Marquette Bike Trail

There were 3 main reasons why we wanted to stay in Marquette for a few days:  (1) the cooler temperatures; (2) the nearby bike trails; and (3) to visit Pictured Rocks National Seashore.  So.... we began our 1st day in Marquette with a bike ride along Lake Superior. 

Well, you can't exactly see Lake Superior in the above picture but it was there.  Right over the rock and sand wind break. The trail was awesome!  It was flat and paved. 

We rode by the Superior Dome which is an athletic and recreational facility used by Northern Michigan University.

We rode by the old City Water Works building which now serves as a Maritime Museum..

...and the trail continued to parallel Lakeshore Drive as we rode by downtown Marquette.

We pulled into a parking lot to get a closer look at Marquette's Lower Harbor Ore Dock. 

The first ore dock was constructed in 1857 as the result of Captain George Judson's impatience with how long it took to transfer the iron ore from the trams on the dock to the schooners tied up at the harbor.  It took 20-30 men using shovels and wheelbarrows 3 to 6 days to transfer the ore and bottlenecks ensued with schooners waiting to get their cargo.  Captain Judson suggested using wooden chutes to transfer the ore more quickly.  Innovators of the Lake Superior Iron Company constructed taller docks that pockets that could be used to store the ore and dispense it.  With 27 pockets, several boats could be loaded at once and loading time was reduced from days to hours. 

The large concrete dock that still stands in the harbor was built in 1931.  The first load of 10,103 tons of iron ore took only 92 minutes to load. 

The dock was closed in 1971 because there were fewer mining companies around and it became economically obsolete.  However, according to a lady who worked at the public library and lives in Marquette, we found out that the City has considered maybe building condos on top of it or using it for businesses or something because the dock is structurally sound and it has a unique look to it.

We continued along the bike trail stopping at the Michigan Welcome Center and rest area on the east side of town.  That's the first time we encountered a rest area on a bike trail.  :)

As we continued east on the trail, it became a hard packed dirt and gravel trail that went across beautiful little inlets...

...and along the backs of some subdivisions. I bet the residents in those subdivisions are glad there are bikers and walkers rather than noisy trains going behind their houses now.  Of course, in the winter, they get to listen to the snowmobilers riding along the trail.

After we had ridden a little over 10 miles, we turned around and headed back.  There were these pretty pink flowers near one of the bridges.  

Marquette had some nice townhomes near the Lower Ore Harbor with nice decks and beautiful landscaping.

On the way back, we stopped so I could get a better picture of the old lighthouse in Marquette.

We could see the still functioning Upper Ore Harbor as we got closer to the campground.  

By the time we got back to the campground, we had ridden around 21 miles.  What a great bike ride!