Lake Superior Beach Cottage: Relax at the Beach Instead of a Hotel

A Local Look at Marquette
You could ask a dozen people why they like the area and get twelve different answers. But everyone would agree that, in part, “It’s the people.” Folks who have settled here tend be either born and raised Yoopers, or transplants that stay because of the myriad business and recreational opportunities available to them.
There are legions of local businesses, clubs, and organizations – formal and informal – designed around the pursuit of passion. Recreation is included in that list and most folks engage in several forms. At a minimum, some would say, it’s mandatory to survive the long winters.
There’s a shared experience living here that you won’t find in larger cities. To some extent, I think it reflects the “sisu,” or grit, needed to make it through our long winters. There’s a vague resemblance to that family vacation where everything went wrong and it wasn’t that fun at the time but now everyone laughs at it and remembers if fondly? Still, more than a few insist winter is their favorite season. It’s wonderful to have actual snow to get out and play in. Hence, the popularity of the Upper Peninsula for snowmobiling, Nordic and alpine skiing, ski jumping, dog sled racing, etc.
Also, it’s an understated luxury to live here and have only a short drive to a ski hill, or a trail head, or the university. Unlike large cities, where you live in suburbia and spend hours on the weekend driving to the golf course or the beach, in Marquette you can go there after work. This immediate proximity to your recreational choices helps turn your passions into a lifestyle.
Maybe that’s why the city has been designated one of “America’s Most Livable Communities” and one of the “Best Small Cities in America” by Nerdwallet. It’s also a “Bicycle Friendly Community” by the League of American Bicyclists, a “Tree City USA” by the Arbor Day Foundation, ranked in the “Top 200 Towns for Sportsmen” by Outside Magazine, is one of the “Ten Winter Wonderlands for Retirement” by