Weekend in Escanaba
I recently had the opportunity to work with Visit Escanaba on a weekend trip, so here’s my roundup blog post of all the places I’d recommend to drink, eat and adventure to! It was a great weekend full of excursions and relaxation! I have a total soft spot for Escanaba. I traveled here a few years ago to check off a few lighthouses off my list, but would return again and again for the character of this town, the food, the wine, vibes, and things to do. There’s a slower pace to weekends spent in the UP — which I love. I stayed in Nahma at the Nahma Inn, which is about 45 minutes from downtown Escanaba. Nahma is a tiny tiny town, and I wish I would have had more time there just to walk around and explore, but there was too much to check off the list! Anyway, read on for a fun weekend in Naba!
NAHMA INN
Nahma was such a quaint town to stay in while exploring the Escanaba/Delta County area! It’s about 21 miles west of Manistique and about 25 miles east of Escanaba. It definitely added a little bit of driving time if you’re heading into Escanaba often, but it was a wonderful central location to eating dinner in Rapid River and heading out to Fayette to explore as well. But I stayed at the Nahma Inn, which is a charming turn of the century inn, that has 14 unique rooms, furnished with antiques and all themed. It’s located right on Big Bay de Noc. There’s a restaurant/bar downstairs, that serves lunch and dinner, and the Arrow Lounge serves drinks throughout the evening. Definitely a cozy and relaxing place to stay. I’d go back in a heartbeat.
So fun seeing my photo in the Visit Escanaba travel guide!
One of my favorite things about staying at Nahma Inn was just getting out to explore the small town and walking around a little bit. If you head south of the inn, there are little roads and bridges by the Nahma Boat Lounge that are fun to check out! Honestly just getting out for a walk is the best way to explore a small town. You see a lot of things you might miss just driving past, or by doing research.
SWALLOW INN
For dinner that night, we headed into Rapid River to check out Swallow Inn. It was voted the best fish fry in the UP, so I knew I had to give it a try! It’s every Friday from 4-10pm, they have lots of options for fish fry (including cajun, which is a treat) and during non-COVID times they have a 42-item homemade soup, salad and dessert bar. But yeah, your classic Yooper bar, lots of seating, music, drinks (thank goodness for sweet wine options!), pool, darts and arcade games. I loved the vibes in this restaurant, the food was excellent, and it was just a very fun night. I’m already dreaming of going back for their fried whitefish and onion rings.
PENINSULA POINT LIGHTHOUSE
The next morning was spent watching sunrise (well… fog made it hard to watch), but experiencing sunrise at Peninsula Point Lighthouse. I love this little lighthouse. First, it takes about 30 minutes to go down the peninsula and down a narrow dirt road before you reach the lighthouse. Second, this tower is all that remains after a fire and demolition. You can climb up by yourself, for a gorgeous view of the bay. Third, you can spot the Minneapolis Shoal Light from shore and…. fourth, this is a gathering place for monarch butterflies each fall where they rest before continuing south across Lake Michigan on their annual migration to Mexico!
SWEDISH PANTRY
After a foggy morning on Peninsula Point, and spotting at least 25+ deer on the drive, we headed into town to have breakfast at the Swedish Pantry, which… is one of my favorite breakfasts in the UP. It is so good! It's located downtown Escanaba, so an awesome location to park, eat, and then walk around a bit. When you walk inside, you’re greeted by a Swedish bakery, and then you can sit in their eclectic little cafe with tons of unique, handmade clocks on the walls. I went for their most classic Swedish breakfast — I had the swedish pancakes (crêpes), which were served with meatballs and lingonberries. SO GOOD. That little dish of melted butter though. 🤤 I always love this meal!
FOR THE LOVE OF CUPCAKES
So after learning about this little bakery called For The Love of Cupcakes, I knew I had to run in to pick up cupcakes early in the day for dessert later, because apparently they sell out pretty quickly and all they have is all they have. So just to note, go early in the day to stock up on cupcakes because these are so good! I ended up getting a four-pack of them… and they were devoured easily by the next morning, haha. This little shop is located right on Ludington Street in downtown Escanaba. It’s a full service cupcake/cake bakery, and every flavor I tasted of the cupcakes was so good. I think if I *had* to choose a favorite, it’d be the red velvet though. Yummmm.
NORTHERN SUN WINERY
One of my favorite stops in Escanaba is Northern Sun Winery! It’s located about ~15 minutes outside downtown Escanaba. The wines are all made with grapes 100% grown on their estate. It’s a beautiful setting with a small wine tasting room and plenty of outdoor place to roam and sit to enjoy a wine tasting or a glass of wine. Plus, they also have snacks available for purchase too. Definitely worth the little jaunt out to Bark River to enjoy! I loved their apple and rhubarb wine! They have several dry options though for you non-sweet drinkers, hahaha. I just recommend what I like… and that so happens to be sweet!
LEIGH’S GARDEN WINERY
Another winery in the area I enjoy is Leigh’s Garden Winery! It’s located right downtown Escanaba, so a perfect spot to stop for a little pre-dinner wine tasting if you’re venturing downtown to eat. They have plenty of bar space to wine taste, along with sitting areas as well to order a glass of wine and enjoy! I always take home a few from this winery… Yooper Juice is a popular favorite, which is a sweet moscato rosé. Definitely up my alley! But I always love sampling their fruit wines too. Go for the blackberry!
SAND POINT LIGHTHOUSE
This lighthouse is another sight to see… it’s beautiful, you can tour the inside seasonally, and it has a lot of fun and unique history! This one was built in 1867, and warned the ships off Sand Point and the sand reef that reached out into Little Bay De Noc. Another thing about this lighthouse is that it employed one of the first women lighthouse keepers on the Great Lakes! There’s a fun mystery to learn about Mary Terry, the lighthouse keeper. But, this lighthouse has undergone major renovation. They used old blueprints as a guide to restore the lighthouse back to its original glory. The interior has been restored as authentically as possible, which I always love!
FRESHWATER TAVERN
For dinner, I decided to check out Freshwater Tavern, which was recommended by Visit Escanaba and several others! It’s located inside the Terrace Bay hotel in Gladstone. It has an amazing view of Lake Michigan… there was a bit of a wait when we arrived, so next time I’ll try getting a lake view. But sitting in the bar was fun! But this was literally too much food. When you order, be prepared that you also get a complete bread & butter flight, that is so delicious. I also ordered their margarita flight, which was fun to try too. But… things I tried/would recommend: Smoked Whitefish Dip with Pita Chips, the Tavern Burger was really good, and the Three Pepper Fettuccine with Blackened Chicken. I definitely want to go back and try more on the menu though!
FAYETTE HISTORIC STATE PARK
On the last day in Escanaba, we ventured out to Fayette Historic State Park. I’ve been once before… but this is a park I definitely see myself visiting lots more in the years to come. This historic park is located in the Garden Peninsula. You can explore the visitor center and 20 buildings to learn how this little iron smelting town operated. Plus, to see the sandstone cliffs on Lake Michigan is one of my favorite UP views. The park is open year-round, from 8 am to 10 pm; however, the historic townsite is only open mid-May to mid-October. Plan to spend a couple of hours here exploring and snapping photos!
JACK’S RESTAURANT
The last stop out of town was back in Rapid River at Jack’s Restaurant. Since we hit Fayette first, I wasn’t sure if breakfast would still be served anywhere… so I’m glad they had a limited breakfast menu they served all day! So breakfast & lunch, it was! This is a classic diner-style eatery serving up burgers, fries & milkshakes. They are also known for their homemade cinnamon rolls, which were out of stock by the time we arrived, so I’ll have to go back & visit again soon. But yeah, food was great, service was great, and I’d definitely come back to Jack’s!
Well I hope you guys enjoyed this little weekend recap in Escanaba! There’s still so much more to see, do, places to eat, etc. I’ll definitely be back to explore more of this area. It’s such an easy trip from Marquette! If I missed anything you’d recommend, let me know in the comments below. And thanks to Visit Escanaba for making this wonderful trip happen!