Michigan's Upper Peninsula Travel Blog

Make plans now to attend the Munising Summerfest on Saturday, July 11th. This family event will be taking place down at Bayshore Park from 11am-6pm. It will be featuring many different events, from a milk-jug boat race to kids games. Everyone in your family will have a great time.

Munising Summerfest at Bayshore Park - July 11, 2009 11am-6pm.

Here are some of the events:

“Float Your Boat” Race
Build a boat out of pop bottles, milk jugs, climb aboard and paddle your way to the finish line! This is a great family activity that is fun and eco-friendly!

Family & Friends BBQ Rib Cook-Off
Do you have the best barbeque rib recipe? Invite your family and friends for the challenge! Reserve your family’s space to “grill it out” and be judged by local chefs.

Kids Games
Frog jumping race (bring your frog), moonwalk, fishing for prizes to name a few. There are just too many to list on here!

Food, Drinks, Music, Vendors

For more information just visit www.munisingsummerfest.com to download entry forms and rules.

As for the weather, around here… it’s been crummy. We had a great streak going with highs in the 80s and then the bottom fell out. This whole week has been cold and rainy. The good news is tomorrow (as well as for the weekend) is suppose to be back to normal. We hope everyone has a happy and safe Fourth!

Munising's Fourth of July schedule of events

We’re only 8 days away from the Fourth of July and there’s no better place to be than Munising! The Fourth is a huge event for Munising and a good time to see the town swell 2- 3 times its normal population.

All the fun begins actually on July 2nd with the “Firecracker 2-Blocker” soapbox race. This event allows kids to build their own soapbox car and race it down one of Munising’s city streets. It’s a good time watching the kids compete and using their imagination to build a racer.

Then on July 3rd (Friday night) is the Community Dance and All Class Reunion. This dance is open to everyone over 21 years of age and will be featuring the band Evergreen 7. Come out and dance the night away! ALTRAN (local bus service) will be offering free rides home!

The main event is, of course, July 4th and it’s a day filled with a lot of activities for everyone in your family. Some of the events include a morning fun run, a flag raising at the veteran’s memorial, a pet parade and the firefighter’s water fight. The huge parade starts at noon and runs through downtown Munising. Much of the other action takes place at Bayshore Park, which includes games, food and entertainment. Make sure to stick around till dusk for a monster of a fireworks display, one of the best in the area! For more info just visit www.munisingjuly4th.com! It has the complete schedule of events.

Next week, I’ll tell you about the Munising Summerfest that’s happening on July 11th. Check out www.munisingsummerfest.com to learn more. It will be featuring a milk jug boat race, a family and friends BBQ rib cook-off and a ton of games for the family!

What’s your favorite part of the Munising Fourth of July? Leave us a comment!

The weather seems to be finally turning around today and it looks promising for next week as well. This is good because there are some pretty nice events happening around Munising in the coming weeks. Here’s a rundown of a few for the rest of June.

MUNISING
Munising Bay Arts Festival
Saturday, June 27, 2009 – 9am-4pm
Munising, Bayshore Park
This all day event takes place at beautiful Bayshore Park and highlights the work of area artists. Come enjoy the company of artists, listen to great music and see a demo of the new bread oven. There will also be a silent auction. The Munising Bay Arts Association hosts this event.

Pictured Rocks Road Race
“Run for the Red Cross”
Sunday, June 28, 2009 – start time 8am
City of Munising
The event actually consists of 3 different events – something for everyone!
Half-Marathon: This unique course (13.2 miles) travels in and around the hills that surround the city of Munising. The course consists of both paved and wooded trails as well as a few hill climbs to challenge the runners.
5K: This race consists of a less challenging course but it still has the beautiful Munising scenery.
Fun Run: The name says it all! Come walk all or part of the 13.2-mile course and enjoy the outdoors. Walkers may start anytime prior to 7:30am.
All racers will be finishing on the track at R.W. Nebel Memorial Field and you’re invited to come cheer them on! Visit www.picturedrocksroadrace.com for info.

GRAND MARAIS
9th Annual Splash-In-The-Bay
Friday-Sunday, June 19-21, 2009
Grand Marais harbor
Seaplanes from all over the U.S. and Canada will be descending on the area for the festival to compete in the various competitions schedule for Saturday. Come out and see the planes, talk to the pilots and watch the flying competitions.

Grand Marais Garden Tour
Saturday, June 27, 2009 – 9am-4pm
Start at Edmund T. Warren Park
We invite you to spend a relaxed and inspiring day in many beautiful private gardens that reflect the unique lifestyle of their owners. For $10, you’ll be able to attend gardens, win some great garden related door prizes. There will also be a plant sale, live music, an art fair and silent auction.

So make plans now to attend these great events in the next coming weeks. Wait till you see what’s happening in July!

With yesterday’s summer-like weather, it got me thinking about the great Lake Superior beaches in the Munising area. So listed below is a bit of information about them. All three are really picturesque and feature nice picnic areas. I would definitely recommend visiting each of them this summer.

Au Train Beach
Located 10 miles west of Munising, right on M-28, this stretch of sandy beach is a popular swimming destination. The western end of the beach has the Au Train River flowing thru it, which is a favorite swimming hole because of the river’s warmer water temperature. The eastern most parking area is right across the street from Scott Falls, a roadside waterfall definitely worth the visit! This is also a popular spot to see bald eagles flying over the water or perched in the trees.

Au Train Beach on Lake Superior

Sand Point Beach
Rated as one of the “Top Ten Beaches” by The Weather Channel, this sandy beach is located only a short distance from downtown Munising. The emerald colored water and Grand Island in the distance make for a beautiful setting. Looking for a spot for a summer sunset? This is the spot! To get there just take H58 east for a few miles and then turn left on Washington Street. Now just stay on this street (turns into Sand Point Road) and follow it to the end. While you’re traveling to the beach make sure to stop at beautiful Munising Falls! (You drive right by the parking area.)

Sand Point Beach with Grand Island in the distance

Miners Beach
To me, this is the crown jewel of beaches in the Munising area. This expansive beach features beautiful views of the Pictured Rocks cliffs and a total feeling of seclusion. There’s nothing but trees, sand and the rock cliffs. The beach also has Miners River flowing into Lake Superior, a popular spot to play in the water. On your way to the beach you can also visit Miners Castle, a beautiful rock formation, and Miners Falls, a large waterfall. To get there, take H58 east out of Munising for 5 miles and then turn left on to Miners Castle Road. Follow this road and you’ll see signs posted for the falls, castle and beach.

Miners Beach - looking towards the west

Miners Beach - looking towards the east

Have a favorite beach spot in the Munising area? Please share it with us by leaving a comment!

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend! The weather was really nice around here with lots of sun and reasonable temperatures. During the middle of last week we had our first 80+ degree day, which is extremely rare for the time of year. It officially reached 83 degrees but the kicker is it was only in the 40s the day before! One day your’re wearing a sweatshirt, the next day your’re breaking out the shorts.

With Memorial Day weekend being the “official” start of the summer travel season, most of the area attractions are now up and running. Please make sure to visit the Attractions webpage to see what the Munising area has to offer. From boat cruises to shipwreck tours and casino fun, we have something for everyone.

Grand Island bus tour stop

One attraction that isn’t very well known is the Grand Island Interpretive Bus Tour, operated by ALTRAN bus service. After taking a short ferry ride to Grand Island, you’ll hop on a bus for a 2 1/2-3 hour narrated tour of this unique island. The tour includes scenic overlooks, beautiful beaches, inland lakes, historical buildings and nature walks in a peaceful setting. The tour features 9 site stops so you can truly experience Grand Island’s beauty! The bus tour runs from June 15th thru October 5th. They are also handicap accessible and non-smoking. Plan now to make a visit to Grand Island and take the tour!

For the most part, it looks like winter is finally over. The weather has been comfortable for the last several days and yesterday we had our first major thunderstorm of the season, complete with hail. Tomorrow looks to be a different story, though, with highs predicted only to be in the 40s with a chance of snow! I don’t think (or hope) there will be any accumulation. My snowblower is in hibernation for the year!

In review, the 2008-2009 winter was a great one compared to years past. We had snow on the ground before deer season (Nov. 15th) and it lasted well into April. A majority of the snow fell during the early part of season and was pretty much done by March. It was colder than normal which contributed to Lake Superior being 95% froze over. When the lake freezes over, it puts a stop to our lake-effect snow. Also, many of the major snow storms stayed south of the U.P.  and prevented a record snowfall. Listed below is the total snowfall amount for the city of Munising. For the areas outside of town, and to the east of Munising, they received well over 300 inches of snow for the year! Unless we get a freak May storm, this should be it.

City of Munising
2008-2009: 230.9″
last year: 161.1″
National Weather Service data

With the beautiful sunshine today, I took a drive to the scenic overlook just off M28 on the west side of town. Below is what I saw. You’ll notice we’re still waiting for the leaves to appear.

(Click to enlarge) Grand Island on the left, Sand Point on the right and Pictured Rocks straight ahead.

Wildflowers are starting to appear in the woods.

Happy Mother’s Day!

In yesterday’s posting I took a picture of a daffodil that was on the verge of blooming. With today’s sunshine and warm weather, it bloomed! The photo is below.

Yesterday's flower has bloomed!

With another spell of warmer weather, the ice on Munising Bay is officially gone. Last Thursday, April 23rd was the official date. (My prediction of mid-May, in an earlier post, was a bit off.) The weather has been actually pretty unpredictable in the last two weeks or so. First, he had a big warm-up and then by early last week it was snowing again. The Munising area didn’t see much for snow accumulation like some parts of the western U.P. In the far west, one particular town received almost 30 inches of snow in two days! A pretty powerful storm decided to hangout for a couple days over the western and central U.P. The line of accumulation ended around the Au Train area.  Then by last Thursday and Friday, we had the warmer weather again! It gets quite tricky trying to dress for 30 degrees one day and then 70 the next. Today, the sun is finally shining and after a few days of rain and clouds. Around town, the grass has started to green a little bit and the trees are starting to show buds.

With May just around the corner, many area businesses and organizations are gearing up for the summer season. In less than a month, Pictured Rocks Cruise and Glass Bottom Boat Shipwreck Tours will be open for business. (Check out the Attractions page for more info!) It should be a great summer and we hope you come for a visit!

Below is another spring flower ready to bloom and the alley of which I took a photo of back on March 27, 2009. Only a little pile of snow left after a month. Click for original photo.

Spring flower getting ready to bloom.

Only a little snow remains in the nearby lot. The snow was up to the roof.