Escanaba - Michigan's Upper Peninsula

<html> <head> <title>Escanaba - Michigan's Upper Peninsula</title> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <META Pragma: No-Cache> <META name="Pragma" No-Cache> <META Cache-control: No-Cache> <META HTTP-EQUIV="expires" CONTENT="Wed, 26 Feb 1997 08:21:57 GMT"> <META name="description" content="Began as iron & lumber port during the Civil War. Deep-water harbor still ships iron ore today. Good restaurants park. Great walleye ?shing. "> <base href="http://hunts-upguide.com/"> <link href="/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <center> <table width="100%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0> <tr> <td width="18%" colspan=2 height=82 bgcolor="#306799" valign="top"> <table width="100%" cellpadding=22 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td align="left"> <b><font size="-2" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <font color="#FEE384">We welcome<br> your comments<br> experiences &<br> corrections.<br></font> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=10 height=8 alt="---"><br> <a class="whitelinkunderlined" target="_top" href="http://hunts-upguide.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/dehunt/feedback.pl">E-mail us</a> </font> </b> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="63%" height=82 bgcolor="#306799" align="center" valign="top"> <table cellpadding=22 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td align="center"> <img src="/images/online_words.gif" width=386 height=13 alt="The online version of the popular regional travel book""><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=500 height=2 alt="---"><br> <nobr><font color="#FFFFFF" size="+2" face="Georgia,Times New Roman,Times"><b>Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA</b></font></nobr><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=500 height=7 alt="---"><br> <img src="/images/candid_words.gif" width=391 height=13 alt="A candid guide to enjoying and understanding the U.P."> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td valign=top width="1%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5" rowspan=3>  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=9 height=25 alt="|"></td> <td width="18%" rowspan=3 valign="top"> <a target="_top" href="/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/dehunt/click.pl?nextfile=http://hunts-upguide.com/up_travel_map.html"><img src="/ads/Small_map_ad_ver_6.gif" border=0 ALT="UP Travel Map ad" width=160 height=418></a> <p>  <a target="_top" href="http://www.wunderground.com/US/MI/Escanaba.html?bannertypeclick=bigtemptr"> <img src="http://banners.wunderground.com/weathersticker/bigtemptr_both/language/www/US/MI/Escanaba.gif" border=0 alt="Click for Escanaba, Michigan Forecast" height=94 width=185></a> <br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=20 height=3 alt="---"><br>  <center> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=5 width="100%" height=9> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=790 height=9 alt="---"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="17%">  <table width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td width="100%" valign="top">  <table width="100%" cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0 border=0 bgcolor="#306799"> <tr> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#306799"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b> <a class="sidebar" href="/" target="_top">Home</a><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="85" height="5"><br> <a class="sidebar" href="escanaba__menominee___the_green_bay_shore.html" target="_top">Back to Escanaba, Menominee & the Green Bay Shore</a> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="85" height="20"><br> </b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100%"> <table width="100%" border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=10 bgcolor="#FFE09B"> <tr> <td align="left"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=100 height=10 alt="-"><br> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"> <center><font color="#C82F2C"><b>ESCANABA<br>POINTS<BR>OF INTEREST</b></font><br> </center> <font color="#263692" size="-2"> <p> <a name="e209"><b>Downtown Escanaba along Ludington Street.</b></a> This 15-block main street sports a colorful sprinkling of neon signs, taverns, shops, ending in a delightful park and historic lighthouse ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/escanaba_downtown_escanaba_along_ludington_street.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e210"><b>Ludington Park.</b></a> Five miles of pathways in this striking park on Lake Michigan's Little Bay de Noc connect natural areas, a marina, an island with 3,500-foot sandy beach ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/escanaba_ludington_park.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e212"><b>Delta County Historical Museum.</b></a> This four-room museum covers local maritime, timber, and railroad history, plus early life in Delta County. ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/escanaba_delta_county_historical_museum.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e245"><b>Portage Marsh Wildlife Area.</b></a> Here's a great place to spot all kinds of birds at the mouth of Portage Creek, where a 2-mile spit creates a protected bay and coastal wetland ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/escanaba_portage_marsh_wildlife_area.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e211"><b>Sand Point Lighthouse.</b></a> Built in 1867, the lighthouse has been dramatically restored to its original appearance, with furnished keeper's quarters circa 1900. Climb the tower for a nifty view! ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/escanaba_sand_point_lighthouse.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e213"><b>First Avenue South's historic architecture & visual finds.</b></a> The striking turn-of-the-century churches, public buildings, and homes evoke Escanaba's glory days ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/escanaba_first_avenue_south_s_historic_architecture___visual_finds.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e214"><b>Noc Bay Trading Company.</b></a> Here's an unusual shop that sells the authentic regalia materials, from bone beads to feathers, used by participants in Native American powwows ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/escanaba_noc_bay_trading_company.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <p>   </font> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td>   </td> </tr>  <tr> <td align="center"> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> <td valign=top width="1%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="9" height=500 alt="|"> </td> <td valign=top width="63%">  <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0> <tr> <td valign=top align=center bgcolor="#018650" colspan=2> <center> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="30" height=8 alt="-"><br> <b><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"><a class="whitelink" href="escanaba__menominee___the_green_bay_shore.html" target="_top">Region: Escanaba, Menominee & the Green Bay Shore</a></font></b><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="100%" height=3 alt="-"><br> <h1>ESCANABA</h1> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="30" height=8 alt="-"></center></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="63%">  <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=8 border=0> <tr> <td align="left">  <font face="Georgia"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=6 alt="-"><br> <table align="right" cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=181> <tr> <td> <a href="escanaba_map.html" target="_top"><img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/114.gif" width=181 height=250 alt="Escanaba minimap" border=0></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <a href="escanaba_map.html" target="_top"><b>Click to enlage</b></a> </font> </td> </tr> </table> Sprawling Escanaba (population 12,800) not only has a large central city but one of the Upper Peninsula's best-balanced economies. The metro area (over 20,000 including neighboring <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/gladstone.html" target="_top">Gladstone</a> and <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/rapid_river.html" target="_top">Rapid River</a>) has retailing, some tourism, shipping, and, in the vicinity, fishing and farming. It not only has nationally important manufacturers of paper and diesel engine pumps but a company that makes and sells gourmet frozen custard machines internationally. <br><br>Citizens also enjoy a homegrown cultural life centered on the Bonifas Arts Center, local galleries, and the 8th Street Coffee House (see <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/escanaba_downtown_escanaba_along_ludington_street.html" target="_top">Downtown Escanaba along Ludington Street</a>). For the U.P., Escanaba is quite an urbane place, not the super-folksy kind of small town depicted in movie star Jeff Daniels' comic play and film, <i>Escanaba in da Moonlight</i>. Apparently Daniel couldn't resist the rhythmic possibilities of pairing Escanaba's name with the Finnish-American "da," though in truth Swedish, Norwegian, French, and German ancestry is far more common in this area than Finnish. <br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=399> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/302.gif" width=399 height=241 alt="Ludington Park fishing" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b><a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/escanaba_ludington_park.html" target="_top">Ludington Park</a> offers convenient family fishing right in town.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> The place name <b>"Escanaba"</b> is a distortion of the Ojibwa term <b>"land of the red buck." </b> It refers to a famous hunting ground north of Escanaba that was crossed by a heavily traveled deer trail. The region attracted Indians from hundreds of miles away because of its abundance of deer. Many paddled up the Escanaba River to reach it. The area remains a prime place for deer hunting in the Upper Peninsula. <br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=500> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"><b>...continued below...</b></font> <br clear="all"> <hr> <center> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> <hr> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/303.gif" width=500 height=181 alt="Escanaba boats" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>By the bike path and coal docks on First Avenue North, boatwatchers can see plenty of rusting hulks like this Chjicago fire boat and a freighter.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> A visitor's first impression driving into town is of the <b>unappealing ten miles of commercial sprawl</b> that extends along U.S. 2/U.S. 41 and the Little Bay de Noc between Escanaba and Rapid River. But there is surprisingly <b>varied beauty close at hand</b>. The lakeshore just south of downtown and along the east shore of Little Bay de Noc has pleasant places to stroll. Along the little-developed stretch of M-35 south to Menominee one sees frequent <b>striking glimpses of Green Bay</b> and, in the distance, islands and Wisconsin's Door Peninsula. Soon over 100 sights of unusual scenic and historic interest between Gladstone and Menominee will be marked with special signage as the <b>Hidden Coast Recreational Heritage Trail</b>. (It's not a bike trail.) <br><br>The area also has many rivers and thousands of acres of state and national forest land. For boaters, fishermen, canoeists, hunters, and artists, the Escanaba area is an attractive, low-cost place to live. It shows up on national surveys of most affordable cities. <br><br>Escanaba owes its relative prosperity to its climate, atypically mild for the Upper Peninsula, and its excellent shipping location. The city began as an <b>iron and lumber port</b> during the Civil War. Union armsmakers, railroads, and shipbuilders needed speedy delivery of iron from the Marquette Range. In 1864 a railroad was built from Negaunee's iron mines to Escanaba, whose natural deep-water harbor made an excellent port. Most of the Little Bay de Noc is 50 to 70 feet deep. In the 1860s the Nelson Ludington Lumber Company of Marinette, Wisconsin, started to cut timber in the area. It platted the town, providing for its wide streets. In an act of unusual foresight, the company gave a mile of prime lakeshore for the new town's beautiful <b><a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/escanaba_ludington_park.html" target="_top">Ludington Park</a></b>. <br><br>By the 1870s the park and the <B>House of Ludington hotel</B> (see Escanaba Lodgings at right) were destinations for tourists who arrived on steamships. In that decade the port got an extra boost when the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad connected Escanaba to the newly opened iron mines of the Menominee Range in Norway, Iron Mountain, and Iron River. <br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=420> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/340.gif" width=420 height=315 alt="Columbia" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right"> <font face="Gill Sans Light,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-3"> <A target="_top" href="http://dlund.20m.com/favorite_links.html">Dick Lund</A> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>The 1000-foot-long Columbia Star loads 64,000 tons of taconite pellets at Escanaba on Oct. 16, 2001.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> Being in the U.P.'s "banana belt" helped shipping and farming, too. Shielded from <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a> blizzards, the area gets an average annual snowfall of just 50 inches, a fourth of what's usual in many northern <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a> locales. In 1910, <i>Clover-Land</i> magazine's enthusiasm for promoting Upper Peninsula agricultural possibilities helped create the county fair that later became the <b>Upper Peninsula State Fair</b>. It attracts over 100,000 visitors a year each August. Michigan's peculiar geography, a result of the Toledo War - see "Distinctively U.P." on the left side of our web site - means it's the only state to have <b>two state fairs</b>. <br><br>Enormous quantities of iron ore continues to be shipped from Escanaba's harbor. The mile-long, 300-foot high stockpile of iron <b>taconite pellets</b> is a city landmark on the shoreline. It lies just south of the quarter-mile-long <b>ore docks</b> jutting out into the bay north of downtown. These concentrated iron and clay pellets, created to transport iron ore more efficiently, are round and marble-sized. Not surprisingly, Escanaba's youth, having found them perfect ammunition for their slingshots, make regular trips to the mountainous heap to resupply their arsenals. <br><br>At one time most of the world's <b>bird's-eye maple</b>, harvested in forests up to 200 miles away, was shipped from the harbor docks, located just north of downtown. Today <b>iron shipments dominate shipping activity</b> here. Once Escanaba's port was second in importance to Marquette's, but their shipments are now equal, some 6 million tons a year. Iron ore from the Tilden and Empire mines near Ishpeming is moved by rail to Escanaba, bound for northern Indiana steel mills. Escanaba's big ore-shipping facility is more modern than Marquette's. It uses huge 2,200-foot-long, high-speed conveyors to load taconite rather than dropping the pellets noisily into ships' holds from ore dock pockets, as it's done in Marquette. <br><br>The huge <b>Mead</b> paper mill just north of Escanaba, purchased in 2005 by a holding company, makes coated paper for textbooks (some 60% of its business) and magazines. It draws logging trucks from throughout the Upper Peninsula. Mead dwarfs all other companies in the region. Currently 30% of its wood comes from Mead-owned land, 15% to 20% from public land, and the rest from privately owned land. The mill has over 1,300 workers. <br><br>The area's relatively low wages help several sizable machine shops who do contract work for national firms such as Caterpillar and Cummins. The hottest company in town these days is <b>Engineered Machine Products</b>, west of town on 28th Street. In just a few years it has become the country's top manufacturer of <b>diesel engine cooling pumps</b>, generating over $280 million in annual revenues, a 65% market share. Its impressive R&D site is steadily expanding the range of products EMP makes. <br><br>Escanaba has managed to escape the boom-and-bust economy of many other Upper Peninsula towns. Unlike most U.P. communities based on timber and mining, it's bigger now than it was in 1900, when it had 9,000 residents. <p align="right"><a href="escanaba__menominee___the_green_bay_shore.html" target="_top">Back to Escanaba, Menominee & the Green Bay Shore</a></p> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="37%" valign="top"> <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=8 border=0> <tr> <td height="4" width="37%">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=1 alt="-"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center" bgcolor="#C7302D" width="37%">  <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" color="#FFFFFF"> <b> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> <font size="-1"> ESCANABA<br> RESTAURANTS,<br> LODGINGS<br> & CAMPGROUNDS </font> <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=6 alt="-"><br> <font size="-2">These are our choices, not ads.</font><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> </b> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign=top bgcolor="#FFE09B" width="37%">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>ESCANABA<br>RESTAURANTS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> Escanaba is blessed with some of the U.P.'s best restaurants. Unfortunately, Crispigna's has closed. Here are some favorites:<br><br>• Delona's has terrific breakfasts, famous pies, and tasty daily specials<br>• Hereford & Hops is a popular brew pub/grill-your-own-steak restaurant in an old downtown hotel<br>• House of Ludington, an historic hotel, has an elegant dining room overlooking the bay<br>• Pacino's has the town's best chef who cooks everything from rack of lamb to Italian dishes<br>• Stonehouse Restaurant is another place with good food, including broiled whitefish and perch, prime rib and veal<br>• Swedish Pantry packs them in downtown with dishes like its chicken cordon bleu on homemade focaccia <p> For full write-ups of our recommended restaurants, click <a href="escanaba_restaurants.html">here</a>. </font> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#CDCCAD" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>ESCANABA<br>LODGINGS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> Many Escanaba motels, including the big <b>Days Inn</b> and <b>Super 8</b>, are in the heavily developed stretch of U.S. 2/41 just north of the M-35 intersection and Delta Plaza. Because this location offers no scenic or outdoor amenities and forces guests to depend on cars to get anywhere, we prefer the older motels that occupy prime locations near the bay. The <b>Best Western Pioneer Inn</b> on West Ludington/U.S. 2 (another piece of strip commercial development with no scenery) is a good choice for those who want to dine well, drink, and sleep in the same location because it's also home to the Pacino's restaurant, with the best chef and wine list in town. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> <a name="e222"><b>HOUSE OF LUDINGTON</b></a><br> (906) 786-6300 <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> The 25 guest rooms at this late 19th century landmark have been decorated to feature themes (garden golf, country Victorian). All have private baths, cable TV, air-conditioning, and phones. Four room types: one double bed on the water or off the water ($65), two double beds ($75), two bedrooms and a connecting bath ($85). Two dining rooms and an Irish pub are on the premises. The location is ideal: <b><a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/escanaba_ludington_park.html" target="_top">Ludington Park</a></b>, the bay, lighthouse, playground, and related attractions in one direction, and <b>downtown Escanaba shops</b> in the other. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>223 Ludington. Handicap accessible. Families: rates by the room No pets.</i> <p> </font> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#B6DBA4" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>ESCANABA<br>CAMPGROUNDS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> <a name="e224"><b>PIONEER TRAIL PARK</b></a><br> (906) 786-1020; reservations accepted, 10 days ahead if possible <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> This 74-acre park is on the Escanaba River's north side near its mouth st Little Bay de Noc. There's shore fishing, a small boat launch, a picnic area and playground. The large, modern 75-site campground is attractive and well run, used mainly by overnighters and anglers. (Some will find road noise a disadvantage.) Camping fees are around $17.50 to $20 for the 58 RV sites with electric hookups (30 and 20 amps), and for 36 RV sites with water hook-ups as well. 17 tent sites are around $13/night. Extras include optional cable TV hookup ($3/night). A trail follows an Ojibwa path, passing a cemetery of early European settlers. In 1844 (early for the area) a mill was built where the paper mill dam is today. Nelson Ludington and then Isaac Stephenson of MENOMINEE purchased this land. Stephenson's mill was one of the world's largest, according to the Delta County Parks Department. It's striking to see the nighttime view of steam from the stacks of NewPage (formerly Mead) just up the river.<br> There are usually a few last-minute spots in summer. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>On U.S. 2/41 between Escanaba and Gladstone just north of the Escanaba River. Handicap access: ADA accessible bathhouse, one campsite. Dogs on 6-foot leash.</i> <p> </font> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=5 align="center">  <br> <center> <font size="+1" color="#454545" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica">Copyright © 1997-2007 Midwestern Guides</font> </center> </td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>