We drove from Copper Harbor to Marquette on September 22. It was a warm, sunny day and the fall colors were approaching their peak. Our running joke, at the time, was that the various colors of my bruises from mountain biking were peaking at the same time as the fall foliage. Canyon Falls is located along the route, at a quiet, little-used roadside park in L’Anse, MI. The Northcountry National Scenic Trail (aka North Country Trail or N.C.T.) passes through the park and provides an easy, pretty hike to the falls. The parking is suitable for large RVs and we planned to stop there, as we had last year. When we arrived we were shocked to see the parking was almost completely full, compared with only a couple of cars a year ago. We almost did not take the trail, assuming it would be too crowded. We found that the trail was long enough to disperse the hikers, so that it didn’t seem crowded. Definitely worth the stop! Note that we had hiked parts of the NCT on our warm-up trip in August.
In Marquette, we camped at the Marquette Tourist Park, in the same campsite we had last year. The park has many old red pine trees and is located on the Dead River on the edge of town. It’s pretty and quiet, with the exception of the city’s public works vehcles departing early in the morning from the lot nearby.
Our first mission in Marquette was to go to Black Rocks Brewery, where have been several times and met some great people, including owner, Dave. We really love the beer and atmosphere. It is located in an older neighborhood, in an old, historic house. Since they first opened, they have expanded to the house next door and now have a huge outdoor patio. It was a nice, sunny afternoon and great to talk to the owner again. We are hoping that after the pandemic is gone, all the restaurants and breweries keep their expanded outdoor seating. We prefer to be outside!
The next day we went to pick up some amazing fresh bread from a local bakery, which we always do in Marquette and then to the landermat. We walked around Presque Isle Park and then hiked Sugar Loaf Mountain and enjoyed the spectacular views. We had a beer at Ore Dock Brewing, then picked up some burgers from the Burger Bus food truck, for dinner at the park near the ore dock. It was another great stay in Marquette. Next stop – Tahquamenon falls!
