Marquette, Michigan: An Accessible Family Getaway

Our family traveled to Marquette, Michigan with Wheel the World. I traveled with my wife, Kristen, and our two sons, Harrison, 14, and Chandler, 10. As a power wheelchair user, one of my biggest concerns when traveling is always whether I’ll actually be able to participate in the things my family wants to do, not just whether a destination technically checks the box for accessibility.

We drove about seven hours to Marquette in our wheelchair-accessible van. Having Wheel the World help guide our trip gave us more confidence going into it, particularly knowing what to expect from our hotel and having accessible activities already identified.

That feeling of being able to travel with my family instead of having my family travel around my disability is what I'll remember most about Marquette.

A near-perfect hotel

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Marquette/Waterfront, and the location ended up being one of our favorite things about the entire trip. The hotel was centrally located enough that we could simply walk and roll to the waterfront, downtown restaurants, shops, and several activities without constantly loading back into the van. The accessible room was spacious and gave me plenty of room to maneuver my power chair. The bed height worked well for transferring with my slide board, and the bathroom had grab bars and a shower seat. The one accessibility issue I encountered during the entire trip was the bathroom vanity. It was too low for my wheelchair to roll underneath, which made the sink difficult for me to reach comfortably. Otherwise, our experience at the hotel was great, and the staff was friendly and accommodating.

A historic downtown with amazing accessibility

After checking in, we were excited to immediately start exploring. We headed to Lower Harbor Park, where we found an accessible playground. It was a small thing that ended up meaning a lot. Our boys thought it was pretty cool that their dad could actually access the playground with them. We spent that first evening walking and rolling along the water, taking in the scenery and watching the sunset before having dinner at Iron Bay Restaurant.

The next day we explored downtown Marquette. At the Marquette Regional History Center, our boys did a scavenger hunt while we learned more about the area’s history. We stopped at 231 West for desserts and coffee, which had an accessible ramp and side entrance, and later visited the Marquette Maritime Museum. I could access the museum, and the boys especially loved seeing the enormous lighthouse lens.

We were also able to walk and roll right up toward the lighthouse. The lighthouse itself has stairs, so I couldn’t go inside, but I could still get close enough to enjoy the area and scenery with my family.

One of the things that surprised us about Marquette was how accessible its older downtown buildings were. Some businesses use side or rear accessible entrances, but we never encountered a downtown place we wanted to visit that I simply couldn’t enter. The sidewalks and curb cuts also made getting around in a power wheelchair feel comfortable and safe.

Rolling along Lake Superior: The Iron Ore Heritage Trail

The Iron Ore Heritage Trail was another standout. Its smooth, wide surface was excellent for a power wheelchair and would also be great for walking or biking. Being able to roll along the water and enjoy the scenery together was exactly the kind of experience we had hoped to find on this trip.

We finished the day at Delft Bistro, which has a really cool atmosphere inside an old movie theater and ended up being another great meal.

For our outdoor day, we visited Lakenenland Sculpture Park and Presque Isle Park. Lakenenland can be explored from your vehicle, so accessibility wasn’t an issue at all. The boys enjoyed seeing some of the sculptures, although unless you’re particularly interested in art and eclectic roadside attractions, this probably wouldn’t be at the top of our must-do list.

Presque Isle and the outdoor day

Presque Isle, however, was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Being able to drive through the park and stop at different overlooks allowed me to experience some incredible Lake Superior scenery. At one viewing area, I could get directly out of our van and onto the overlook in my power chair.

Black Rocks was different. I couldn’t get my chair out onto the rocks themselves, so this was one activity where I couldn’t fully participate. Kristen took Harrison and Chandler out to explore while I stayed back. The boys absolutely loved climbing on the rocks, and Chandler even jumped from the cliffs into Lake Superior. Although I couldn’t join them out there, the scenery was stunning and it became one of the boys’ favorite memories of Marquette.

We also visited Jackson Mine Park and the Iron Ore Heritage Trailhead. Accessibility was very good, and I could get out with the family and explore while the kids learned a little about Marquette’s iron ore history. We had beautiful weather, and the shady trails made it an especially enjoyable stop.

Where we ate

Food was another fun part of our trip. We had brunch at Trenary Toast Café, where the cinnamon-roll French toast and lattes were a hit, and finished our last full day with pizza at Third Coast Pizzeria, which was accessible, casual, and very family-friendly. We spent our extra time simply walking and rolling around downtown and the waterfront, checking out shops and restaurants and enjoying the atmosphere.

We even found an accessible kayak launch. We didn’t get out on the water because there weren’t kayaks available to rent at the launch, but it was great to see another example of Marquette creating access to its outdoor spaces.

What we'd tell another wheelchair user

What surprised us most was just how little we had to think about accessibility once we were there. Marquette has plenty of older buildings, yet the community has found ways to incorporate ramps and accessible entrances. With the exception of the hotel sink and naturally inaccessible terrain like Black Rocks, I felt included in nearly everything my wife and kids were doing.

If another power-wheelchair user asked us whether they should visit Marquette, we’d absolutely recommend it. It’s beautiful, easy to get around, and especially impressive from an accessibility standpoint for a destination in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

But the memory I keep coming back to isn’t necessarily one of the scheduled attractions. It’s how easy it was to leave our centrally located hotel and just go, walking and rolling together to the waterfront, restaurants, and downtown without making accessibility the center of every decision.

Sometimes my favorite part was simply sitting out on the pier, catching some sun, looking over Lake Superior, and enjoying the view with my family.

That feeling of being able to travel with my family instead of having my family travel around my disability is what I’ll remember most about Marquette.

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