STORY:

The PNW has some truly amazing places to paddleboard but every year I fly my paddleboard from Seattle to Chicago and make the 7-hour drive up to Marquette, Michigan. It was in Marquette that I fell in love with paddleboarding and it still is one of my favorite places to paddle. It may not have the towering mountains of Washington or the incredible waterfalls of Oregon but it is where my soul is most at home.

I have been wanting to paddle at the Ore Dock for a few years now and what better time than sunrise? I’ll be honest, I love the idea of sunrise adventures the night before but when that alarm goes off in the morning I am not the happiest camper. I slowly got out of bed and peeked out the window to make sure it was, in fact, the clear morning they were predicting. I grabbed some coffee and headed out the door.

Thankfully the air was warm and the sky was just starting to light up. I inflated my board and hit the water. I was in awe of the size of the Ore Dock. It is one thing to see it from shore but to be right next to it was truly incredible. I started paddling out and after a short encounter of a swarm of flies (don’t worry, I am pretty sure I was the only harmed by the experience) I had made it to the edge of the Ore Dock to watch the sunrise over Lake Superior. The is something incredibly humbling about watching the sunrise and set and I do not experience it nearly enough. I watched the sun rise above the water and then started to head back to shore. It was a fantastic morning and I am so glad I got my butt out of bed to experience the sunrise.

PRO TIPS:

• Be prepared for the flies. Not much you can do about them, just know they want you.
• There are some old stumps in front of the ore dock, don’t paddle over them. You will get stuck at that is not the most fun thing at 6:00 AM