Michigan's Upper Peninsula Travel Blog

Here we are already, heading into the last weekend of February! Where has the winter gone? Being the last Saturday of February can only mean one thing – the Trenary Outhouse Classic on Saturday!!! Since 1994, the annual outhouse racing, in downtown Trenary, MI, has been a popular draw and every year this small town of 400 swells with over 5,000 people for one day!

You may be asking yourself, “What the heck is the Outhouse Classic?” I’d say it’s a cross the between the Daytona 500 and the TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. To sum it up, imagine outhouses constructed of wood, cardboard, paper (and everything else you can imagine), mounted on skis and pushed by teams one-by-one down Main Street in Trenary. The teams with the fastest times are the winners. The racing teams are divided into 7 categories, based on age, and they range from the “Squirts” (5 & under) through the “Old Farts” (50+). The rules for building a racing outhouse are pretty basic but the outhouse creativity and costumes are unbelievable! What’s even funnier is each outhouse must have a toilet seat and a roll of toilet paper inside! It is definitely a hoot!

Besides the racing, there’s also awesome food, drinks, games and other family-fun activities with all of the proceeds going back to the community. The festivities begin at noon on Saturday (Feb. 26th) and the racing starts at 2pm. If you’d like to construct a last-minute outhouse, the registration fee is $30 and you must be registered by 1:30 on Saturday. For all the spectaculars, you can get your entry pins for $1 before Saturday or $2 the day of race.

So if you’re looking for something to do on Saturday, definitely head over to Trenary and check out this famous Yooper racing event! For more info and whole bunch of other cool stuff, visit their website www.trenaryouthouseclassic.com!

The dogs woke me up yesterday morning for their early morning walk and when I opened the door to take them out, I saw something that I hadn’t seen in awhile. Fresh snow! Not much here in town, but the ground is covered once again just in time for the weekend. We still have some of our guests out there riding and from their perspective, the trails are in good shape once you get of town. The Sziedel’s told me that they couldn’t believe the difference; it was like night & day. Fair in & out of town & freshly groomed & very good once you got out in the woods. They even extended their stay. Thanks guys! So, for those of you who decided to cancel at the last minute this week, I really don’t know what to say other than you are missing out on some pretty good riding UP here this weekend. It may start looking like spring down below, but it’s still snowmobile season UP here above M-28 so don’t get the ATV’s out just yet. There’s still a lot of good snow and great riding left this season. With the exception of last year, March has always been my favorite time to ride. All I can say is keep your eye on the forecast, especially John Dee and weather underground for the latest & keep dancin’! That’s what I do. Enjoy, be safe and please, don’t drink or be under the influence when you ride. Thanks again for all of your support.
- John at Hilltop Cabins (906) 494-2331 and the Beach Park Motel downtown at (906) 494-2681.

The Daytona 500 was pretty exciting yesterday. Another “young gun” taking the checker flag & a cool million for his birthday was fun to watch. Hal & I found ourselves totally focused on the race one minute and then BOOM, another caution flag; there we were staring out the window watching the light snow fall the next. Enough of the white stuff fell yesterday to cover the ground UP here in Grand Marais but not much in the way of accummulation. Getting in & out of town is still pretty rough & there were quite a few people trailering out to the staging areas over the weekend. The temps have dropped back down into the 20′s for the high once again so hopefully the LES machine will kick back into gear this week and drop 6 to 8 more inches on us. The main trails held up pretty well once you get out of town and are still in pretty good shape to the south and west of Grand Marais. The corners and parts of trail 89 along the lakeshore are slick & Kay was right on the money to put the caution flags up for that reason, especially out around Sable Lake. It was nice to see so many families up here enjoying the holiday weekend and the U.P. 200 sled dog race. Mother Nature turned everything cold again and threw a little snow on top just in time. Special thanks goes out to all of you who came up & made the best of it, in spite of the crazy weather. Thanks again for supporting our little town & those of us who choose to live and work in such a beautiful place. There’s still plenty of good ridable snow out there with lots more to come. Enjoy, be safe and please, don’t drink or be under the influence when you ride.

- John at Hilltop Cabins (906) 494-2331 and the Beach Park Motel downtown at (906) 494-2681.

Wednesday was absolutely beautiful UP here along the lakeshore. The sun was shining and once you got out of town, the guys said it was a great day to be out riding. I wish I could have been out there with them. Special thanks to Larry & the gang from Ohio for hanging out with us this week in spite of the warmer temps. I still say that you brought them up with you via your “winter home” in Florida. Anyway, according to the forecast, yesterday should be the last of it for awhile. When the guys came back in from their ride Wednesday, they reported very good trail conditions once they got a few miles out of town around Sable Lake. So… with that said, the trails are holding up very well in spite of the warmer temps that we’ve had this week. That’s great news & what makes it even better is the fact that the winds have shifted out of the north, bringing colder temps and changing over to snow for all of you headed up this way for the weekend. Just click on the weather icon in the upper right hand corner of this report for the details. Afterall, it’s still February, even though Mother Nature is trying to fool us into thinking spring already. There’s lots of snowmobiling left in da U.P. this season so don’t even think of putting them away just yet! It’s going to be a another great weekend with a lot of activity UP here. The U.P. 200 sled dog race will be starting tonight night out of Marquette and they’ll be making their way through Munising to Grand Marais & then back to Marquette for the finish on Sunday. President’s Day weekend is always a good time UP here. I remember a couple of years ago, they had to end the race in Grand Marais because we had too much snow. Jeanette & I will be out manning one of the checkpoints for a few hours on Saturday which is always fun to watch them coming into town. Hope to see you out there. Enjoy, be safe and please, be aware of dogs crossing the trail at various checkpoints. Have a great weekend and thanks again for all of your support. Need a sled for the weekend, just give us a call. We still have rentals available here at the Beach Park Motel (906) 494-2681. For those of you that may be looking for a new sled, don’t forget to check out Renze’s Power Sports in Munising for some great deals.

-John at Hilltop Cabins (906) 494-2331 and the Beach Park Motel downtown at (906) 494-2681.

We’ve been getting a lot of calls concerning the weather UP here in the Grand Marais area this week, so here’s the scoop. We got a little “wintery mix” crap Sunday night which froze just about everything in on Monday morning, including hi-fax for those anxious sledders wanting to be the first ones out there. The temps warmed up into the low 30′s for the high yesterday & today looks pretty much the same with partly cloudy skies. The weather forecast can be a funny thing up here along the lakeshore. For one, it’s hard for them to actually predict LES and conditions here in town can be drastically different from trail conditions once you get out into the snowbelts. It’s hard to explain, but for those of you who actually ride UP here on a regular basis, I’m sure you understand what I’m talking about. The bottom line is this. We currently have over 2 feet & then some of good snow with a solid 6 to 8 inch base on the majority of the trails once you get out of town. The warm-up that we’re going to experience this week shouldn’t affect the Grand Marais trail system very much. Getting in & out of town will be a little rough, which you should be use to anyway. The temps will continue to fall back down into the 20′s at night & that’s when the Sno-Trails crew is out there grooming. The trails will be hard packed and slick in the morning but should loosen up later as the day progresses. It’s President’s Day weekend coming up with the U.P. 200 Sled Dog race headed into town on Saturday so there’s going to be a lot of activity around here in spite of the weather. It’s going to be a fun weekend so come on UP & enjoy! Slow down & watch for the dogs crossing the trail at the checkpoints. Be safe and please, don’t drink or be under the influence when you ride. Thanks again for all of your support.

-John at Hilltop Cabins (906) 494-2331 and the Beach Park Motel downtown at (906) 494-2681.

Almost to the Midnight Run finish line in Munising

It’s already that time of the year for the annual U.P. 200 Dog Sled Race and the Midnight Run! Both of these dog sled events begin on Friday, February 18th and are a must-see U.P. event. Here’s a little more info about each race.

U.P. 200: Fri., Feb. 18th – Sun., Feb. 20th

This 12-dog competitive sled dog race starts in Marquette, runs east to Grand Marais and then back to Marquette for a total race length of 240 miles. This race begins at 7:10pm on Friday night and finishes on Sunday morning in Lower Harbor Park. This is one of the best races around and is also qualifier for the world-famous Alaskan Iditarod.

Midnight Run: Fri., Feb. 18th – Sat., Feb. 19th

The Midnight Run is an 8-dog competitive dog sled race that starts in Gwinn on Friday evening and finishes right here in Munising on Saturday morning. The race covers 91 miles and is generally a fan-favorite because the shorter distance makes for a tight, competitive race. The race beings at 6:00pm on Friday and will finish at Mustang Stadium in Munising on Saturday morning.

Both of these races are very spectator-friendly and the dogs love having people cheering them on. Each race has several checkpoints and layover spots for the dogs and mushers to rest. Spectators are welcome to visit these spots to watch how the mushers care for and interact with their dogs.

So, if you’re looking for something to do this weekend, head up north to see one of our most unique events held during the year. The weather forecast is looking relatively mild during the week but is expected to cool just in time for dog sled racing. We hope to see you around!

Sorry I haven’t had the chance to update in awhile. It’s been kinda crazy around here lately. Mike from the hardware stopped by the motel late Saturday afternoon & politely informed me that I needed a break. That’s when I realized that the best thing for you when things get a little crazy is to just get away for a couple of hours. It’s amazing how much better you feel when you’re out riding. Just what the doctor ordered. Thanks Mike! Speaking of just what the doctor ordered, we’re currently under a lake effect snow advisory for the next couple of days. The weather forecast is calling for 1 to 3 inches today and 4 to 7 more tonight up here in the Grand Marais area. The winds will be out of the north with patchy blowing snow and cold temps through most of the week. Sounds like great weather to welcome the Super Bowl Champs back to Green Bay! Our oldest son Andy got in yesterday afternoon on leave from the Navy before he gets shipped out to Japan later this month. Being able to watch “Our favorite team” win the Super Bowl with him was pretty special, even though our 2nd oldest, Brad is the real Packer fan. Wish you could have been here to watch it with us Brad. We were cheering with you! The trails should be in great condition all week with light traffic and a lot more fresh snow. Enjoy, be safe & keep cheering! Just don’t drink & ride. Thanks again for all of your support!

-John at Hilltop Cabins (906) 494-2331 and the Beach Park Motel downtown at (906) 494-2681.

Today is the kickoff of the 28th annual Michigan Ice Fest here in Munising. The ice conditions for the climbing are being report as excellent with all ice formations being climbable. If you visit the Michigan Ice Fest website, they’ve posted photos of some of the impressive ice climbing spots. The weather forecast for the weekend is also looking very favorable with temperatures in the high 20s to low 30s, and relatively calm. For in-depth coverage of the event, please visit the Michigan Ice Fest website for a complete schedule of events including demos, clinics, presentations and evening social events.

Events at Bayshore Park

As mentioned previously, there will also be events happening at Bayshore Park tomorrow, Saturday, from 11am to 5pm. At the park, there is a man-made ice climbing wall for anyone to give ice climbing a try. There will also be snowshoe demos, food, games, sledding, an evening bonfire and free shuttle service the Sand Point ice curtain demo area. This is a great place to bring the family and enjoy the festivities.

Also, make sure to visit Sydney’s Restaurant, the official headquarters of the MI Ice Fest, tonight and Saturday night, as they’ll be featuring musician Jan Arnold. She’s a dynamic singer and songwriter who’s performed all around the country. She sings a variety of music and it should be a fun time. The music kicksoff at 9:30pm each night.

Have a great weekend and make sure to continue to vote for Grand Marais in the Reader’s Digest “We Hear You America” contest! There’s only 3 days of voting left!