Munising

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Sunset Motel on the Bay

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  • 1315 Bay St.
     Munising 49862
    (906)-387-4574Website
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callen60
callen60
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5 out of 5
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Gorgeous Bayside Setting

  • November 14, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by callen60 from Ozarks, Missouri
Gorgeous Bayside Setting

One of the things that distinguishes the UP from nearly all other vacation areas is the virtually complete absence of national lodging chains. Unless you’re at St. Ignace, preparing to board a Mackinac Island ferry, in Marquette (whose sub-30,000 population makes it the UP’s largest ‘city’), Munising or a handful of other towns, you’re not likely to see the familiar branding of the nation’s top hoteliers. Better yet, you’ll have plentiful and better options no matter where you are.

The UP is home to a thriving, long-standing family-run hotel ‘industry’, and the ubiquitous pine paneling of these establishments shaped my earliest childhood memories of what it meant to be ‘up north’ and ‘on vacation’. Among my favorites is the Sunset Motel on Munising Bay, owned by Tony & Carmon Decet. They have a beautiful setting: the motel sits right on the eastern side of the bay, a large, nearly protected body of water that’s blocked from the rest of Superior by gigantic Grand Island. Their property extends right down to the water’s edge, and they’ve done a lot to make the grounds themselves even more pleasant: a well kept lawn, extensive and pretty flowerbeds, a playground and BBQ grills dot the lawn.

The rooms themselves are in a long, traditional building that must date from the 1950’s or earlier. Every room has an entry from the lakeside, and a small patio along the lengthy run of concrete. The rooms are fairly spacious, and come in a variety of sizes. We booked a two-bedroom unit, which had a nice living space and appliances. The rooms are done floor to ceiling in the knotty pine that’s standard across northern Michigan (at both UP and LP locations), and that makes me feel right at home. The rates were more than reasonable at under $90 a night.

As the name implies, it’s a fantastic place from which to watch the sunset, which had just finished as we returned from our late afternoon Pictured Rocks Cruise. It gave way to a full moon, and I spent 20 minutes catching reflections off the water

In addition to standard motel rooms, they’ve constructed a few vacation homes that sit behind the motel unit, only slightly off the lakeshore. You can’t see the water from these units, but a short walk brings you around the motel building to the bay.

I’ve stayed here a few times, and can’t remember if I’ve always had the same hosts. Regardless, I can’t say enough about these owners. They’re friendly, helpful, and gracious, and ready to share information about the area and the many surrounding sites. They keep a notebook full of brochures and maps, and I spent 10 minutes in conversation with Carmon as she showed me the right way to think about reaching locations deeper in the Lakeshore.

Bit it was right next door that I saw signs of the impending changes in the UP. I’ve never understood why this area remained relatively undeveloped in comparison with the lower peninsula, even after factoring in the extra distance. However, a sign on the adjacent lot announced the impending construction of a condo, the first I’ve ever seen in the UP. I tried to forget it as we drove into the interior of the Lakeshore, but its presence makes me anxious about what I’ll find on my next visit.

From journal Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

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