fresh coast summer itinerary

far from ore-dinary

One of Marquette’s most iconic landmarks is the Lower Harbor Ore Dock. A stone’s throw from

downtown Marquette, this mammoth structure in Lake Superior represents the city’s maritime and mining past. While no longer in use, this concrete and steel relic once played an active part in Marquette’s daily iron ore trade. Today, it’s the perfect spot for a classic Marquette photo-op.

If you’re looking for a unique pastime while in town, take a moment to watch a freighter loading iron ore pellets at Marquette’s Upper Harbor Ore Dock. Built in 1912, the Presque Isle Dock, as it’s also referred to as, is still in use today. Find arrival and departure information, current locations and other details of incoming ships on MarineTraffic.com to plan for your outing accordingly.

northern lights

Is seeing the Northern Lights on your bucket list? We can’t promise you’ll catch

the colorful light curtains during your stay, but we can provide useful tips to help plan your visit. If you check it off or not, either way, we hope you’ll enjoy the chase!

WHAT TO KNOW

The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights occur with a strong solar event sending an elevated solar wind of charged particles (electrons) towards Earth. These electrons strike Earth's magnetosphere and travel along magnetic field lines towards the north and south poles where they collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in Earth's upper atmosphere. The atoms excite, then relax and release a photon, which is light—this is what we see as the Northern Lights.

WHERE TO WATCH

Marquette County is among the best locations in the continental U.S. to see the Northern Lights, but the aurora is still fairly elusive here. You’ll need clear skies, a north-facing location with low light pollution and a KP Index level of 5 or greater for an optimal light display. If the aurora is bright enough, Presque Isle Park, Picnic Rocks, and the Welcome Center are the best accessible options near town or venture further out to spots like Sugarloaf Mountain, Wetmore Landing, Thomas Rock and the M-28 turnouts for less light pollution and better visibility.

WHEN TO VIEW

The best time of year to try and catch this natural phenomenon is around the spring and fall equinoxes when the auroras are most active, but a summer or winter show isn’t off the table. The prime viewing time is at peak darkness, between 10 pm and 2 am. A strong show will be visible no matter the phase of the moon, but it’s best to avoid the days leading up to a full moon as the lights can be drowned out in its glow.

HOW TO PLAN

Auroras can’t be reliably predicted more than 3 days beforehand (the time it takes for solar winds to reach Earth), but there are some great resources for tracking and predictions. Before your trek, we recommended checking out some of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's resources to learn more. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (www.swpc.noaa.gov) has lots of data and graphs worth diving into and a 3-day aurora forecast animated radar to help you plan your polar light pursuit.