143 - Helpful Area Information

For questions or to have local info mailed, including a helpful Marquette County Visitors' Guide with complete lodgings listings, attractions, events, and more, call Marquette Country Convention & Visitors' Bureau, (800) 544-4321 or visit www.marquettecountry.org . . . . The county-wide chamber of commerce/economic development group, Lake Superior Community Partnership (888-578-6489) has a website, www.marquette.org . A knowledgeable office staff may be able to field questions that tourism people can't. It's at Marquette Park downtown & in Ishpeming at the Ski Hall of Fame. . . . The helpful website of the City of Marquette, including parks and camping info, is www.mqtcty.org. . . . The best place to pick up printed info about the area and the entire U.P. is the beautiful Michigan Welcome Center on U.S. 41/M-28 between Harvey and Marquette just east of town. It's open daily from 9 to 5, to 6 in summer. Call (906) 249-9066. . . . For local perspective, visit Marquette Monthly magazine's website, www.mmnow.com or look for a copy when you're in the area. . . .A number of Big Bay businesses are on the web at www.bigbayonline.com bay/hmo/home.html . . . . Gwinn has its own chamber of commerce, (906) 346-9666; www.gwinnmi.com

PUBLIC LAND: The Escanaba River State Forest is the managing agency for most of the public land in Marquette County, including the Little Presque Isle area, the Yellow Dog Plains, some land east of Van Riper State Park, and the Escanaba River watershed around Gwinn. Some prime trout fishing waters are on this state land and in the Van Riper and Craig Lake state parks. The main DNR and state forest office is in Gwinn at 410 West M-35 (906-346-9201), with field offices in Ishpeming at 1985 U.S. 41 West just west of Westwood High (906-485-1031) and in Marquette (906-249-1497). Offices are open weekdays from 8 to 4:30. . . . The 17,000-acre McCormick Wilderness is part of the Ottawa National Forest, managed by its Kenton office (906-852-3500).

GUIDES, TOURS and RENTALS: Fishing in the Marquette area is famous. One guide is Brad Petzke ( www.riversnorth.net ) . . . . Licensed charter boats can take anglers to Stannard Rock, famed for lake trout catches, and other places on Lake Superior. Kimar's Resort (906-892-8277) in Shelter Bay has half- and full-day Lake Superior charters. Uncle Ducky Charters in Marquette (906-228-5447; 906-228-307-; www.uncleducky.com ) offers deep-sea trolling, Stannard Rock trips, and inland fishing trips, plus lighthouse cruises to the distant Huron Islands. For a fuller current list of area charters on rivers, inland lakes, and Lake Superior, contact Marquette Country CVB (800) 544-4321 or www.marquettecountry.org . . . . In season from May into October, Big Bay Outfitters (906-345-9399) offers a daily tour of Big Bay waterfalls and mountaintops from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., including lunch and pickup, for $35 a person ages 12 and up. Reserve ahead if possible. Other tours by reservation, also $35, include an eco-tour of the proposed Kennecott nickel mine site and a Big Bay historical tour from Lake Independence to Bay Cliff Health Camp. Rentals include fishing boats and motors ($90/day including gas), kayaks ($30/day for singles and doubles), canoes, some camping and backpacking equipment, and in winter ice fishing gear, snowshoes, and cross-country skis. (NOTE: Jeff Ten Eyck, Big Bay's colorful guide for many years, now makes his year-round base in South Carolina, his wife's home state.) . . . . Martha Bush and Ken Baker, proprietors of the Little Tree Cabins in Big Bay, and their children have a Family Guide Service (906-345-9535) to waterfalls and scenic spots in the Big Bay area. For a very modest fee they will consult at home over the kitchen table, mark up maps they give you, share tips, give directions, even take people out to area waterfalls, streams, and hiking and mountain biking trails - which are, alas, not easy to find on your own. On trips, Martha can tote a toddler in a backpack carrier. Skis or snowshoes can be rented for 2-3 day trips. . . . History buff Fred Huffman's Marquette County Tours (906-226-6167) rents some equipment and gives tours (on foot, by van or snowmobile, or on snowshoes or cross-country skis) of everything in the area, from mining and geology to Big Bay waterfalls and mountaintops, and all over the U.P. . . . Kayak specialist Northern Waters in Munising (906-387-2323; www.northernwaters.com ) gives guided tours and instruction mainly in the Pictured Rocks area but also around Marquette. It rents kayaks to qualified people. . . . Cross-country skis and snowshoes can be rented from Wilderness Sports in downtown Ishpeming. It's also a good source of local fishing advice. . . . . Camping gear, canoes, kayaks, cross-country skis, and snowshoes can be rented from NMU's Outdoor Recreation Center from office 126A of PEIF (the Phys. Ed. Building next to the Superior Dome). Call (906) 227-2519. Limited hours. . . . Maple Lane Sports in Ishpeming's Country Village on U.S. 41 rents mountain bikes and snowmobiles. (906) 485-1636. . . . Mountain bikes, canoes, pontoon boats, and fishing boats are rented at Michigamme Shores Campground Resort off U.S. 41. (906) 339-2116.

HARBORS with transient dockage: In Big Bay (906-345-9353; lat. 46' 49' 45" N, long. 87' 43' 27" W, long. 87' 43' 27" W) with showers. In Marquette/Presque Isle (906 228-0464; winter 228-0460; lat. 46' 34' 20" N, long. 87' 22' 25" W) with showers. In Marquette/Lower Harbor (906-228-0469, winter 228-0460; lat. 46' 31' 56" N, long. 87' 22' 26" W) with showers.

EVENTS: Visit www.marquettecountry.org for details, dates, and a more complete events calendar. Theater, music, and other arts-related events, including popular Lake Superior Theater summer productions based on regional history and music, are listed on the web at www.mqtcty.org Advance reservations are a must for the musicals, held in a converted boathouse. Marquette Monthly magazine has a good calendar, but you have to sift through the illness support groups and local clubs to find interesting events. It's online at www.mmnow.com. . . July 4 is celebrated with fireworks at Marquette's Lower Harbor (which has an International Food Fest over the weekend), in Ishpeming, Big Bay, Michigamme, Gwinn, and Republic. . . . The third weekend in July brings both the three-day Hiawatha Music Festival (see box). July's last weekend, Art on the Rocks, a two-day juried art show in Presque Isle Park, has some very high-caliber work from the area's professional art community. The site has to be one of the most spectacular art show settings anywhere. The unjuried Outback Art Fair is nearby at Picnic Rocks Park on Lakeshore Drive toward the lighthouse. . . Marquette County hosts three nationally known winter events. The 53k Noquemanon Ski Marathon starts in Ishpeming at 1,400 feet, goes up along ridges, then descends quickly to Lake Superior. The Superiorland Ski Club sponsors it; visit www.noquemanon.com . Non-marathon events include a snow-worthy outdoor art exhibit for the Glacier Glide on Saturday in Presque Isle Park. . . . Ski jumpers from around the world come to the Continental Cup Ski Jumping Tournament in Ishpeming, sponsored by the Ishpeming Ski Club. . . . The U.P. 200 Sled Dog Championship in mid February, perhaps the nation's leading mid-range sled dog race, is the centerpiece of a festive weekend. It's memorable to see and hear the dogs start off from downtown Marquette at midnight, go off to Chatham, and return to the Lower Harbor. Visit www.up200.org . . .

PICNIC PROVISIONS and PLACES: An excellent produce department and big deli section make for one-stop shopping Super One Foods on U.S. 41 just west of Westwood Mall (same side of road) heading out to Negaunee. Better bread, chewy and crusty, can be had at the Huron Mountain Bread Company (one bakery is on U.S. 41/South Front coming into Marquette; another is near the Ski Hall of Fame on U.S. 41 in Ishpeming). . . . In Marquette, see Restaurant section for these picnic possibilities. Babycakes Muffin Company downtown and Sweet Water Café and the Village Café on Third Street bake desserts, muffins, and more. Babycakes also has salads, breads, filled croissants, and many picnic items. Jean-Kay Pasties, on the way to Presque Isle Park, bakes pasties all day long. Mexican takeout at The Border Grille is outstanding and vegetarian-friendly. The same owner's Baja Bistro in town offers home-cooking: rotisserie chicken and pork, plus sides. The Marquette Food Co-op downtown on Baraga at Front has produce, cheese, and picnic fixings.. . . . . In Negaunee fabulous morning pastries, brownies, cookies, and desserts are turned out at Midtown Bakery & Cafe. See text. . . . Good takeout subs and pizza can be had at Ralph's Italian Deli in Ishpeming and in NEGAUNEE at Paesano's Pizza (after 4 p.m. only), which has a deck at the east end of Teal Lake. Paesano's has Italian dinners, too.

As for picnic spots, Marquette has a whole string of waterfront picnic areas, beginning at the Lower Harbor and scattered along Lakeshore Boulevard all the way through Presque Isle Park. Another waterfront spot is just behind the Michigan Welcome Center on U.S. 41 three miles southeast of town. Marquette Meats 249-2333) , on M-28 in Chocolay Township, just east of where U.S. 41 and M-28 join, has a big reputation for sausage, venison jerky, and meat. . . . Big Bay picnic areas are at Perkins County Park on Lake Independence and at the marina. Trail lunches at Sugarloaf and Little Presque Isle are another possibility. The Corner Store, across from the Lumberjack Tavern, makes good sandwiches in summer and has ice cream cones. (Look for a bear on the porch and a moose on top.) Cram's General Store has good BBQ chicken and better groceries than it used to. . . . On the north side of U.S. 41 in Negaunee a new park has swimming on Teal Lake. . . . In Ishpeming (see text) Al Quaal Park has a picnic area and swimming on Teal Lake. Bancroft Park west of town offers interesting views. . . . East of Michigamme, the picnic area at Van Riper State Park is by the swimming beach. State park sticker ($6&$8/day, $24 & $29/year) required. . . . . An idyllic little Michigan Department of Transportation park and picnic area is along U.S,. 41 along Tioga Creek and a pretty little waterfall - a memorable place for a driving break.

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