|
|
HOUGHTON
POINTS OF INTEREST
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Houghton Lodgings
|
These are our choices, not ads.
Expect higher rates and very tight occupancy for Winter Carnival and MTU graduation.
BEST WESTERN FRANKLIN SQUARE INN
(906) 487-1700; (888) 487-1700; houghtonlodging.com
The area's largest full-service hotel and conference center is the 7-story, 105-room Franklin Square Inn at downtown's east edge, half a mile from the Michigan Tech campus. It's well situated for walks in several directions and the rusting ruins of the Ripley smelter — one of Copper Country's dramatic ruins. Excellent 7th-floor North Shore Grill and Thirsty Fish Pub are bonuses. Standard water view room rate in summer for two are $100. Entire facility has wi-fi internet. Coffeemakers. Special business rooms have king bed, microwave, mini-fridge. Jan., 2008
820 Shelden/U.S. 41 at east end of downtown Houghton. ADA accessible: some rooms. Children free with one parent. Pets: $10/day in most rooms. TRAVELODGE
(906) 482-1400; reservations (800) 578-7878; travelodgeofhoughton.com
Formerly known as the Best Western King's Inn, later Best Value Inn. This 67-room hotel is at the west end of downtown Houghton, its taverns, movie theater, and shops. It's right across from the historic Ambassador restaurant, an easy walk across the lift bridge for a great view of town and the Portage Waterway. The hotel is built into the hillside. The fourth and fifth floors (approached by car from uphill Montezuma Ave.) offer excellent views of the bridge, Quincy Hill, and Mount Ripley ski hill. These are premium executive rooms ($103 in summer) with a king bed, queen pullout, and whirlpool tubs. (To go downtown to Shelden Ave., it's necessary to walk down two flights of stairs.) Rooms on the second and third floors open onto an enclosed hallway. The first floor has drive-up rooms.
Standard rooms have a queen and double bed ($82 in summer) or one king ($72). All rooms have coffeemakers, phones with free local calls, and wireless internet.
The third-floor pool room has a 40' pool, sauna, and whirlpool. There's an interesting view of parts of downtown. Wood trusses and cedar siding give the room a warm, airy look. Tables and chairs make it a nice place to hang out. Jan., 2008
215 Shelden/U.S. 41 just east of lift bridge. Some rooms are ADA accessible. Others have 36" doors. Children under 18 free with parents. Pets: $20/stay in 2 pet rooms. SUPER 8 MOTEL
(906) 482-2240; exploringthenorth.com/super8h; super8.com
The 85-room Super 8 here has many extras starting with a quiet Portage Waterway location away from U.S. 41 with three docks, waterfront seating, and a paved walking trail to downtown Houghton and the spectacular chutes and ladders playground on the west 4-mile bike trail and the Nara Nature Trail on the Pilgrim River mouth. It's hard to believe that Super 8 is considered an economy chain by national standards. Half the rooms look out onto a simple garden, the water, and the Mount Ripley ski hill and historic Ripley smelter. This view is shared by two large motelside decks with picnic tables (a gas grill is usually on the bigger deck by the meeting room) and also by tables and benches near additional grills on the docks.
Boaters can pull up and dock for free at the city of Houghton's dock outside. A kayak landing is adjacent. (In winter the bike path becomes part of a major snowmobile trail, so Super 8 becomes a snowmobile hub and less quiet.)
The large lobby and lounge is well supplied with visitor information. In the big breakfast room with water view, a free continental-plus breakfast with waffles. Coffee, tea, magazines, and a small microwave are available for guests at any time.
A large, two-story pool room with many tables and chairs has lots of natural light but no particular view. It has a pool some 50 feet long, spa, and electric sauna. The large conference room with water view is frequently used by local groups. There's a guest laundry and fax service.
Rooms are large and attractively decorated, with wi-fi internet. Half face the water, half the parking lot. Most have two queen beds, a desk, and two chairs. Standard rooms for 2 queens $75; 2 doubles $72; 1 queen $70.The 2-room whirlpool suite ($100) sleeps 4 and has a kitchenette. Jan. 2008
On Lakeshore Drive, which goes west along the waterfront. From U.S. 41 in College Ave. fraternity area, look for yellow sign at Franklin, turn down hill, go right. Wheelchair access: 3 rooms ADA accessible. Children: 12 & under free, $3/extra person. No pets. MTU ROOMS & SUITES
(906) 487-2543; mub.mtu.edu
Most Houghton visitors are unaware of this array of campus lodgings for visitors. The Memorial Union Building has are pleasant second-floor guest rooms. All have cable TV, mini-fridges, wi-fi internet, coffeemakers, desks, tub/shower combos, phones, and no particular view. 2 queen rooms ($59) are cozy. The $65 executive suite has 2 rooms, one with a queen bed, the other with a refrigerator and microwave. The queen suite ($79) is as big as a small apartment. Free parking and easy access to MTU events and the Seaman Mineralogical Museum. The union has a food court, bookstore, game room, and bowling alley.
Wadsworth Hall (487-2687), across U.S. 41 from the main campus, has guest rooms and suites with wi-fi internet. 4 queen rooms are $59, 2 twins $59, 2 queens $79.
Guests with MTU connections can stay in the well-designed Daniell Heights Apartments (487-2727), also with wireless internet. 1 BR $59; 2 BR $79. Weekly and monthly rates are less. (For example, 1 BR, 13 nights $672.) Jan. 2008
Call for directions. Handicap access: no. Children: rates by room. No pets. BUDGET HOST INN
(906) 482-5351; bihoughton.com
This well-run, peaceful 23-room motel, formerly the Vacationland, is now part of the Budget Host Inn franchise of mostly older properties, inspected for cleanliness and friendly, attentive staffing. The location, at Houghton's east outskirts, has many plusses. Just across U.S. 41 is a walking/bike path (firm surfaced with fine crushed rock) and ungroomed snowmobile trail between Houghton and Chassell. Guests could walk less than 1/4 mile along the wide road shoulder to one of the area's best restaurants, the Pilgrim River Steakhouse. Another quarter mile and you're at the Pilgrim River mouth, the Nara Nature Trail and Park. The 18-hole Portage Lake Golf Course with bar and grill is two blocks away. MTU cross-country trails are nearby.
The motel sits well back from busy U.S. 41 among mature pines. Three buildings are grouped around a 20' by 40' outdoor pool and picnic area and an authentic Finnish sauna. All 23 rooms have picture windows, cable TV, paneling and older furniture, and a pleasantly tailored, outdoorsy look. The 10 rooms in the 2-story section ($65) are larger, with 2 double beds, shower/tubs, and in most rooms desks. Drive-up rooms ($50) with 1 bed are smaller. All rooms have wi-fi internet. Ask about large family room. The small lobby with seating offers free coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and a simple continental breakfast, plus magazines and excellent local information. Jan. 2008
On U.S. 41, 2 miles south of the MTU campus, 5 miles north of Chassell. Handicap access: call. Children 12 and under free, $5/extra person. Pet- friendly. THE DOWNTOWNER
(906) 482-4421
Surprising in many ways, the Downtowner Motel offers 27 meticulously clean, quiet rooms. Its 2 two-story buildings flank the parking lot right on busy Shelden Avenue in downtown Houghton. In good weather its highlight is the big back deck with comfortable lounge chairs. They face a fabulous view, looking up at the nearby lift bridge and across at the landmark Quincy Mine and fine homes of East Hancock.
Owners Pat and Bob Long have fussed over The Downtowner since buying it in the 1970s. The lobby proclaims his Irishness and allegiance to Detroit's Denby High. She's a natural clean freak who takes great pride in her fluffy big white towels and crisp white sheets. Their cluttered, smoky office, filled with visitor information, is utterly unlike the serene, well-ventilated, air-conditioned rooms. Their distinctive, comfortable mood is set by a subdued, sophisticated palette of 1960s-70s colors (rusts and persimmons, gray and olive) and furniture. Solid construction, excellent sound insulation and judicious use of handsome carpeted walls reduce traffic noise to where it's barely audible.
Rooms vary widely. Some have a king, some one or two queens. Most are relatively small. All have desks, phones, coded internet, cable TV, and bathrooms with tub-showers. Many have La-Z-Boy loungers. Coffee is in the office. Room 17, with its bed niche and corner window, is where Great Lakes folk singer Lee Murdock wrote "The Downtowner Motel," part of his standard repertoire, about a freighter sailor who spent his winters there. Today tourists and older guests are given rooms in the east building. Its upper rear deck looks across and down the waterway, where sunsets can be spectacular. Typical fall rates for two have been around $70. Construction workers and younger people with later hours are housed in the west building's pleasant but more worn rooms. Downtowner showpieces are the four much larger "new rooms" from 1988, each with two queens ($78 for 2, $88 for outstanding water views). Two popular college bars are nearby: the Downtowner (separately owned) and the Ambassador. Noise is not a problem. Good breakfast spots are within three blocks. The motel caters to repeat visitors, often MTU parents and alums, who come back over the decades. Jan., 2008
110 Shelden Ave./U.S. 41 west, just east of lift bridge. Handicap access: call. Children: not suitable because of proximity to parking. $6/extra person. Pets: no. BAYSHORE INN BED & BREAKFAST
(906) 482-9010
Innkeeper Pat Muller has rebuilt her peaceful waterfront farm home so that three guest rooms in this homestay B&B are on their own walkout lower level, sharing a bath, gathering area and small shared kitchen so simple meals and snacks can be prepared. It's perfect for families and groups of snowmobilers or skiers; longer stays work out fine. Each guest room has a peaceful, panoramic view of Portage Lake near the North Entry - eight miles northwest of Houghton, where Pat works in computers at MTU. There's quite a range of activities on this 40-acre farm: a dock on the waterway, fishing in the stocked trout pond or waterway, use of Pat's paddleboat or two-person kayak on waterway or pond, swimming and picnicking on Lake Superior at nearby Stanton Township Park. So the visitor experience is more like being in a getaway cottage or small resort than a typical B&B. Water birds and other wildlife are plentiful, and many bird feeders bring birds up close. Guests can share an authentic wood-fired sauna. There's an excellent video library for the cable TV/VCR/DVD. E-mail can be checked at Pat's computer, and sociable guests can join Pat upstairs if they choose; they're treated like family. Breakfasts are flexible according to guests' needs.
Decor is rather elegant in a comfortable, antique-filled way. One room has two doubles, another a double and a queen, and another one queen. Reserve ahead for good summer availability.
17629 Bay Shore Rd., 8 miles northwest of Houghton on the Houghton side of the canal. Handicap access: call. Children: welcome. Pets: no. PORTAGE LAKE CABINS
(906) 482-8755
Beautiful grounds on Portage Lake, completely remodeled rooms with lake views, and lots of extras make this five-unit resort stand out. From the highway you can't see the very pleasant sandy beach and attractive gazebo, with a grand view across Torch Bay to the Huron Mountains. Guests can use the paddle boat, dock, boat launch, and fish-cleaning station. (Dreamland with its good bar/restaurant is just 10 minutes away by boat.) The hard-surfaced bike/walking/snowmobile trail by the road goes to Houghton and Chassell; the Portage Lake Golf Course is nearby. The large office, next to the home of owners Tom and Marcy Romps, also serves as a gathering room, nice for groups. Guests can use office phone or check e-mail by plugging their computers into a jack on the porch, or the laundry. New additions are basketball, shuffleboard, and horseshoes away from the beach and cabins. The breezy location has minimized mosquitos.
The two freestanding cottages are close to the water, quite private, with their own porches. One has three separate bedrooms (sleeps up to 8) and air-conditioning. Three attached units closer to the road look onto a lawn and a more distant water view from their shared porch. Each unit has a picnic table, lawn chairs, and gas grill. Inside all are carpeted and drywalled, with oak and birch ceilings. All have queen beds, cable TV, newish oak furniture, and full kitchens with microwaves, coffeemakers, etc. Four units have one room and sleep up to four with a sofa bed. Now no-smoking. Rentals by the week only in summer ($475-$750 in 2004). Call in fall for scattered summer openings. Daily rates range from $50 to $85 for the one-room units, higher in ski and snowmobile season.
Open year-round. 142 U.S. 41 four miles north of Chassell and 4 miles south of downtown Houghton. Handicap access: call Children welcome. No pets.
Return to Houghton
|
|
