GREENLAND

Region: Porcupine Mountains and Ontonagon

Originally named "Grove City" when founded back in 1857, this pleasant village grew over the years to house the families of the over 400 miners who trudged daily to work in the copper mine on nearby Adventure Mountain. Most of the original homes have disappeared. Those that remain have been remodeled to such an extent that their original austerity is no longer apparent.
Today the major occupation in and around Greenland is working in the surrounding forests, cutting and hauling softwood trees to the huge paper mill in Ontonagon. Caledonia Road on the west end of town leads to Ridge Road, a two-track which follows the ridge east to Mass City.

Greenland itself is the destination for trash trucked all the way from Keweenaw and Houghton counties. Waste Management operates the K&W Landfill on the south side of M-38 going toward Ontonagon, about a mile past the car dealership.

The Ontonagon County Fairgrounds is in Greenland, too. Check with the Chamber of Commerce (www.ontonagonmi.com; 906-884-4735 in season) for fair dates. The local branch of Lions International uses the fairgrounds for a stock car race track and for a winter park with an ice rink and toboggan run. (Currently the ski hill is closed while the Lions search for a T-bar lift.) The race track is one of the few clay tracks in the Upper Peninsula. It draws spectators from far away on alternate Fridays from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Call radio station WUPY in Ontonagon (906-884-9668) for race days.

There's a party store in Greenland and a colorful bar where locals congregate. It's called "Beer Belly Bob's," and the proprietor does indeed have considerable girth. The cheeseburger comes highly recommended.

Return to Porcupine Mountains and Ontonagon

PLACES AROUND GREENLAND TO

Eat Sleep Camp