Grand Marais, MI

Sunrise over Grand Marais, Michigan. 10/6/24 dwm

Our second stop along the Lake Superior shoreline was in Grand Marais.

In French, Grand Marais can mean harbor of refuge as well as marsh. Grand Marais, Michigan, as well as the town of the same name in Minnesota, fit the French definition.

Just over 230 people call Grand Marais home, we saw a lot more people than that during our visit but the locals we talked to in various shops seemed to know everybody else.

We were impressed by the houses when we drove into town, almost 100% of them had well-kept yards, fresh paint or siding, and showed the pride the good people of Grand Marais have in their community.

The downtown has several restaurants and places to quench your thirst, plus hardware stores and a grocery. There is a volunteer fire department and several shops that carry things people need.

This was a summer home. dwm

We had lunch at the Breakwall where we had excellent hamburgers. That evening, we picked up a pizza from the Grand Marais Tavern, and the next morning, we had breakfast at Archie's Diner.

We stayed at a nice motel with a great view of Lake Superior called Voyageurs motel that's owned by a nice young couple. It seems to me that most people in Grand Marais like the outdoors and either enjoy or learned to live with more winter than most of us want and they aren't hiding in their homes all winter.

The Diner caught our attention in our drive around town, as did a trolley car that now serves as a food truck. There was another food truck serving coffee and two barrels that are now a museum but used to be a cottage.

The Pickle Barrel House was made for William Donahey, the author and illustrator of Teenie Weenies cartoon characters. The barrels are in downtown Grand Marais, they used to be out near lake Au Sable when they served as a summer home.

It's the eastern entrance to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and close to the Hiawatha National Forest to the east while having one of the few safe harbors along the the southern shore of Lake Superior.

Click here to see more about Grand Marais.