Day in Grand Marais

If you’re looking for a fun little day trip near Pictured Rocks in the UP in Michigan… here it is! I ventured out to Grand Marais while we were still having gorgeous weather — think 70 degrees and sunny. I absolutely loved this day trompin’ around solo. I didn’t even get to explore everything this area has to offer either! But I got a good mix in… waterfalls, lighthouses, local grub, and one of the most amazing scenic views I’ve been to in the yoop. Plus the back wind-y road I drove along was just so picturesque. Perfect road-trip adventure. Read on for my day in Grand Marais, and if you have any recommendations or things I missed, let me know! I’d love to go back and explore this area more.

SABLE FALLS

I ventured out from Marquette and Grand Marais is about a 2 hour drive. I drove through Munising, decided to take the back roads on H-58, which I’d totally recommend doing granted the weather is kind. This road isn’t maintained in the winter. But! For a 70-degree day, take this road, please. It’s beautiful and wind-y. But anyway, my first stop was to the Grand Sable Visitor Center, which was closed, but! I saw a sign for Sable Falls… and was like OOOH. Gotta go there. You can hike from there, but! I’d recommend (if you’re feelin’ lazy like Tiek), to drive to Sable Falls… where there is a parking lot, 168 steps down, and 168 steps back up to view this waterfall. It’s a beauty for a quick hike. A local visitor said to me, “ visit in the winter months”. So likely I will take local’s said advice and return promptly. Thank you, local.

GRAND MARAIS HARBOR OF REFUGE INNER AND OUTER LIGHTS

This isn’t my first rodeo to the lighthouses in Grand Marais. I visited back in 2014 when I was just a young gal venturing around the UP. Here I am again, older, wiser, sadder (lolol). These lights were built in the 1890s, at a time when shipping traffic on Lake Superior was buusayyy. Both lights are steel skeletal towers, which you don’t see too often. It has strong similarities to the Charlevoix lighthouse, if that is maybe more familiar to you. Maybe, maybe not. The former lightkeeper’s house was built in 1908, it is now used as a museum. I have yet to venture inside, but will likely be back to this area since I visit the same lighthouses over and over and over and over because that’s just what I do. That’s just who I am.

DOWNTOWN GRAND MARAIS

I’m not quite sure I can call it “downtown” Grand Marais, since there’s literally a main strip in town with a post office, brewery, bank, market, inn, tavern, and a Pickle Barrel. I didn’t know this barrel existed, but was intrigued to learn more about this unique structure. It’s a large pickle barrel that was built in 1926 to be used as a summer home for cartoonist, William Donahey. He was the creator of a Chicago Tribune’s cartoon strip. This cottage contains a living area, kitchen, bedroom, and it sat on Sable Lake until 1937 until it was moved here. It’s been many things over the years but it is now a museum for your viewing pleasure. Again, have yet to visit the inside (thank you COVID), but I will likely return. What else have I got to do? Anywho. After walking around downtown, which I like to do when I visit new areas, just walk around, take in the sights, see what’s the haps. I eventually felt a grumble in my tum, ordered some chili dogs from Grand Marais Tavern, took those to go, to sit at Bayshore Park to eat my noms.

LOG SLIDE OVERLOOK

Well if there was ever a place that took me by surprise, it was the Log Slide Overlook. I had heard good things, but didn’t really know what to expect. I thought maybe… hey, it’s a dune. I like dunes. I grew up near dunes. I visit dunes. But this isn’t just any ol’ dune. This is THE DUNE. So! I knew I wanted to hit golden hour here, so I left from “downtown” Grand Marais and headed straight here. I didn’t get to venture out to/explore the Au Sable Light Station (which I’ve been before, but wanna go back because again that’s just what I do) and I was so very pleasantly surprised and audibly gasped when I could see the Au Sable Light from the top of this magnificent dune. But wait a minute, let’s back up. This is an easy drive, plenty of parking, and a short walk. I was venturing out into the woods alone to the dune, was maybe a little spooked, ran into some locals, they said the light was perfect, and golden, and when I rounded the corner, and peeked over the hill, I audibly gasped. Like, AUDIBLY GASPED. It’s just beautiful. I have no words. Or maybe too many words. Not sure. Just go. Just gooooo.

Welp, I hope you enjoyed my day in Grand Marais. Does that rhyme? I think so. I have a pretty terrible way of pronunciating words in the UP. Is it Grand Mar-A? Or Grand Mar-I? I don’t know. 🤷‍♀️ Also, remind me to drink wine before dinner while blogging everytime, because these posts are very entertaining to write and hopefully *for you* as a *dear reader* to read. What did I miss? Anything? Trekking out to Au Sable Light Station, for sure. It’s about a 1.5-mile hike (one way) and I ran out of time. I also wanted to hit up Lake Superior Brewing Company, but they were closed. What else, what else. Anything? Anyway. Thanks for reading. Off to find foods.