Outdoor Life Ranks Marquette 7th Best Town in U.S. for Hunters and Anglers

In their April 2008 issue Outdoor Life ranked the top 200 towns in the United States for Hunters and Fishermen to call home. Out of the 200 ranked towns, the Upper Peninsula’s very own Marquette cracked the top ten, ranked 7th in the nation. They labeled it “The undisputed capital of the U.P.” (but we’ll leave that to you to decide). Escanaba also made the list (#136).

No. 7 Marquette, MI

“One of the best salmon and steelhead towns in the nation is hundreds of miles from the ocean. Just outside this thriving college town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, anglers cast to surly chinooks, chrome-bright steelhead and colorful lake-run brown trout.”

–Outdoor Life, April 2008

Grades:
Fishable species: B+
Huntable species: B+
Public-land proximity: B+
Gun laws: B+

Some of the additional ranking factors were economy growth rate, unemployment rate, degree of taxation, travel access, commute times, crime rate, housing prices, and cultural opportunity.

Outdoor Life’s Top 10 Towns for Hunters and Fishermen to call home (out of 200)

1. Mountain Home, Arkansas (map)
2. Lewiston, Idaho (map)
3. Sheridan, Wyoming (map)
4. Cody, Wyoming (map)
5. Pocatello, Idaho (map)
6. Lewistown, Montana (map)
7. Marquette, Michigan (map)
8. Dillon, Montana (map)
9. Page, Arizona (map)
10. Bismarck, North Dakota (map)

Of the 200 towns ranked there are three other Michigan towns listed: Manistee (#62), Escanaba (#136), and Cadillac (#182).

For more information check out the April 2008 issue of Outdoor Life magazine. And if you’re from out of town and want to learn more start with the Marquette Visitor Bureau.