Go See It

Places worth the drive

One page for each place: what it costs, when it is open, how far it is from Marquette, and what to know before you go. Newest first.

Sand Hills Lighthouse, Five Mile Point
1919 brick lighthouse on Lake Superior west of Eagle River, dark since 1954, privately owned and closed to visitors.
Cost
No admission. Not open to the public.
Season
No visitor season. Lighthousefriends reports the owner closed it for a multi-year restoration after buying it in 2019; no reopening date found.
From Marquette
2 hr 28 min (124 mi) via US-41 N
J.W. Wells State Park, Cedar River
700-acre state park on three miles of Green Bay south of Cedar River, given to Michigan in 1925, with CCC-built buildings and five rustic cabins.
Cost
Recreation Passport required for vehicle entry: $15 for Michigan residents at plate renewal in 2026; nonresidents $12 a day or $42 a year. Camping, cabins and the lodge are extra.
Season
The DNR park page posts no closing date for the campground. Call 906-863-9747 before counting on a campsite or modern restrooms in late fall. Cabins have no running water at any time of year.
From Marquette
1 hr 44 min (95.9 mi) via US-41 S and M-35 S
Manistique East Breakwater Light, Manistique
Red 1916 steel lighthouse at the end of Manistique's east breakwater, a walk out from the town boardwalk.
Cost
No fee or admission listed in any source checked.
Season
No seasonal closure listed. Stay off the breakwater in high wind, storms or waves; USACE says most harbor-structure accidents happen late August through December.
From Marquette
1 hr 31 min (90.4 mi) via US-41 S and US-2 E
Big Bay Point Lighthouse, Big Bay
An 1896 Lake Superior lighthouse on a cliff, now a bed and breakfast where guests climb the tower.
Cost
Tours $10 per person, ages 10 and up, 5 people max. Room rates by phone, 906-236-4322.
Season
Inn open May 8 to Nov 5, 2026. Tours June to September.
From Marquette
42 min (31.3 mi) via Co Rd 550
Piers Gorge, Norway
Four rocky ledges and Class III rapids on the Menominee River, at the end of an unpaved road south of Norway.
Cost
Recreation Passport required for vehicle entry (Michigan DNR); an attendant staffs the entrance
Season
Open year-round. Outfitter rafting trips run mid-May to early October.
From Marquette
1 hr 41 min (89.3 mi) via M-95 S
Muskallonge Lake State Park, Deer Park
217-acre park between Lake Superior and Muskallonge Lake: agate shoreline, Deer Park lumber town remains, pike and walleye.
Cost
Recreation Passport required for vehicle entry: $15 resident at plate renewal; nonresident $12 daily / $42 annual; $5 convenience fee if bought at a park. Camping extra (800-447-2757).
Season
Closes for the winter season. Camping ran through Oct. 15 in 2024; 2026 closing date not posted. Winter use: cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling.
From Marquette
2 hr 14 min (131 mi) via M-28 E
Craig Lake State Park, Michigamme
Michigan's most remote state park: six lakes, the Miller family cabins and two yurts, 8 miles up a rocky road.
Cost
Recreation Passport required for vehicle entry: $15 Michigan residents at plate renewal; nonresidents $12 a day or $42 a year
Season
Roads are not maintained and are impassable to vehicles in the snow season, typically Nov. 1 to May 15
From Marquette
1 hr 14 min (46.2 mi) via US-41 N
Hiawatha Statue, Hiawatha Park, Ironwood
A 52-foot Hiawatha built in 1964 as a roadside attraction, standing in Hiawatha Park one block from downtown Ironwood.
Cost
No fee is listed.
Season
No season is listed. The statue looks north toward Lake Superior (Chamber).
From Marquette
2 hr 37 min (145 mi) via US-41 N and M-28 W (Google Maps, usual traffic, read Oct. 5, 2026). Ironwood is in the Central time zone.
Chippewa County
John Johnston House, Sault Ste. Marie
The Water Street home a British fur trader built in 1823 in Sault Ste. Marie, open for tours only in summer.
Cost
Adults $5, children $3 (free for 5 and younger), families $15 (Sault Ste. Marie CVB, the only source that lists prices; Michigan.org says to call).
Season
Engineers Day (last Friday of June) to Labor Day (Sault Ste. Marie CVB).
From Marquette
2 hr 47 min (165 mi) via M-28 E (Google Maps, usual traffic, read Oct. 5, 2026)
Siphon Bridge, Manistique
A downtown Manistique road bridge built over a concrete flume, where the water runs higher than the roadway.
Cost
No fee is listed.
Season
No season is listed.
From Marquette
1 hr 33 min (87.8 mi) via M-28 E and M-94 E (Google Maps, read Oct. 5, 2026)
Superior Dome, Northern Michigan University
A wooden-domed arena on the Northern Michigan University campus where the public can walk the outer concourse on posted days. The football field is never open to the public.
Cost
No fee is listed on NMU's walking-hours page or the October calendar.
Season
No season is posted. NMU publishes public walking hours month by month; September and October 2026 calendars were up on Oct. 5.
From Marquette
4 min (1.3 mi) via N 4th St and Presque Isle Ave (from downtown Marquette; Google Maps read Oct. 5, 2026)
Calumet Theatre, Calumet
A 1900 opera house on Sixth Street in Calumet that offers two-hour guided tours and hosts events through the year.
Cost
The theatre’s site lists no tour price. The National Park Service listing, last updated April 2, 2025, lists $15 per person. The theatre says children under 6 are free with a paid adult. Event ticket prices vary.
Season
The theatre’s tours page lists no season dates. The National Park Service listing says tours are run seasonally, that winter and private tours can be scheduled through the box office, and that the theatre is open year-round.
From Marquette
2 hr 10 min (112 mi) via US-41 N
Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Paradise
A bird observatory at the end of North Whitefish Point Road on Lake Superior, with hawk, owl and waterbird counts through the migration seasons and outdoor spaces open dawn to dusk year-round.
Cost
WPBO’s visit page lists no fee and says nothing about parking charges. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum next door is a separate attraction and is not covered here.
Season
Open year-round. Count seasons per WPBO: hawk count and owl banding start March 15; spring research ends May 31; waterbird count April 15 to May 31 and August 15 to mid-November; Northern Saw-whet Owl summer program July 1 to August 25; fall owl banding September 15 to October 31. During count seasons the hawk deck and waterbird shack are open to visitors.
From Marquette
2 hr 43 min (158 mi) via M-28 E
Calumet Street Historic District, Lake Linden
A downtown of brick and stone storefronts along Calumet Street, rebuilt after an 1887 fire and listed as the Lake Linden Historic District in 2009.
Cost
No admission is listed. It is a public downtown street.
Season
No season is listed.
From Marquette
2 hr 8 min (110 mi) via US-41 N
Lower Harbor Ore Dock, Marquette
The concrete Lower Harbor ore dock, built in 1931 and closed in 1971, seen from the waterfront beside downtown Marquette.
Cost
No admission is listed. You look at the dock from the public waterfront.
Season
No season is listed. The dock is a permanent structure in the harbor. Travel Marquette lists seasonal laser light shows on it around the holidays and the Fourth of July.
From Marquette
6 min on foot (0.3 mi) from Marquette city center, per Google Maps; it is in town
Ontonagon County
Ontonagon Lighthouse and County Historical Museum, Ontonagon
A restored brick lighthouse at the mouth of the Ontonagon River, toured through the Ontonagon County Historical Society museum on River Street.
Cost
The Historical Society’s site lists no prices. The Ontonagon chamber’s lighthouse page lists $5.00 per person (18 and over). The National Park Service place listing, undated, lists lighthouse tours at $7 for adults and museum tours at $5, children free. Call (906) 884-6165 to confirm.
Season
Lighthouse tours run mid-May to mid-October, by appointment after that (Historical Society). The Society lists no season dates for the museum; the NPS listing says mid-May to mid-October.
From Marquette
2 hr 4 min (114 mi) via US-41 N and M-38 W
Eagle Harbor Lighthouse
1871 brick lighthouse and four-museum complex on the Keweenaw's Lake Superior shore, run by the Keweenaw County Historical Society
Cost
$8 for the entire complex (lighthouse and all museums). Children under 16 and KCHS members free.
Season
Open June 14 through October 11, 2026
From Marquette
2 hr 34 min (134 mi)
Peninsula Point Lighthouse, Rapid River
A 40-foot lighthouse tower built in 1865 at the tip of the Stonington Peninsula in Hiawatha National Forest, and a fall rest stop for monarch butterflies.
Cost
No fee is listed on the Forest Service page.
Season
Listed by the Forest Service as January to December. Peak monarch migration is between August and October.
From Marquette
1 hr 22 min (72 mi) via US-41 S
Alberta Village and the Ford Center, near L'Anse
Henry Ford's sawmill village on US-41 south of L'Anse, now the site of Michigan Tech's Ford Center and Forest.
Cost
No admission fee is posted on any page we checked.
Season
No season is posted. Viewing from outside only.
From Marquette
1 hr 5 min (59 mi) via US-41 N
Copper Harbor Trails (CHTC Basecamp), Copper Harbor
A mountain bike trail system around Copper Harbor at the tip of the Keweenaw, built and run by the Copper Harbor Trails Club.
Cost
Free to use and open to the public, per the National Recreation Trails listing; the club's own site does not state a summer fee. Winter: $5 day-use pass or annual membership. A trail map is $5 at Keweenaw Adventure Company and other town businesses.
Season
Open year-round per the National Recreation Trails listing. In winter, snowshoers and backcountry users take over, with a few groomed loops for cross-country skiers and fat bikers. Daily shuttle passes run Memorial Day weekend through mid-October.
From Marquette
2 hr 47 min (146 mi) via US-41 N
Quincy Mine Hoist and mine tours, Hancock
The Nordberg steam hoist above Hancock, with guided hoist tours and underground mine tours run by the Quincy Mine Hoist Association.
Cost
Full underground tour: adults $40; youth 7 to 17 $20; college students with ID $20; children 6 and under free with a paid adult. Hoist tour (above ground only): $15. As listed on quincymine.com on September 30, 2026.
Season
The regular tour season ends in November. Tours run all year after that, by booking calendar.
From Marquette
1 hr 54 min (102 mi) via US-41 N
The Jampot (Poorrock Abbey), Eagle Harbor
A monastery shop on M-26 near Eagle Harbor selling jam, baked goods and fruitcake from Poorrock Abbey.
Cost
No admission listed. It is a shop and items are priced individually. The Jampot's site does not say what payment the shop takes.
Season
The in-person store is open through Saturday, October 17, 2026.
From Marquette
2 hr 28 min (130 mi) via US-41 N
Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum, Ishpeming
The Ishpeming mine site whose two 1919 concrete headframes were built as Egyptian obelisks.
Cost
Museum only: $12 adults, $6 kids 6 to 17, 5 and under free. Guided tour: $18 adults, $9 kids 6 to 17, 5 and under free.
Season
The museum listed regular 2026 hours from May 22 through late September (its site reads "Saturday, September 25th"; the Saturday is the 26th). As of September 29 it has closed for the year; the next season opens in mid-May.
From Marquette
21 min (15.4 mi) via US-41
Houghton County
Redridge Steel Dam, Houghton County
A 1,006-foot riveted steel dam from 1901 on the Salmon Trout River, one of the only steel dams built in the U.S.
Cost
No admission fee listed.
Season
Water runs year-round; the falls at the dam are strongest in the spring melt. Access is by a sandy track, so wet or snowy conditions change the trip.
From Marquette
2 hr 4 min (110 mi) via US-41 N
Robert Stuart House (Stuart House City Museum), Mackinac Island
The 1817 Agent's House of the American Fur Company, now a small city museum one block back from the Mackinac Island waterfront.
Cost
$5 per person; $10 family rate; children 12 and under free.
Season
Opens in May and closes for the season in October. The City's last posted closing date was October 10, 2025 and it has not posted a 2026 date, so call (906) 847-8181 before a fall trip.
From Marquette
2 hr 38 min (161 mi) via M-28 E and US-2 E, to the Arnold Transit ferry parking dock in St. Ignace
Fort Wilkins Historic State Park
An 1844 Army fort at the tip of the Keweenaw, still standing because nobody ever fired a shot at it.
Cost
Fort admission is free. A Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry.
Season
Open mid-May to mid-October. The state historic sites page says the fort opens for the season on May 15.
From Marquette
2 hr 50 min (147 mi) via US-41 N
Isle Royale National Park
A roadless island national park in Lake Superior, reached only by ferry or seaplane, where greenstone is on the beaches and off-limits to pocket.
Cost
$7 per person per day; children 15 and under free. Season pass $60, covers the holder plus up to three adults. Entrance fees are cashless, cards only. Ferry or seaplane fare is extra.
Season
Park open April 16 to October 31, closed November 1 to April 15. Ferry and seaplane service runs from mid-May to September, so late-season trips need a boat that is still sailing.
From Marquette
2 hr 49 min (146 mi) via US-41 N, to the Copper Harbor ferry dock; the ferry to Rock Harbor is 3.5 hours more
Hungarian Falls, Tamarack City / Hubbell
Three levels of falls down a deep sandstone gorge on Dover Creek, with a historic copper-era dam and pond at the top.
Cost
Free
Season
Year-round; best in spring or after good rains; winter: steepest stretches of Golf Course Road unplowed
From Marquette
2 hr 6 min (109 mi) via US-41 N
Bete Grise Preserve, Keweenaw County
A long white sand Lake Superior beach said to sing underfoot, with a private 1895 lighthouse at the Mendota canal.
Cost
No fee listed
Season
Year round; spring, late summer and early fall best (fewer biting insects)
From Marquette
2 hr 44 min (139 mi) via US-41 N
Wagner Falls Scenic Site, Munising
A 20-foot cascade over rock ledges at the end of a 0.1-mile gravel and boardwalk trail, with a viewing platform.
Cost
Recreation Passport required for vehicle entry: $15 Michigan resident vehicle at plate renewal; nonresident $42 annual or $12 daily
Season
Year-round access per NPS winter note (lot generally plowed); DNR recommends fall color season
From Marquette
48 min (44.3 mi) via M-28 E
Castle Rock, St. Ignace
A 195-foot breccia pillar with 170 steps to a deck overlooking Mackinac Island, the bridge towers and Lake Huron, plus a seated Paul Bunyan at the base.
Cost
$1, paid in the gift shop
Season
Operator: early May through mid-October. Detroit News: Mother's Day weekend until late October. Call 906-643-8268 before an October visit.
From Marquette
2 hr 37 min (160 mi) via M-28 E and US-2 E
Tower of History, Sault Ste. Marie
A 1968 concrete shrine tower with an express elevator to viewing platforms 210 feet over the Soo Locks, the St. Marys River and Canada.
Cost
Adults 18+ $8.75; ages 5 to 17 $4.50; Valley Camp + Tower combo $24.25 adult / $12.25 child
Season
May 8 to October 17, 2026
From Marquette
2 hr 45 min (165 mi) via M-28 E
Alger County
Miners Castle, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
A paved overlook onto the Pictured Rocks cliffs and Lake Superior, its namesake turret gone since a 2006 rockfall.
Cost
Pictured Rocks entrance fee required: $25 per vehicle (7-day pass), $15 per person walk-in or bike-in, $45 for a Pictured Rocks annual pass. Cards only, no cash.
Season
Road and overlook open roughly late spring through fall; check current status before a winter or early-spring trip.
From Marquette
1 hr (53.4 mi) via M-28 E
Baraga County
Canyon Falls Roadside Park
A 15-foot waterfall over a 50-foot crest, an easy mile from a US-41 roadside park, above a slate canyon almost nobody walks into.
Cost
Free.
Season
Year-round via US-41, though the trail can ice over in winter.
From Marquette
1 hr 2 min (57.5 mi) via US-41 N
Kitch-iti-kipi (The Big Spring), Palms Book State Park
A 40-foot-deep, 10,000-gallon-a-minute spring you cross on a self-guided raft, the water a constant 45 degrees.
Cost
Free to view; a Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry to the state park.
Season
Year-round; the concession stand and restrooms run seasonally.
From Marquette
1 hr 33 min (88.3 mi) via US-41 S and US-2 E
Lakenenland Sculpture Park
A free, walk-anytime outdoor gallery of more than 100 scrap-iron sculptures a boilermaker built after he quit drinking.
Cost
Free. Donations welcome at the on-site box.
Season
Year-round.
From Marquette
18 min (14.5 mi) via M-28 E
Oswald's Bear Ranch
A walk-through bear park near Newberry where a retired firefighter has hand-raised 48 of the 50 bears himself.
Cost
$30 per vehicle, $15 for a lone visitor, $10 per person for vans of 6 or more.
Season
Open the Friday of Memorial Day weekend through the first Sunday in October.
From Marquette
1 hr 53 min (103 mi) via M-28 E
Marquette Harbor Lighthouse
1866 yellow-brick lighthouse and museum on a public park point in Marquette
Cost
Lighthouse only: adult $10, seniors/students $8, kids 3-12 $6, 2 and under free. Lighthouse plus museum: adult $18.
Season
Tours run May 12 through October 7
From Marquette
6 min (0.3 mi)
Delta County
Nahma, Michigan
A former Bay De Noquet Lumber Company town on Big Bay de Noc, sold as a single unit in 1951, worth visiting today to walk its intact company-town layout, see a preserved 1900s logging locomotive, and eat or stay at the 1909 Nahma Inn.
Cost
Free to walk the town and view the historic locomotive and company-town buildings. The Nahma Inn charges its normal rates for dining and lodging — call (906) 644-2486 for current prices.
Season
Summer (June through early September) is the practical window — the Inn posts summer hours and the outdoor draws (boat launch, fishing) are warm-weather activities. No source gives an explicit best-season recommendation; this is inferred, not sourced.
From Marquette
1 hr 14 min, 70.1 miles via US-41 S (Google Maps route, usual traffic, read Sept. 27, 2026)
Houghton County
White City Township Park (site of the historic White City resort), Portage Entry
The sandy Lake Superior beach and picnic park that now occupies the site of White City, the vanished early-1900s amusement resort, a short walk up the shore from the pier and lighthouse marking the Keweenaw Waterway's lower entrance.
Cost
Free — no admission fee found for the park or the lighthouse grounds/pier.
Season
Summer (June through early September) for swimming and beach use. This is an exposed Lake Superior shoreline and the roads out here are not maintained for winter tourist traffic.
From Marquette
2 hr 26 min, 128 miles via US-41 N (Google Maps route, usual traffic, read Sept. 27, 2026)
Luce County
Crisp Point Light (Crisp Point Lighthouse)
A remote, restored 58-foot brick lighthouse on Lake Superior's shore in Luce County, about 14 miles west of Whitefish Point, maintained and staffed in season by volunteers of the Crisp Point Light Historical Society.
Cost
Free to visit the site and climb the tower. The Historical Society runs on donations and an online gift shop/membership program — no posted fixed climb or parking fee.
Season
Typically staffed Memorial Day weekend through mid-October (the navigational light itself operates May 1-November 1 under its Coast Guard permit). The final miles of access road are gravel/dirt/sand two-track that gets difficult or impassable outside that window.
From Marquette
2 hr 53 min, 141 miles via M-28 E (Google Maps route, usual traffic, read Sept. 27, 2026)
Keweenaw County
Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary
A 508-acre Michigan Nature Association preserve near Copper Harbor protecting the largest remaining tract of old-growth eastern white pine in Michigan, with trees over 125 feet tall and 300 to 500-plus years old.
Cost
Free. No entry or trail fee. The Michigan Nature Association sells a $0.99 downloadable trail map; memberships and donations are requested but not required to visit.
Season
Any season works for viewing the pines; spring (wildflowers, fewer bugs) and fall (color) are most recommended. Winter hiking and snowshoeing are popular and MNA-supported, but the access road and trails are not plowed or maintained in winter.
From Marquette
2 hr 51 min, 145 miles via US-41 N (Google Maps route, usual traffic, read Sept. 27, 2026)
Delta County
Fayette Historic State Park
A preserved 1867-1891 charcoal iron company town on the Garden Peninsula, with more than 20 original buildings standing along the harbor at Big Bay de Noc.
Cost
Townsite and museum admission is free. A Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry, as at every Michigan state park: $15 for Michigan plates (added at registration renewal), $12 a day or $42 a year for out-of-state plates.
Season
Mid-May through mid-October for the townsite buildings and visitor center. The grounds and trails stay open year-round, including for winter cross-country skiing, but the historic buildings are locked outside the mid-May-mid-October season.
From Marquette
1 hr 37 min, 91.4 miles via US-41 S (Google Maps route, usual traffic, read Sept. 27, 2026)
The 1914 concrete bridge that once carried US-41 over the Peshekee River, now a walking crossing in Van Riper State Park. Photo: Imzadi1979 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Marquette County
Van Riper State Park
About a mile and a half of Lake Michigamme’s east shore off US-41, 17 miles west of Ishpeming, with a beach, a big campground and a 1914 bridge you can walk.
Cost
Recreation Passport required for vehicle entry: $15 for Michigan plates, bought when you renew your registration. Nonresidents $42 a year or $12 a day
Season
Open year-round in some form: the Peshekee River rustic cabin rents all year, and winter brings cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and Snowmobile Trail No. 8 through the park. Campground opening and closing dates are not on the DNR page; call 906-339-4461
From Marquette
About 37 minutes and 30.7 miles via US-41 (Google Maps route, read Sept. 27, 2026)
Manabezho Falls, Oct. 17, 2011. Photo: Bobbie Halchishak, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (U.S. government work).
Gogebic County
Manabezho Falls
The largest waterfall on the Presque Isle River: about 25 feet down across a 150-foot crest, at the far west end of the Porkies.
Cost
Recreation Passport required for vehicle entry: $15 for Michigan plates, bought when you renew your registration. Nonresidents $42 a year or $12 a day
Season
Fall color comes to the western and interior U.P. first; the U.P. typically peaks in the first three weeks of October. The falls run widest in high water and split into segments by late summer
From Marquette
About 2 hours 36 minutes and 147 miles via US-41 N and M-28 W (Google Maps route, read Sept. 26, 2026)
Looking through Arch Rock at Lake Huron and the shoreline road below. Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Mackinac County
Arch Rock
A natural limestone arch on the east side of Mackinac Island that one early account put at 80 feet in 1812 and another at 140 feet in 1817.
Cost
Free. The Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau lists getting up close to Arch Rock as free, in a July 2023 post
Season
Ferries: both list April 21 through October 31, 2026. Arnold has its own schedule for Oct. 26 to 31
From Marquette
2 hr 34 min, 159 miles, to St. Ignace, where the Bridge lands in the U.P., by M-28 E and US-2 E. Mackinaw City is across the Bridge from there. Google Maps, usual traffic, read Sept. 26, 2026
Native copper and silver out of the Adventure Mine, on display at the Seaman Mineral Museum at Michigan Tech in Houghton. Photo: James St. John, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Ontonagon County
Adventure Mining Company
A copper mine near Greenland that worked from 1850 to 1920, where one tour takes you 80 feet down a shaft on a rope.
Cost
Prospector's Tour, 1.5 hours: $38 adults, $16 ages 6 to 12, under 6 free. Miner's Tour (the rappel), 2 to 3 hours: $78, ages 12 and up. Captain's Tour, 5 to 6 hours: $175, ages 13 and up
Season
Memorial Day through mid-October. Tours run rain or shine
From Marquette
About 1 hour 48 minutes and 102 miles via US-41 and M-38 (Google Maps route, read Sept. 26, 2026)
Laughing Whitefish Falls from the base. Photo: George A. Bredehoft (ClaymoreWW), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Alger County
Laughing Whitefish Falls State Park
A hundred feet of water fanned out across a sandstone wall, half a mile into the woods of western Alger County.
Cost
A Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry. $15 for Michigan plates, added when you renew your registration. Out of state: $12 for the day or $42 for the year
Season
The road in is seasonal and unplowed in winter, with no turnaround. In winter the falls are a snowshoe or ungroomed ski trip
From Marquette
About 31 minutes and 26 miles (Google Maps route, read Sept. 26, 2026; allow more in bad weather)