CLARE, Mich. (Michigan Back Roads) – Clare, and Clare County, have always been known in Michigan as the place where “Up North” begins. The county is known as the “Gateway to the North”, while the town is known as the “City of Festivals.”

If planning a quick and easy getaway around a festival, Clare is an excellent choice of destination. Something seems to be going on nearly every month of the year. The town turns green for the annual 4-day Irish Festival in March, one of the best known and well-loved events in town. Then, diverse festivals go on all year including the unique Amish Quilt Auction, Craft Show, and Flea Market the third weekend in May and the Friday and Saturday of the Labor Day holiday.

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These and other events often take place in downtown Clare. Downtown has retained its hometown charm with historic architecture, unusual shops, and plenty of parking. A getaway could be a relaxing day shopping at The Herrick House or treating yourself at the rightly famous, Cops & Donuts. The downtown shopping district is comprised of several blocks of shops and dining options. This is where you will find cafes like the Herrick House, brew pubs, and dining spots that have been there for 100 years.

Since this is the “Gateway to the North”, nature lovers are going to find plenty to their liking. Clare grew up along the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway. That railway bed is now a multi-use scenic trail as part of the Rails to Trails program. There is even camping available within a few blocks of downtown, in Pettit Park, on the Tobacco River.

Budd Lake, in Harrison, is famous for fishing and winter sports. Just outside of Clare, is a major destination for sportsmen on a getaway, Jay’s Sporting Goods, with its 70,000+ square feet of the stuff you need for fun outdoors.

The Pere-Marquette Rail Trail is a 30-mile paved trail from downtown Clare to Midland. Soon hikers, bikers, and skaters will be able to enjoy the extensions to the trail including a section from just west of Clare through Evart, and there are plans to pave more of this trail through Reed City and beyond. This route has been designated as US Route 20, which extends west to the Pacific Coast! No motor vehicles are allowed.

Lovers of history and the arts can have a full day’s getaway discovering the treasures hidden around town. The old railroad Depot has been refurbished and the Mast Murals can be seen at what the middle school is now. The Mast Murals are some of the largest WPA murals in existence, composed by a single artist. These murals were part of the Works Project Administration art project. Each of the four panels is approximately 20-feet high and 8-feet wide. They were painted at the Detroit Institute of Arts, wrapped around stovepipe, and transported by flatbed truck the 170 miles to Clare. The murals illustrate agriculture, peacetime activities, science & education, and the emerging gas & oil industry. Along with the Mast Murals, there is also another piece of WPA art on the school grounds, an 8-foot-high statue called “Pioneer Mother” by Samual Cashwan.

There is something else rare and wonderful here. At the main intersection downtown sits the Doherty Hotel. Inside is a pub where there is a depression-era work of art. On the wall is a mural that covers approximately 70 feet. The painting depicts leprechauns making beer, though I would have thought it would be a dark stout. The painting is known as the leprechaun mural. The story goes that during the depression, an unknown artist made a deal with the owner or hotel manager to create a painting in the hotel bar in return for lodgings.