Downtown Houghton. Shops, eateries, historic saloons, and a brewpub line Shelden Ave., with its handsome sandstone buildings and a dramatic location a block uphill from the Portage Waterway path and Bridgeview Park. ... more

Houghton Waterfront Path and Park


Outsiders might easily overlook this paved 4 1/2 mile bike/hiking/rollerblading trail that connects many interesting sights and features. It extends west from the Nara Nature Park at Houghton's east entrance on U.S. 41 all the way to the Houghton Waterfront Park west of M-26.

Picnic tables and occasional fishing platforms are along the waterfront from Dee Stadium west to the Lift Bridge and Houghton beach. The path and park are almost entirely sunny, so hats and sunscreen are in order.

? See separate point of interest for the NARA NATURE PARKS with boardwalks along the Pilgrim River to the Keweenaw Waterway. Good birding and fishing.

? Next, just west of the Michigan Tech campus, behind the Super 8 motel (prominently signed from College Avenue), is a public dock with benches offering a Keweenaw Waterway view across to the ski hill. (Walk or bike east from the motel on the pathway to reach a small sand beach below the Michigan Tech campus.) Just west of the Super 8 is a parking lot and access point for kayaks and canoes.

*The main waterfront park is behind downtown Houghton, with a lot of parking. The first street down to the water is just past the Chamber of Commerce, by the Citgo station.

? DEE STADIUM, (906) 482-1770, owned by the city of Houghton, is used as an events center, Keweenaw Star waterway cruise ticket office (see separate point of interest) and summer history center. The ever-growing collection of KEWEENAW HISTORICAL PHOTO, spearheaded by Ralph Raffaelli, Houghton's recently retired police chief, have been on display each summer. Usually from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wheelchair accessible.
"The Dee" has a hallowed place in hockey history — at least its predecessor did. Hockey was evolving from a sport for Canada's wealthy urbanites into a more broad-based game when "Doc" Gibson, a Detroit-educated Canadian dentist and outstanding hockey player, came to town in 1900. He dreamed of establishing professional hockey in the U.S.
Gibson gathered hockey players from Canada and convinced James Dee to build "The Amphidrome" on this site as a hockey arena, county fair venue, and warehouse. In Houghton, Dee had become rich in the telegraph and electricity businesses and made more money in real estate. What's considered the first U.S. all-pro professional hockey game took place at The Amphidrome on Dec. 20, 1902. A vivid mural on The Dee's entrance depicts an early Amphidrome crowd.
By 1904 Gibson had successfully promoted the International Hockey League, the world's first inter-city professional league. In it, the best Canadian players played three seasons for member teams at Portage Lake (Houghton-Hancock), Calumet, each of the two Soos, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When the league folded, Gibson moved on to Calgary. The Hockey Hall of Fame honors Gibson as a builder of the sport. Get the whole story at www.cityofhoughton.com and look under "history."
The Amphidrome burned in 1927. This, the second Amphidrome, later known as Dee Stadium, hosted Michigan Tech's hockey games through 1972. Today artifacts and photos of Houghton's hockey history can be seen in the Dee Stadium Hockey Room. A video, part of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting) 10-part Hockey: A People's History, focuses on the Houghton segment of that popular series.

? PORTAGE LAKE DISTRICT LIBRARY, (906) 482-4570, has in its new building many surprising features not suggested by its bland exterior, thanks to creative design inputs for and from many users, including children. Big windows offer outstanding views from the Ripley Smelter to the Lift Bridge. Reading nooks abound. (Readers in a cozy seating area at the library's far, west end can look up at the dramatic bridge in all seasons. The history area behind the main desk looks out on the smelter.) There are computers for visitors to use, and genealogical reference materials. The helpful bulletin board shows part of what's happening locally.
Alas, library funding has been only from millages of the city of Houghton and Chassell/Portage Township. Parents in Hancock, South Range, and Dollar Bay would have to buy yearly library memberships to encourage their kids to read, but few do. (The Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw district, however, has an outstanding public/school library.) On Lakeshore at the foot of Huron, near the Suomi Kitchen. Open Mon, Tues, Thurs 10-9, Wed & Fri 10-5, Sat 12-5. Wheelchair-accessible.
? BRIDGEVIEW PARK. Farther west on the waterfront path, past the parking deck, this beautiful new park has benches, a large year-round grill, an interpretive display about the historic waterfront, and fine view of the lift bridge from water level. The park and parking area are at the foot of the street which leads down from Shelden Ave. between The Ambassador restaurant and Surplus Outlet. Wheelchair-accessible park.
? BOATERS can tie up for free at many docks along the entire downtown waterfront from the Super 8 Motel west past the Lift Bridge to the RV park, swimming beach, and chutes-and-ladders playground. Call (906) 482-8745 for marina info. A handy kayak/canoe access point is just west of the Super 8. A boat ramp is just west of the Lift Bridge.
? HOUGHTON WATERFRONT PARK and BEACH. West of the Lift Bridge, this sunny, open pathway and waterfront benches and fishing platforms are partly the front yard for a row of upscale homes. It ends in a large beach, playground, and picnic areas with grills. Its centerpiece is a spectacular, immensely popular high chutes-and-ladders structure. The Houghton RV Park adjoins the park and play area. Entered by vehicles either off of M-26 as it turns uphill, or from Lakeshore Drive on the waterfront going under the bridge. The shoreline bike/walking path to Chassell starts here, goes under the bridge, and goes east. Wheelchair-accessible. (—April, 2008)

Keweenaw Star Keweenaw Waterway cruises


When not booked for private events, this 110-foot ship takes up to 147 visitors on a relaxing 2 ½-hour evening cruise to either the North Portage Entry at McLain State Park (by the setting sun) or the South Entry at Jacobsville — weather depending.

Captain Kraig Funkey's narration illuminates the scenery: the Ripley smelter and other relics from copper mining, the Lift Bridge, lighthouses and other navigational aids, possible eagles and other wildlife. Refreshments available on board. Charters available. (—April, 2008)

Docks at Dee Stadium at the foot of Isle Royale St. at 700 E. Lakeshore on the Houghton waterfront. Call (906) 482-1770 to confirm sailing and, perhaps, destination. $20/adult, $12 ages 6 to 12, 5 and under free. Wheelchair-accessible (call ahead) except for rest rooms.

Michigan Tech School of Forest Resources & Environmental Science


Right next to the USDA Forest Service lab, the forestry school is an interesting place to look around. Visitors are welcome. Students are often gathered around tables in the colorful, two-level atrium, talking and studying. Handouts about upcoming events and current career opportunities are by the door. Display cases show off faculty and student projects. The flags represent countries where MTU students and faculty come from, or where they may serve as part of a special Peace Corps Master's International Program in forestry for developing countries.

Special decorative touches abound. Behind this large space, in the administrative office area, wood walls are incised with murals showing lumber-related scenes—an unusual technique sort of like a computer-aided version of wood-burning.

Wildlife art donated by an MTU alum and Dow chemical retiree is displayed in the halls of the faculty office area and upper level of Horner Hall. A few limited-edition prints are by Roger Tory Peterson and two-time national duck stamp winner David Mass.

Of exceptional interest are 85 prints and five watercolors featuring Michigan scenes and wildlife. They are by Dietmar Krumrey, an exacting realist and student of wildlife and habitat. After working at Hallmark, he moved back to the U.P. to freelance, where he could live near the forests and lakes that had inspired his career.

The main office can sometimes arrange an impromptu visit by potentially interested students. Michigan's largest accredited forestry program is at Tech; the school says that 95% of its grads get jobs or go on to continue their education within six months of graduation. (Michigan State also offers forestry; the University of Michigan, home of the state's first forestry program, now offers natural resources but not forestry.)

MTU's approach is investigative, with field, lab, and quantitative work, whether in forestry, applied ecology and environmental sciences, or wildlife ecology and management. The famous Isle Royale wolf-moose predator-prey research, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2008, is based here.


On MacInnes Drive (uphill at the stoplight on U.S. 41 on the Michigan Tech campus). Look for two story horizontal building with wood upper floor on your right. Drive around to the back, look for visitor parking. (906) 487-2454. Wheelchair accessible.

Nara Nature Park and Houghton-Chassell bike trail


The bike trail (paved with asphalt in Houghton, with hard-packed stamp sand otherwise) parallels U.S. 41 for some 10 miles between Chassell and Houghton, passing some interesting shops among the businesses along the way.

The treasures for birders, anglers, and strollers aren't very visible, except for prominent signs announcing the new Nara Nature Park and its trails. (See "Downtown Houghton" for attractions along the in-town part of the trail.)

Two wheelchair-accessible boardwalks go along wildlife-rich Pilgrim River to the Keweenaw Waterway.

The mile-long NARA BOARDWALK on the creek's south bank has five fishing platforms and benches. Fish are those found in the Keweenaw Waterway: walleye, pike, perch, bass, and more. The elevated path goes through a wetland of woody shrubs and ends by the waterway. Many kinds of shore birds and songbirds are in the area, including eagles sometimes. In 2007 mud flats extend out for many yards; in previous years the water came up near the boardwalk. The parking area is right by the river, across from the Copper Country Humane Society.

The woodchip PEEPSOCK TRAIL, ¾ mile long, begins across from the Pilgrim River Steakhouse and goes through a woods with seasonal wildflowers, ending at the point where the Keweenaw Waterway makes a 90° turn from the South Entry by Jacobsville to the east-west stretch between Houghton and Hancock. A bench lets walkers sit and look out across the waterway to the Coast Guard station on Dollar Bay. (—September, 2007)

Parking is off U.S. 41, on the water side, just west of the Pilgrim River about 3 miles east of Houghton. Wheelchair-accessible. 2 boardwalk trails along Pilgrim River.

Seaman Mineral Museum. One of the country's finest collections of U.P., Michigan, and world-wide minerals, artfully displayed and interpreted by professional geologists. ... more

USDA Forest Service Rhizotron


A rhizotron is an underground tunnel allowing for the non-invasive study (i.e., no digging) of underground processes involving root systems, decomposition, organisms, and bacteria. Here 24 large windows looking at underground soil structure when stainless steel covers are slid open.

It's an inconspicuous but important addition to the Michigan Tech campus — one of only two U.S. rhizotrons looking at northern forest ecosystems. It's part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service research lab here, one of 17 Forest Service labs on university campuses in the north central states.

The role of forests in storing or retaining carbon while producing sustainable supplies of renewable energy is a hot topic today, now that climate change is taken seriously not only by most scientists but by more of the public and their elected representatives. Rhizotron project leader Alexander Friend has been studying this since 2001.

The rhizotron, finished in 2006, is a big step forward in learning more about how forests store carbon and investigating the uncertainties about how northern forests might respond to future climate change.

Local loamy sand and maple, birch, and aspen are outside the rhizotron's east windows. Mostly white pine seedlings grow in the coarse sand soil from Atlantic Mine outside the west windows. The tunnel temperature is kept at the outdoor soil temperature, which is 35 degrees or so in winter, what with the insulating snow blanket.

As the soils develop (earthworms and brown centipedes were the first to come), they will attain the complexity of mature soils in terms of bacteria, organisms, fungi, and decomposing leaves.

Regular tours for the general public are given year-round on the first Friday of each month from 3-4 p.m. Group tours can be arranged for all levels of interests. Call (906) 482-6303. (—October, 2007)


Behind the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, 410 MacInnes Dr. (Uphill from the light at the Michigan Tech Campus). Clearly signed. Easy parking behind building. (906) 482-6303. Wheelchair-accessible.

Michigan Technological University. One of the country's major technological universities provides a dramatic entryway to Hougton and lots of exceptional winter activities. Ice sculptures for the MTU Winter Carnival are worth a trip! ... more

MTU Archives/Copper Country Historical Collection. Lots of interesting old photos and loads of historical documents from a fascinating region ... more

Keweenaw Gem & Gift. Gemologist and geologist owners provide expert perspective on Copper Country rockhounding, agates, copper, greenstones, datolite, and more. ... more