Saw Some Stuff

In August 2019, we went on a family trip to Pictured Rocks in Michigan for 4 days.

This trip will now be our third time visiting Pictured Rocks. The first two times we went with friends and we did a more rustic camping trip sleeping in tents. This time, we went with Jaclyn’s family and stayed in a hotel. A little different way to see Munising and Pictured Rocks, but great for groups that aren’t campers. We also saw some new sites on this trip that we hadn’t seen before. There’s a lot to see in Pictured Rocks.

During our trip in Munising, we stayed at the Holiday Inn hotel. It was probably the nicest hotel in Munising, as there aren’t too many options. On this trip we started at Tahquamenon Falls. We saw both the upper and lower falls at Tahquamenon in under a couple hours. Both are shorter walks/hikes and one of them involves some steep stairs, but both are fairly easy to get to.

Then we drove to Munising, about 1.5 hours away, and checked into the Holiday Inn hotel. We had a really great view of Lake Superior and Pictured Rocks in the distance from our hotel balcony. We arrived a little later to Munising than we expected, so we skipped the first two little waterfall hikes we had planned (Munising Falls and Wagner Falls) and went to dinner at Tracey’s at Roams Inn in Au Train. After dinner, we went straight to Au Train Beach, which was pretty close to the restaurant. Au Train Beach is right off the road. There’s a parking lot right there and just a short walk to the beach. We bought a bundle of firewood from a gas station nearby and made a quick little bonfire on the beach (also brought some lighter fluid, camping chairs, wine, and s’more stuff.) We made some s’mores over the fire for dessert & wine while enjoying the beautiful sunset over Lake Superior. 🙂

Day 2

The next day we went to Miner’s Falls, which is a shorter day hike within Pictured Rocks. It was about a 25 min drive from Munising and an easy 1.2 mile hike round trip to the falls. There are some stairs that go down to a little outlook to view the falls. You can either enjoy the view from the outlook or take a steep rocky off trail path down to the rocks at the bottom of the falls. Ian and I quickly hiked down to the bottom of the falls, while my family stayed on the outlook. It would be best to have proper hiking shoes on to get to the bottom, otherwise it could be slippery. Overall, this is a very easy nice hike & site to see.

After walking back to the Miner’s Falls parking lot, we changed into our bathing suits and headed to Miner’s Beach. The drive was pretty short, about 5 min. We were able to park in the Miner’s Beach parking lot and the beach was a fairly short walk through a trail from the parking lot. Most of the Pictured Rocks trails & beaches only have a couple outhouse at the beginning of the trail in the parking lot.

We stayed on Miner’s beach for a couple hours along Lake Superior soaking up the sun and dipping our feet in the water. At certain months in the summer there are bad flies near the water, specifically June & July, but it seemed to be fine in August. There are some rocks on the side on Miner’s Beach that you can explore a little and some people were jumping off some shorter rocks into the water. A couple year’s ago, Ian and I did a kayak tour at Miner’s beach, but we didn’t this time. The kayak tour was awesome and you could kayak around the outside of Pictured Rocks (more info on the kayaking experience in my other Pictured Rocks post).

After Miner’s beach, we stopped at Pictured Rocks Pizza in downtown Munising on our way back to the hotel. We got some personal pizza’s to go and ate dinner on the public patio at the hotel which had a beautiful view of Lake Superior and Pictured Rocks in the distance. The pizza’s were delicious and they had gluten free crust options.

We went back to our hotel to shower and change for a sunset cruise boat ride around Pictured Rocks. The boat tour was through Pictured Rocks Cruises. This was the first time I did a boat tour at Pictured Rocks and it was a great activity to do with family or for a group that aren’t big campers/hikers. The sunset cruise was beautiful because as the sun is setting the golden color in the sky changes the colors on the rocks. Also, the sunset heading back to the shore is beautiful. The weather was perfect the night we went with not a cloud in the sky and a comfortable temperature at night. The cruise took a total of 2 hours. It was cool to see the rocks from an outside perspective of Pictured Rocks. It was also helpful to hear some info and back stories about Pictured Rocks from the tour guide. The boat is pretty slow though and I think I took a little snooze on the the ride back to the docks.

After the sunset cruise, we got some ice cream in Munising at Miners Pasties and Ice Cream. The owners were super nice and the ice cream was delicious.

Day 3

On day three of our trip, we did our longest day hike through Pictured Rocks. We decided to do the Chapel Loop trail, which was about a 10 mile hike round trip. There are some shorter options for this trail, but the total 10 mile trail I think is the best way to get the most out of pictured rocks through a single day hike. We woke up at 6am this day to arrive to the trail early to beat the crowds. Chapel Loop trail is about a 30 min drive from Munising. There were outhouses in the parking lot at the beginning of the trail, but other than that we had to bring toilet paper and pee on the trial/in the woods. Luckily the trail was pretty empty. They also have a couple of weird toilets in the woods, but they looked kind of scary so we avoided them for the most part. The hike around Chapel Loop in Pictured Rocks has breathtaking scenery and it’s hard to believe you’re in Michigan. The pictures don’t do it justice. Definitely a hike I think all Michiganders should experience and makes you appreciate Michigan more.

Chapel trail is probably a medium difficulty hike. Both my parent’s are in their late 50’s and if this trail was any harder or longer I’m not sure we would have made it around with my parents. Some of the trail is flat and an easy walk, but other parts of the trail have a lot of rocky steps with roots sticking out and steeper/uphill areas. A lot of the time you’re looking down to watch where you’re stepping so you don’t trip. It’s helpful to be in decent shape for the steeper parts, otherwise the uphill parts with steep stairs can be a little strenuous. The trail can also be a little muddy & slippery in some spots, so it’s best to have proper hiking shoes or shoes with good traction. My sister was also 5 months pregnant at the time, but she’s a runner so she had no problem at all. We made it around the whole 10 miles in about 8 hours. We were all pretty exhausted by the end. We also took a lot of rest stops during the hike and sat for a while to eat lunch with an amazing view. Chapel Beach is also about half way through the trail, so we sat here for a little bit too. Last time I hiked this trail, my friends and I went down to the beach and swam for a little in Lake Superior, which felt amazing.

We went in August, so the weather was on the warmer side. We went on the perfect day though, because it was a little cloudy, which helped us from overheating. It was good to dress in layers though because some parts in the middle of the woods covered in trees in the morning were colder, so I wore a light flannel jacket. The middle of the trail it got pretty hot so I just wore a tank top. Then near the end of the trail it started to lightly rain, so I wore a hat and a light rain jacket. I also wore long leggings the whole time, which was good for the bugs. It was good to have some bug spray on us too, because in some parts of the trail we were getting swarmed by some flies. We all brought Camelbak backpacks for water. Because it wasn’t too hot that day, we didn’t drink nearly as much water as we thought we would.

After we got back to our car, we were all starving and went straight to Foggy’s Steakhouse in Munising. It’s a little dive bar with a pretty big menu, but it was actually pretty good! We all felt a little dirty and sweaty from the trail, so it was a good casual place to go to. Although most restaurants in Munising are very laid back and casual. After dinner we went back to our hotel and went straight to the hotel hot tubs and brought some more drinks. This was much needed after such a long day!

One thing about Munising, is the cell service is terrible. So I’d recommend having back up printed directions on how to get to the Pictured Rocks locations you plan on visiting and back to your hotel incase you have no service for GPS. Also, it’s probably good to bring a map of the Pictured Rocks trail you’re doing as well, because you definitely won’t have service while hiking around Pictured Rocks. Most likely you don’t need a map while hiking because the trail is marked and well paved, but it doesn’t hurt to have it to see where you’re at and how much longer you have to go. There were probably only a couple higher spots hiking on the trail where we had a single bar of cell service. Otherwise, you’re pretty much off the grid, which is definitely a nice change, but also not good if you’re lost.

Day 4

On our last day of the trip, it was my Mom’s birthday. For this day we planned to go to Marquette, about an hour drive from Munising. First we stopped at Presque Isle Park in Marquette, which you could drive around the park loop and pull over and get out in certain spots. This area is beautiful and nice to be able to drive around it.

We then drove to downtown Marquette, which is a fairly small city, and we walked around the little shops for a couple hours. We pretty much hit up all the shops in that time since it’s not very big. Marquette is off the water and a really cute little town. It’s also a college town, so has a little better of a “downtown” area than Munising. All the shop owners in the U.P. were very friendly and nice. We took a recommendation on where to eat dinner from a shop owner in Marquette and it was great! We first went to The Vierling and got some clam chowder soup and blueberry wheat beer as an appetizer. We asked to sit by the window in the Vierling to have a nice view of Lake Superior. Then we went to The Delft Bistro for our main course, which had some movies playing on a large screen and some live music. This place was cool and had a great menu! My parents got the ribs and said they were delicious. I got the falafel salad, which was also very good. The owners were super nice and helpful!

Our Pictured Rocks Trip Plan
This was the plan I had made prior to our trip. It includes some links to check out the sites, restaurant options in Munising & Marquette, breweries in Marquette, Pictured Rocks day hikes, and packing list suggestions.

Day 1

• Tahquamenon Falls (Upper & lower falls – both waterfalls are quick walks with steep stairs, spend a couple hours to see both falls)
• Drive to Munising (1.5 hr drive from Tahquamenon Falls)
• Check into Munising Holiday Inn Hotel
• Munising falls (easy quick walk to falls, but steep stairs)
• Wagner falls scenic site (short quick 5 min walk to falls)
• Dinner at Tracey’s at Roam Inn in Au Train
• Au Train Beach (Have bonfire on beach during sunset over Lake Superior)

Day 2

• Miners Falls (shorter hike within Pictured Rocks) 23 min drive from Munising, easy 1.2 mile round trip hike, can take stairs down to falls)
• Check out Miners castle overlook nearby (short walk from minor castle parking lot)
• Miners Beach – can either drive to Miners Beach parking lot for a short walk to beach or start at Miners Castle Rock parking lot and do a really pretty 1 mile one-way hike through Miners Castle Rock trail to the beach
• Sunset Cruise around Pictured Rocks (2 hr boat tour at 100 City Park Munising (they advise arriving 30-45 min early to get a good seat)

 

Day 3

• Hike Chapel Loop Pictured Rocks trail (30 min drive to chapel loop parking lot from Munising, Chapel Loop trail: 10 mile hike round trip, probably take 5-8 hours depending how many times we stop & how long we stay at Chapel Beach halfway through, bring toilet paper, food, water, hats, sunglasses, portable phone charger, sunscreen, bug spray, snacks, Tylenol, band-aids, maybe towels if room?, bathing suits for Chapel Beach?, wear shoes with good traction)
• Dinner at Foggy’s Steakhouse in Munising

 

Day 4

• Drive to Marquette (about an hour drive from Munsing)
• Sugarloaf Mountain in Marquette (great view, short hike to top, takes about 15 min one way on “difficult” steeper route or can take “easy” less steep route that takes a little bit longer, lots of stairs and rocky path)
• Presque Isle Park in Marquette can drive around park loop and make stops, walk around (check out Presque Isle Point & Black Rocks)
• Get food in Marquette downtown (walk/shop around Marquette, hit up BlackRock Brewery or other breweries)
  • Restaurants in Marquette:
    • The Vierling 
    • Delft Bistro 

 

Pictured Rocks Trails/beaches:

https://www.nps.gov/piro/planyourvisit/upload/Day-Hikes-2017.pdf

• Chapel Loop trail (10 miles. Probably the best day hike to see everything)
• Chapel Beach (beach halfway through Chapel Loop Trail)
• Miners Fall (easy 1.2 round trip hike)
• Miners Beach (can get there from Miners Beach parking lot)
• Miners Castle Rock Trail (optional 1 mile one-way hike to Miners Beach)

 

U.P. Michigan breweries in Marquette:

https://www.michigan.org/article/trip-idea/ultimate-list-upper-peninsula-breweries

• BlackRock Brewery
• Barrel and Beam
• Ore Docks
• The Vierling

 

Restaurants: (click links for menus)

• Foggy’s Steakhouse in Christmas (pick out & grill your own steak – 5 min from hotel)
• The Brownstone Inn (nice restaurant in Au Train)
• Tahquamenon Falls Brewery
• Tracey’s at Roam Inn in Munising (outdoor seating, open tues-sat 5-9pm)
• Dogpatch in Munising
• Falling Rock Cafe in Munising

Marquette:

• The Vierling in Marquette
• Delft Bistro in Marquette
• Iron Bay Restaurant & Drinkery in Marquette
• Casa Calabria in Marquette (Italian)

 

Packing List:

• Hiking/walking clothes for 3 days
• Outfit for sunset cruise (dress warmer probably)
• Outfit for Marquette on Saturday
• Bathing suit
• Sweatshirt/jacket
• Rain jacket 
• Shorts
• Long pants/leggings
• Tees/tanks
• Sandals
• Tennis shoes
• Comfortable walking/hiking shoes with good traction
• Toiletries
• Sleep wear
• Undergarment
• Socks (good socks for hiking)
• Backpack/Camelbak/water bottle
• Hat
• Sunglasses
• Goggles for swimming
• Camera/lens/GoPro
• Phone chargers 
• Portable phone charger 
• Sunscreen
• Bug spray
• Flash light/head lamp
• Outdoor folding chairs
• Beach Towel
• Blanket
• Umbrella 
• Bandaids 
• Tylenol
• Fire starter/lighter fluid/lighter
• Firewood 
• Cards/games
• Cooler
• Print out/download directions to each stop in case no cell service