, so the blocks are a traveling necessity.
If you want to read more about our leveling solution I’ve got a blog post on it here: Supporting & Leveling The RV
Nina
This area is why we love Michigan so!! I would have recommended pasties to you, but I rembered your gluten issue. They freeze well, if Paul can eat them!
Yeah I “scarified” myself for a pastie just so I could taste one (it was soooo hard to resist), but I really did suffer for it. I noticed all the pastie shops sell frozen versions.
Nina
Very nice… we find our way to the UP winter and summer. I hope you were able to visit Grand Island for a day of biking. We found ourselves hundreds of feet above sea level… so much reminiscent of Cliff Dr (Las Brisas-Laguna Beach) overlooking the ocean… or in this case Lake Superior. Swam at the beach north end of the island… a memorable grand day. FYI, if you have the opportunity and not visited Chicago, it’s a must. If you are limited for time make it count with an Italian lunch or dinner 2400 block of S. Oakley, known as “Heart of Chicago” formerly Little Italy. One block East of Western Ave (major st.) Italian restaurants begin corner of Western and all along Oakley, one as wonderful as the next and a step back in time. Oops… if you can don’t miss Mackinac Island, best overnight… after tourists depart about 6pm and leave the streets clear for evening carriage tour or strolls and early mornings dockside cafe and sunrise.
We didn’t make it to Grand Island unfortunately, although we saw part of her (including the lighthouse) from our boat cruise. It did look like there was a lot of nice recreation over there. Cheers for the other tips too.
Nina
Your photos are gorgeous—I especially love your images of Pictured Rocks and the two lighthouses. You definitely captured the best light and amazing colors! Thanks for the great tip on when to take the boat tour. Looks like a sweet birthday celebration for Paul (happy b-day!).
Thanks! I was really happy we went with the 6PM “regular” tour rather than the 7PM “sunset” tour. Pretty much the exact same light, but just way less people on board. We really enjoyed it.
Nina
I love the pictures you took of the Pictured Rocks. I’ve never been to Michigan but it looks like it would be a great visit. Was the weather good according to your flip-flop barometer and not too muggy?
It’s definitely been a tad hot and muggy for my typical flip flop perfection, but it’s not been bad. We’ve been seeing around 80-85 degree highs with around 80% humidity. Plus we’ve seen days of on again, off again grey/rain. Can’t really complain though. Mostly we’ve had decent weather and temps have stayed under 90. Still, I’m looking forward to Sept temp drops. Just 10 degrees cooler would be sheer perfection.
Nina
Wow, the lighthouses….amazing. Looks like a wonderful area to spend some time.
We did this same trip and stayed at the casinos which worked out really nicely. Luckily, the Ojibwa spots were all open but two. We also left with an additional $24 that I won for free!! Can’t beat that! We didn’t take the boat but had excellent views with our hiking of the colorful cliffs. The water color was amazing and I loved the smooth colorful stones on the beach. Such a beautiful area:) Sounds like you enjoyed your visit:)
If it weren’t for the dog restrictions we would certainly have done more of the hiking trails along the shoreline. Plus all the hikes to the waterfalls too. When I did the hike to Au Sable I saw lots of folks backpacking the trail which must just be so much fun. It really is a gorgeous coastline.
Nina
That final photo is absolutely wonderful! I wish I had the patience to do that kind of photography. Mine is more of a hobby and I sure do appreciate the work you do.
Thank you! It took a lot of shots to figure out how I could best capture those rocks. They’re surprisingly hard to shoot! The only thing that would have made that last pic better would have been a kayak for perspective. It’s hard to convey how big these cliffs are. Very pretty and impressive to see.
Nina
great post about some beautiful areas…have to put Pictured Rocks on our list….
We did Ojibwa last year after Chris and Cherie blogged about it. We scored one of the 7 electric sites and came away with some cash…and smoky clothes. 🙂
What route are you taking as you move south through the lower peninsula?
I was a tad bummed all the electric sites were full at Ojibwa, but perhaps the word is out? Several of the campers there looked very dug in. One guy had 3 cars at his site while another had so much stuff outside I’d have to believe he’d been there quite a while. Still, couldn’t beat the cost and convenience. It was the perfect spot to stay for a few days.
From Sault St. Marie we’re heading down to Mackinaw and then straight down to a friends place for a few weeks. We’ll probably come back and tour the “mitt”, but we want to wait until after Labor Day. All the campgrounds have been crazy full recently.
Nina
Indeed, everything will settle down after Labor Day…always does in Michigan.
I wrote a post last year about my connection with Old Mackinac Point that you might find interesting: http://exploRVistas.com/old-mackinac-point-light-station/. Have fun!
Freaking Postcards… all of them!
Box Canyon
Thanks, guys! I’ll be there soon and am especially grateful for the tour preview. I’m so doing that.
Cool! I saw in your blog that you were coming this way. I think you’re going to love the area.
Nina
Au Sable is especially beautiful – wonderful you were able to see her and do the tour. Great pic of the metal stairs 🙂 We missed Michigan this time, and I can see there is lots to come back and see. Wonderful photos of the golden cliffs. You definitely captured their beauty!
Au Sable was a total treat to visit. There were only 2 other people there when I went too.
Nina
Love,love, love your pictures! Now 8 have to go to Michigan sooned than i planned. : )
Awesome photo of the painted rocks Nina!
I remembered rocking and rolling while taking photos of pictured rocks! I enjoyed looking back at those memories from your gorgeous photos. I don’t recall seeing Au Sable Lighthouse and how we missed it but love your vivid photo of its red color.
We were camped nearer to Tahquenamon Falls and drove to Munising to take the boat tour. Hopefully you made at stop at that absolutely beautiful falls ( i know 🙂 like you we’ve seen a lot ) but there is a brewery inside the state park which has really good brews.
your pictures are beautiful!
we travel with 3 dogs so appreciate all your dog friendly place finding info
Thanks. We’re definitely pretty paw-focused in the “beast”, but it’s good to know we’re not the only ones 🙂
Nina
As always, great writing and very helpful information! Thanks for all the hard work.
FYI:
Erie PA is hosting the “Tall Ships” this year. Ships in port starting Sept 8th. I’m going up for a couple of days of photography and haul the Bambi.
Larry
Sweet! The Tall Ships will be fun to see.
Nina
Hey Nina, I noticed you had your slides out at the casino. I was under the impression people left their slides in when parked in casinos, Wal marts, etc. Do I have that wrong? I hope I have that wrong! It would be awesome to be able to put our slides out if we’re just stopping for the night…. Thanks!
The Casino here was fine with slides out since they officially allow camping and multi-night stays. At Walmarts (and equivalent) we are just courtesy parking for the night so we keep our slides in.
Nina
Aw! You made me home sick, and I don’t get home sick. We lived in SE Michigan and visited all these spots during our “camping” days. Bay Furnace in a popup, seeing two big Muskies swimming in formation from Pictured Rocks and one year a waterfall tour across the UP. Oh Well, we’re finishing up a summer of volunteer work at Ridgway State Park in Colorado and will head toward Michigan on Labor Day for our annual visit. We’ll enjoy the fall colors and hope you do too.
What wonderful memories! I have to admit I was very impressed by Bay Furnace (what a beautiful campground!) and the pictured rocks. Gorgeous country, and I can totally understand why the area is so popular.
Really, really looking forward to fall.
Nina
Lovely reminder of my youth, and why I need to come back with the DW for a fall visit, soon! Loved your pictures and descriptions. Looking forward to more. Hope you continue to enjoy your visit. And, yes, things will get better people-wise after Labor Day.
Picture Rocks was one of my fav trips… great boat ride and wonderful pictures and rock formations… AND the pasties were wonderful!!! So very different from anything we have here in Oregon 🙂
Totally agree! It was wonderful to see.
Nina
Seems like peeps from a 300 mile radius around Michigan head there every summer to vacation. Been that way since at least the ’50s. We had all the industry money to pay for really nice parks and roads so they ended up in Michigan. Half the cars had out of state plates back 50 years ago.
You should hit the UP in February, those sidewalks are almost tunnels there’s so much snow they threw off the sides. Rough place to live.
I’ve been thinking of full timing, and all your issues with ‘no dogs allowed’ convinced me no pets. I want to leave the coach at roam a couple of hours or more away and not have to worry about the cat getting overheated without the AC. Seems less trouble.
Finally found some time to go to the library so I could post on here.
You should have done the fall color tour in the UP and northern LP this year as it was drop dead gorgeous. We went on a couple of new roads that I have never gone on before. We even hit a couple of lighthouses just thinking that Nina would go to those. I found those by going to a website with some fall color tours on it. The date was somewhere around October 14 that we went.