Day Trip Through Escanaba, Cedar River & Menominee

This was a random little day trip… with a bigger mission in mind to check another lighthouse off the list, but it was fun to head to the southern border of the Upper Peninsula and even venture a little bit into Wisconsin! Read on for a little bit of Escanaba, Cedar River & Menominee area… including a couple of lighthouses, a fave breakfast place, wine tasting, and an old timey burger joint that was recommended to me! From Marquette, this was about a 2.25 hour drive one-way, but it felt much less with stops along the way. If you have more recommendations of what to see/do in this area, let me know. I’m always up for exploring the same place several times to seek out new things!

SWEDISH PANTRY

Swedish Pantry is one of my favorite stops in Escanaba! I’ve been here several times before, and will be here several times in the future, haha. It’s located right downtown Escanaba, so a very easy location to park, eat, and then walk around for a little bit if you choose to. When you walk inside, you’re greeted by a Swedish bakery, and then you can sit in their eclectic little cafe with tons of unique, handmade clocks on the walls. I always go for the same breakfast — their Swedish pancakes (crêpes), which are served with meatballs and lingonberries. SO GOOD. That container of melted butter though. 🤤 I always love this entire meal!

CEDAR RIVER LIGHTHOUSE

So I’ve been diving more into my lighthouse list, and doing some research on the ones I have left to see. We’re not getting down to the wire yet, but they are getting harder and harder to see. I didn’t realize this one was so close to me… and I haven’t seen it yet! So this one is interesting. It’s located right in Cedar River, off a small dirt road. It’s very easy to find, but it’s also on private property, so I didn’t venture too far to take photos. It was built in 1889, and discontinued in 1922. All that remains now of Cedar River Light is the keepers dwelling, and the rear range tower (which I didn’t know existed and might have to go back someday to see if it’s still there)!

YOOPER WINERY

After seeking out the old lighthouse keeper’s dwelling, I headed south into Menominee and decided to stop by Yooper Winery to try some wines! They have flights you can choose… and they’re smaller portions, so I decided to try two flights! I went for their best sellers… and their “sweet” flight. They definitely have sweet wines… and for a sweet wine drinker, I might even say some are TOO sweet! But I loved the cranberry one, which was a good balance of sweet and tart. They have a nice little outdoor area where you can sit, so I sat out there and tasted my wines before venturing into downtown Menominee.

OGDEN CLUB

This is the second time I’ve been here, so I decided to come back… because last time I had the most delicious cheese curds. When you’re this close to the Wisconsin border, you have to get cheese curds, right?! So I sat at the bar, had a glass of wine, and tried the buffalo cheese curds… they were tossed with buffalo sauce, and had crumbled bleu cheese and served with ranch. They also had stone-fired pizza, burgers and sandwiches, flatbreads, salads & soups, etc.

MENOMINEE NORTH PIER LIGHTHOUSE

This wasn’t my first trip to the Menominee North Pier Lighthouse, but I’m really glad I revisited because when I got to the end of the breakwall, I saw they were open for self-guided tours! Last time I visited, I wasn’t able to climb to the top. So that was awesome to be able to go inside, climb the spiral stairs to the second level, and take the ladder to the third and top level for a view of Lake Michigan! This one was built in 1877, and has been shifted and changed many times! There are several markers on the pathway that say where the lighthouse used to sit… it’s been moved/extended three times!

MICKEY-LU BAR-B-Q

After lighthouse adventuring and walking around downtown, I ended up going to Mickey-Lu Bar-B-Q after a recommendation from a friend. This one is actually in Marinette, Wisconsin, right on the border. This is a vintage fast-food joint that serves up charcoal-grilled burgers (with their famous pat of butter), hot-dogs, malts and sundaes… since 1942! I opted for a traditional cheeseburger, and a vanilla milkshake. The burger wasn’t the best burger I ever ate, but it was very nostalgic tasting and fun to try. And the milkshake was so so good. But yeah, fun to check out, fun to watch how busy they were behind the counter cooking up all the burgers! Definitely worth a try if you’re in the area. Hope you enjoyed this little guide to exploring the Cedar River/Menominee area! Obviously lots more to do… and I hope to try new places next time I visit the area!