Onward to Ironwood! So one of my full day trips toward the end of round one in Marquette was to trek out to Ironwood. I knew I wanted to hit up a few places here during autumn, but I had noooo idea that the color would be completely gone by the time I made it over! It was still quite colorful in Marquette at the time, which was shocking to me! But Ironwood is about a 2.5 hour drive from Marquette on the very western part of the UP bordering Wisconsin. It’s even a different time zone! But this was a great day, I checked off a lot from my sightseeing list, and got a little bit of Ironwood under my belt and will definitely be back to explore more! Such a gorgeous area.

My very first stop into town was to grab a chaider from Contrast Coffee. I go to the one all the time in Marquette, so I was excited to visit their Ironwood location! I love their chaider — which is exactly how it sounds — chai and cider mixed. So good! So I sat there for a few minutes, drinking my bevvy, and sort of mapping out the day. So after that, I explored downtown a little bit. They have a really quaint little downtown area, with some different unique shops. I stopped into the Ben Franklin gift store, which I just loved. So cute. I got a pair of super cozy socks and a scarf. I also checked out the Miners Mural. It’s located right downtown, and the men in the mural represent the thousands of men who worked in the Gogebic Range Mines of Michigan and Wisconsin.

I also had to check out Hiawatha. It was built in 1964 and is made mainly of fiberglass. It’s 52 feet tall and looks north to Lake Superior. Hiawatha was the leader and founder of the Iroquois Confederacy and the statue was designed to symbolize unity and peace within each nation that had joined the confederacy. I remember seeing this in my Weird Michigan book a while back, and knew I had to stop to see it! After that, I grabbed brunch at The Pines Cafe, which was surprisingly just so delicious. Maybe my favorite breakfast my entire time here! I got the Pine Skillet, which was a skillet with hash browns, eggs, green peppers, onions, with a side of bacon, and smothered in homemade Hollandaise sauce. That sauce though. YUM. 🤤 After that, I had to stop to Stormy Kromer, which is home to the is the iconic wool winter cap! I ended up buying a cute plaid jacket from them though that I’ll get a lot of use out of here in the UP!

After that, I headed out for some adventuring! My first stop was to check out Copper Peak, which is the only ski flying hill outside of Europe. It draws in thousands of visitors now to enjoy the views from the top. It’s SUCHHHH a unique (and terrifying) experience, hahaha. I drove to the ticket office to grab a ticket, then you have to hop back in your car, take a secret dirt road back, and then… get out and meet the elevator attendant who will give you a ride to the top. So you’re in this windowless elevator, and then you get out there, and all of a sudden it’s just… an insane view. In peak autumn, this place has to be PURE MAGIC because it was just so crazy up there. I tried to climb a few stairs to the top but it was very windy, very cold, and apparently the top lookout “sways” in the wind… uhhh no thanks. I’d do it next time with a buddy/friend but alone I was SCARED and I didn’t want to die alone, lol. I had to crawl back down the stairs on my butt. 😂 But dang, what a cool experience. I’ll definitely be back.

Next stop… was to Potawatomi and Gorge Waterfalls, which you can access from the same parking lot. This was honestly one of my favorite waterfalls — the Potawatomi Falls (photo just below). It was just so unique and pretty, and I wasn’t really expecting it for some reason. But there is a whole series of falls called the Black River National Scenic By-Way Waterfalls, with five different waterfalls to see along the Black River. These are just two of them. I definitely want to go back and check out the other three falls… Great Conglomerate, Sandstone Falls and Rainbow Falls. So many waterfalls up here, so little time!!!

My final stop of the day was to Little Girls Point. This point extends over a half mile along Lake Superior, and is a great place for rock pickers and agate hunters. When I arrived and parked and headed out to the beach area, there were at least 10 people rock hunting out there with buckets. The water is gorgeous and crystal clear, and if you look northwest, you can see the Apostle Islands and northeast, the Porcupine Mountains. All the perfect moody beach vibes — I loved all of the rocks and driftwood. Definitely a spot worth visiting if you’re in Ironwood!

This is pretty much my go-to uniform up here these days… Carhartt beanie, anorak jacket, a cozy sweater of some sort, skinny jeans, my giant Madewell tote to carry everything I need for the day, my Blundstone Chelsea boots, and a pair of cozy socks. Repeat outfit, for sure. You guys might get sick of it now that I’m back up in the UP, hahaha. I just picked up two more Carhartt beanies though, so at least I’ll switch up the color variety. 😂 But yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed my day in Ironwood! If you know the area/have additional recommendations, let me know. I’d love to come back here and explore more. There is just so much more to do! It was named one of the “top 10 snowiest destinations” in the U.S. too, so maybe a winter trip is in order!