Leaf-Peeping Weekends in Michigan: Marquette

Tucked along the shores of Lake Superior on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Marquette is a city shaped by its stunning natural surroundings – which makes it the perfect place for an early leaf-peeping weekend as trees start to turn in mid- to late September.

The Best Views

There is no shortage of scenic overlooks in Marquette, and the best ones ask for only a little effort. Sugarloaf Mountain, a brief drive north of town on County Road 550, offers one of the biggest payoffs in the region for just a short hike. Wooden stairs and boardwalks carry you up the mountain through maple and birch trees to three viewing platforms, where you will take in Lake Superior, the Marquette Ore Docks and an unbroken blaze of color.

Closer to downtown, Presque Isle Park wraps 323 acres of forested peninsula in a paved loop with Peter White Drive. Walk, bike or drive and then follow the trail down to Black Rocks, where ancient cliffs drop straight into the blue of Lake Superior beneath a canopy of red and gold.

Marquette Mountain Resort runs its chairlift on fall weekends, giving you a bird’s-eye look at the changing colors and a wide view of the Lake Superior shoreline.

Toast the Season Downtown

Kick off the season with the U.P. Fall Beer Festival, held in mid-September at Mattson Lower Harbor Park, where dozens of Michigan breweries offer a selection of over 500 beers on the shore of Lake Superior. Any weekend of fall, you can count on Marquette’s breweries for unique seasonal releases. Settle in at Blackrocks Brewery for a casual public house feel or at Ore Dock Brewing Company, whose downtown warehouse serves as a gathering place for live music and local events.

Scenic Drives

The Marquette area is packed with scenic roads, but two stand out. County Road 550 runs north from Marquette along the lakeshore toward Big Bay, passing Sugarloaf Mountain, Wetmore Landing and the beaches of Little Presque Isle along the way. Connect it with County Road 510, where scenic pullouts look out over the Dead River, and you can cross the historical CR-550 Bridge – the perfect spot for pictures.

Find more weekend getaways to soak up as much Michigan fall color as possible this season below. To see predictions of where and when fall color will peak throughout our two peninsulas, check out the interactive fall color map.