Michigan Family Travel

Lake Superior, serious snowfall, winter sports and Northern Michigan University give Marquette everything a Michigan winter weekend needs.

Some Michigan destinations endure winter. Marquette seems to have built an entire personality around it.

Here, snow isn’t a reason to cancel the weekend. It’s the reason to go. Families can ski in the morning, see Lake Superior at its most dramatic in the afternoon and cheer on the Northern Michigan University Wildcats after dark. Add some of the Upper Peninsula’s most enduring winter traditions, and Marquette starts to feel like the kind of place made for a proper winter weekend.

Here are eight reasons to make the trip.

1. See Lake Superior in Its Wildest Season

Start with the lake.

Head to Presque Isle Park or find a safe vantage point along the shoreline to see Lake Superior surrounded by snow and ice. In winter, the lake can look completely different from one day to the next, from surprisingly calm to spectacularly rough.

Presque Isle’s road access changes during winter, so check current conditions before visiting and expect to explore portions of the park on foot. And admire shoreline ice from a safe distance. Lake Superior is beautiful in winter, but unpredictable.

2. Spend a Day at Marquette Mountain

You don’t have to travel far from town to spend a day skiing.

Marquette Mountain offers 170 acres and more than 20 runs, along with three chairlifts, a tow rope and equipment rentals. That makes it possible to work a few hours of skiing into your itinerary without turning the entire weekend into a ski trip.

And then there are those Lake Superior views.

3. Cross-Country Ski or Snowshoe Through the U.P.

If downhill skiing isn’t your family’s thing, Marquette offers plenty of other ways to get outside.

The surrounding area has an extensive network of groomed winter trails for cross-country skiing, along with opportunities for snowshoeing. Check out NTN Forestville Trailhead Chalet for rentals and lessons. Families can choose an outing that fits their experience level rather than committing to an all-day adventure.

Check current trail and grooming conditions before heading out. Around here, fresh snowfall can change the plan overnight.

4. Catch an NMU Hockey Game

Marquette is a college town, so make Northern Michigan University part of the weekend.

The Berry Events Center is home to Wildcat hockey, and a game makes an especially good evening activity after a day spent outdoors. There’s something particularly fitting about ending a snowy Upper Peninsula day inside an ice arena surrounded by college students and local families.

Check NMU’s calendar before your trip, too. University athletics, performances, exhibits and other events can add an unexpected stop to your weekend.

5. Experience the UP200

If your winter getaway happens to coincide with the UP200, build your plans around it.

The annual 12-dog sled race sends teams on an approximately 230-mile journey from Marquette to Grand Marais and back. It is also an Iditarod qualifier and one of the region’s signature winter traditions.

For kids, watching teams of sled dogs race through a snowy Upper Peninsula landscape may be the closest a Michigan weekend gets to stepping inside a winter storybook.

6. Watch the Noquemanon Ski Marathon

Another longtime Marquette winter tradition, the Noquemanon Ski Marathon brings Nordic skiers through the snowy landscape surrounding the city.

The event is one of the longest point-to-point ski marathons in the United States. You certainly don’t need to race to enjoy it. If your trip happens to overlap with the marathon, cheering on the skiers gives families another glimpse of just how deeply winter recreation is woven into life here.

7. Watch Ski Jumpers Fly in Ishpeming

Take a short drive from Marquette for one of the weekend’s most unusual experiences.

The UP Nordic Ski Complex in nearby Ishpeming is home to the annual Ishpeming Ski Jumping Tournament, part of a local ski-jumping tradition that dates to the 19th century.

Watching ski jumpers launch into the winter sky is something most kids don’t encounter on an ordinary weekend away. If the tournament aligns with your visit, it’s worth the detour.

8. Leave Room for Whatever Winter Brings

Don’t schedule every hour before you leave home.

Check both Travel Marquette’s events calendar and the Northern Michigan University events calendar shortly before your trip. Depending on the weekend, you might find university athletics, performances, community events or one of the area’s major annual winter traditions.

Then leave an opening in the itinerary for something you didn’t know about when you booked the hotel.

Why Marquette Works in Winter

Marquette doesn’t ask families to wait out winter. It gives them reasons to look forward to it.

Ski down a mountain. Snowshoe through the woods. Watch sled dogs race out of town. Cheer for the Wildcats. Stand beside Lake Superior and see just how dramatic Michigan can look in the middle of winter.

Then find a warm table downtown and start planning tomorrow.

For families willing to pack the boots, gloves and extra layers, Marquette delivers something increasingly difficult to find: a winter weekend that actually feels like winter.