Bar Hopping in St. Clair, Michigan

A night out on the town can be fun and cheap, if you go the right day and the right time of day. Many bars have happy hour specials as well as special events planned for certain nights of the week and even for certain seasons of the year. For St. Clair being such a small town, there sure are a lot of bars in such a small vicinity. There are five bars within walking distance of the downtown are. They are the St. Clair Inn, Mike's Voyageur, Pepper Joes, LaCroix's Riverside Pub, and Murphy's Inn. Each bar has its own special atmosphere and attraction to it.

Let's start with the St. Clair Inn, located on the waters of the beautiful St. Clair River. On Wednesday's it's lady's night in the River Lounge room. From 6:00 pm to close, all drinks for ladies are half off. You get a lot of bang for your buck here. Their drinks are known for being strong and when they are half off, they taste even better. Thursday nights are Karaoke night, which are increasingly drawing bigger and bigger crowds every week. On the weekends they have live entertainment with a rotating roster of different bands each weekend.

Next bar down the street is Mike's Voyageur. The sports bar is located closest to the intersection of Clinton and River road. The bar has a sports theme. During the off season, the local high school's football team stores their helmets and pads by hanging them from the rafters of the bar. The walls are decorated with sports memorabilia from the high school as well. There are many pictures of teams from the past as well as an occasional jersey or varsity jacket. There are several large flat screens TVs to watch your favorite ball game on as well as several TV's to play Club Keno on. Connected to the sports bar is a bowling alley as well. There is a juke box located in between the bar and connected bowling alley for you to jam to your favorite songs. This bas generally doesn't have drink specials, but in the summer time they feature special blends of beer.

Right across the street from Mike's Voyageur is Pepper Joes. This restaurant/bar has a newly rebuilt deck that offers much fun in the warmer months. 3 nights a week they feature live entertainment on the deck as well as Margarita night on Thursday nights. There bands range from folk to rock to oldies. One night of the week they even offer open mic night. The drinks here are a little pricier and the service is not quite as good as the other bars in town, but nonetheless, a good time can be had by all here.

Slightly down Clinton Avenue is our next bar, LaCroix's Riverside Pub. The small, quaint bar is fun for that small town atmosphere that reminds you of Cheer's, where everyone knows your name. This bar also has a juke box for you to rock on to. There are no drink specials at this bar either, but they are constantly coming up with new concoctions of energy/alcohol drinks for their happy customers. LaCroix's Riverside Pub also offers an after hour menu, where there is nachos and burgers available after the kitchen closes until the bar closes. About once a month, on a Saturday night, live entertainment is also presented. It ranges anywhere from a one man band to a 2-3 piece band. On live entertainment nights, the bar gets packed and often the doors are locked early.

The last bar on the staggering strip is Murphy's Inn. This Irish bar offers Karaoke on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Wednesday's are by far this bar's busiest night of the week, with it being standing room only at times. This bar does not have drink specials. On St. Patrick's Day, Murphy's throws the biggest party in town, with bag pipers, special Irish food menu and even a parade. This bar closes earlier than any other bar in town, usually by 1:00 a.m.

As you can see, for a small town, there is still plenty to keep you entertained when you need it. There is no taxi service available in St. Clair, so bring a designated driver with you or drink in moderation. The police force may be small, but they make their presence known.