Greg gave us our tour and he brought personal experience that made us fall in love with Marquette…read moreeven more! It was detailed and yet laid back all at the same time. Thank you, Greg!

Greg is the best tour guide! He has really great authentic stories. We almost invited him to lunch…read moreso we could hear more! Highly recommend going on a tour with him.

Every year on the 2nd week of August, the Marquette County Fair takes place at the fairgrounds…read morelocated south of Marquette, down County Hwy 553. It is our favorite fair to attend every year and I base my vacation on the date of the fair, as we always want to attend this one. Admission is something like $5 per adult, $2 for kids and kids under 2 free. Unwritten rule: Cute kids can get in for free. The elderly ticket vendor commented on his cuteness and let my 2 year old Stunt Baby get in for nothing. It is large as far as county fairs go. The first and largest of the barns is dedicated to arts, craft, and photographs, as well as baked goods, fruits, vegetables, and flowers. In the main barn, there are also a number of local businesses ranging from health clinics to car dealers. Deer and small game hunters can look at new hunting gear too. Over the years, we've bought scented candles, locally processed maple syrup, and wooden toys from craftsmen. Local politicians promote their re-election bids here too. The livestock exhibits consist of red barns arranged in sequential order so you can see them one after another as you move from barn to barn, from draft horses to cattle, pigs, poultry and small animals, and a separate 4H barn off to the side where you can see the kids' crafts, scrap books and collages entered into the fair. With numerous categories for judging, seems many of them get recognized for their accomplishments, as blue and red ribbons abound. Jilbert's Dairy sponsors the dairy barn and even bring their giant fiberglass cow "Jill" to stand at the entrance for people to get their picture with her. Inside, you can buy a limited selection of Jilbert's ice cream, but I recommend going to the dairy in Marquette afterwards, since it is cheaper and you have a wider choice of flavors. The barns are fun to visit, since many of the handlers and owners of the animals are there to talk about their particular animal, especially among the horses. While some of the animals can be petted, there's also plenty that warn about keeping your fingers out of the pens or cages. One of the most amusing things we saw was a horse dressed up in beer 24-pack cartons for a costume judging contest (see picture). The owner explained how much beer she had to consume to have enough cardboard for the costume. Besides the carnival rides and games near the entrance, there's the food. Our favorite has to be Croatian Village Chicken. They have a multi-rack rotisserie grill set up outside that turns dozens of chickens over charcoal till they're roasted golden-brown. The rotisserie itself is a mechanical marvel of angled gear and pulleys making all of these racks turn at once. We get half a chicken and some fresh-cut fries from Fabe's at another stand nearby. And they even have buffalo burgers for the adventurous meat lovers. There's some picnic tables and tents set up for people to eat. It is best to eat there and stay away from the barns so you don't inhale the "dairy-air" of the animals downwind. Grab a bag of salty-sweet kettle corn while you're there too. There's an outdoor theatre that puts on shows for kids at regular intervals, usually a small animal show and a birds of prey show with hawks, falcons and owls. And on the way out, why not pull over by County Road 553 for a while and go look for some wild blueberries near the sandy exit roads leading out of the fairgrounds...

Had some good drinks here and the ability to sit outdoors on a nice day to enjoy them is pretty…read moregreat. Really liked the wine frozen drinks! Laid back atmosphere and is dog friendly. Which isn't necessarily a good thing. Sadly the outdoor area had a strong dog poop smell which kind of ruined our buzz! we moved tables, but couldn't shake the smell, so we drank up and moved on. Another let down is the view. So close to beautiful Lake Superior, yet the only view is of a dirty power or water treatment plant. They have regularly scheduled food trucks, so food is available when they are there.

Closed event for a birthday party- didn't know until we showed up and saw the sign on the door. On…read morea Saturday! Boooooo

No space. Merch was out of stock. The bartender didn't even greet us. We ended up leaving without…read moreordering anything and found another place. For a city that's very touristy, you'd expect to greet patrons.

Wow, was not expecting this level of sophistication, history, hospitality and uniqueness of brews…read more(and in the wilds of the UP). Elevated authentic farmhouse and saison style, (which has not been a favorite but made for quick converts when the brews are this exceptional). Visited on an off-season rainy Sat in May and the aesthetics alone (inside and out) were beautiful. Cozy and inviting, upscale not pretentious. Unique beers that were delicious and aromatic. Well worth visiting and as an event space, exceedingly lovely.

Well, I haven't been to any of the other Michigan Brewers Guild festivals yet, but I have to say…read morethat the UP Beer Fest was an absolute hit with me. Just from the way we got in, I knew this was going to be well run. I had to like the people on the loud speakers asking us kindly to have our IDs out and not to be dicks. Ha! It wasn't just that though, for a festival that was listed as sold out, my friend and I got through the line fairly quickly and onto the most important thing: Beer. This was my first time at the event, but I was told by vets that they had even more beer and producers this year. In a way, you didn't really notice as the tents were set up really well and outside of the line for Greenbush or a major tapping like KBS. I have to give full props to how they set up the porta johns. As a guy, it was pretty nice to have one just for guys to quickly get in and get out. But, they also made sure there were plenty of johns available for everyone. The food was a bit on the pricy side, but it was also never hard to get something if you wanted it. Granted, the falafel I bought did have a lot in it. While $7 is on the higher side than I'm used to, I also fully accept that you will pay more at a festival like this. The UP Beer fest was an absolute blast for me and I am looking forward to coming back next year.

Gorgeous UP weather; sun and a cooling breeze off the lake. Friendly, happy people and delicious…read morebeer. What a great afternoon. The crowd looked huge from the entrance but everything flowed well; very minimal waits at each vendor. We are definitely going again next year!

Marquette is home to many great artists. This Gallery is a wonderful place to see the work of the…read moreMarquette artist collective. If you are looking for a truly unique gift this is the place. The artists take turns manning the shop and are more than happy to answer any questions or help you find just what you're looking for. Some things aren't for sale but most of the artists will do works by commission if you want something special.

We arrived near sunset, after close. No Tour completed, as such. We did, however, experience a…read morefantastic sunset & walkabout. There is a large viewing deck that can be accessed with a short walk & a some stairs. If you're there when the sun sets, stick around for another half hour to see the REAL show. (We moved on right at sunset, to catch it from a different spot we'd planned.) Expect to encounter friendly locals who happily share info on the area & tips for best views. This stop is one you could spend a bit of time at & definitely charge the phone or bring a camera. You will have, in addition to the light house, great lake views with sandy shores & beach grass, plus amazing rock beach on the other side of the lighthouse. The trail isn't too difficult, tho stairs aren't the best. Be sure to check out the displays & signage swallowed by the trees. It's absolutely lovely.

Our tourguide Susan was amazing! She knew so much history about the lighthouse and the surrounding…read morearea. It's fun to learn and to hear the stories. They do an evening paranormal tour as well as daytime tours. The views of Lake Superior are amazing. Great time for history nerds and ghost hunters!

Local public libraries have been a lifesaver for me during the high summer weather. Yes, even in UP…read moreMichigan it gets hot. If it's sunny and over 80, it's too hot to work from the van so I've been spending time in public libraries like this one. This library is free, it's comfortable and it's clean. They have a free wifi that works very well and it's quiet enough that I can sneak in an occasional Zoom meeting without disturbing anyone. Free parking, too! You do not need to be a local resident to use the library, you only need to be a local resident if you're borrowing materials. [Review 17915 overall - 322 in Michigan - 1436 of 2022.]

Beautiful library!! Love that the original building still looks classic, while there are obvious…read moreupdates inside (computers, etc.). LOVED the Michigan Reference section upstairs, and thought it was cool that they still use some really old tables and chairs in the nonfiction section! We thought that the bell collection is cool. Beautifully maintained inside; clean restrooms; quiet place to read with great views of Lake Superior upstairs. Reasons I only gave this a 4 star is that not a single staff member greeted us or asked if we needed help. I get that this is a touristy area and they're probably used to people just wandering through, or using the bathrooms, but I always appreciate being welcomed. I myself am a librarian and understand the value of welcoming the community in!