Lots of surprising, mis-information in this thread... even from residents of the area. Gotta love it.
The way Marquette is laid out - long before snowmobiles came to exist - is not conducive to sleds through the city proper. That's just The Way It Is, and there are several communities that are affected much the same way. You need to remember that Marquette is a "metropolis" with regards to its position as a community in the UP. Can you snowmobile through the middle of downtown Winnipeg or Calgary - further north with more snow? Of course not. Then why on earth would you expect to do so through the middle of Marquette? Marquette is not a "small town" when it comes to the UP, and by population concentration. It is actually very densely packed for a UP community.
321 will get you to the Holiday Inn, Holiday Gas Station, Big Boy, Jilbert's a mall, Menards and a few banks. Sledders are a major source of revenue for Holiday Inn over the winter months, and the trail leads right to their door. Without all the sled traffic spending weekends there, it would certainly be hurting, despite the other business it gets in the winter months. From there you can cab to the bars - which are downtown and through a route that has far too much foot and car traffic to permit travel by sled (Inter-mixing sled and car traffic in such a densely developed area would simply be overly hazardous to both.), or walk all of 1 or 2 blocks to several more restaurants. That layout of the city has nothing to do with sleds pro or con, and those of you who think it does are sorely mistaken. Trailblazers have gone so far as to lay down regular routes to the movie theatre, middle school, Econo Foods, and Shopko - all from where 311 goes by Marquette Mountain (snowmobilers and skiers crossing trails, even!).
The same, existing, groomed and blazed trails all were there loooong before there was a Lowe's, Target, Walmart or really anything west of the Westwood Mall, and a lot of the land between those establishments and the groomed trails is privately owned. That is not the fault of the city or the county. In fact - to get just about anywhere in downtown or east of Shopko from either 321 or 322 you would literally have to ride right through residential districts and through people's back or front yards or down major, high-traffic streets... again - all of which existed long before sleds entered the picture... so you would make more sense in blaming Bombardier for coming along too late than you do in blaming the city, county, or community that all existed prior. Remember - this is a major city - not the back woods.
There are plenty of locations to get Fuel in and around Marquette - none of which are more than 12 to 15 miles apart from each other - including the Holiday across from Holiday Inn at the end of 321, Holday just off 417 in Harvey, Crossroads on the spur off 8 just south of the city (which also shares the intersection with both Arctic Cat AND Yamaha dealers... name one other community that does that!) and of course the stations out west in Negaunee and Ishpeming. If you are that tight on fuel in between - then that is just poor planning on your part, or you really need a tune-up. Plenty of hotels as well - aside from the Holiday Inn. You have Econo Lodge accessible across the highway from 417, Nordic Bay Lodge - which is literally right ON 322 coming off the backside of Mqt Mountain, and Brentwood Motor Inn, Birchmont Motel and Country Inn Suites also all across the street from 417. There are several places to eat along that same stretch of highway near 417... some you might have to walk a couple blocks to get to from those hotels (oh the horror... walking!). Where 417 crosses M28 - on your way to fuel at Holiday you also pass 3 other hotels and a strip mall, not to mention a grocery store, sub shop, bank and pizza shop across the street.
Snowmobiling is HUGE business for both the city and county and it is promoted and pushed ad nauseum by the hotels, powersports dealers and tourism and travel boards in the area as well as every single business that is sled accessible in the region does indeed advertise as being such. Always has been this way - despite many misconceptions in this thread.
The whole 321/8/14/322/417 area that goes through and around Marquette is the 2nd largest hub if not 1st of sled traffic in the entire UP... which would explain the condition of the trails on some days. If there was nothing there for sledders, then there wouldn't be so much darned sled traffic, now would there? Let's use some logic here, eh? **** - Groomerdave is one of those who runs through there, and there are others who volunteer their time to groom when they can (you're welcome). If they are on the trail during the day more often on the weekends - people would b*tch that they were tying up the trail - so they run late at night after the massive sled traffic has taken its toll and it is easier to deal with lighter sled traffic on those trails.
I was up there a couple weekends ago with a group and got some amazing riding in earlier in the day Saturday, had banged up trails that evening and night, and smooth sailing late at night and on Sunday after the groomers went through again. That's just Part Of Snowmobiling. If people don't like it - then maybe it is time to just use the car. It is still some of the best region for sledding and activities and locations to ride to. Everyone in my group had a blast. Logistics, food, entertainment and lodging were never an issue, and they cannot wait to go again next year.
Again - Marquette is the largest community in the UP... and does indeed rank as a city. It is not a podunk town of 1500 to 5000 like the majority of the rest of the places you ride to up there. That combined with the sheer amount of sled traffic through and around it as well as the high amounts of annual snowfall are things to keep in mind before people go badmouthing it without genuine foundation.
