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Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA

JUST OUT! A new edition of Hunts' Mapguide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Over 300 entries, all conveniently located on maps and chosen because we think they are the coolest things to do in the U.P. (No ad tie-ins!) Great choices for restaurants, hikes, shops, adventures, museums, boat trips, waterfalls, vistas, road trips, and much more! To learn more click UP MAP GUIDE

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IRON RIVER
POINTS
OF INTEREST

Iron County Museum. Multifaceted museum includes satisfying exhibits on the area's geology, musical and ethnic heritage, life in mines (great video), plus 24 outdoor buildings (10 old log barns, houses, outbuildings). Of special note: vast folk art logging camp, life in mines (great video), gallery of noted wildlife paintings, inventive décor in artist's home, intact Caspian Mine headframe (powerful!). ... more

Downtown Iron River. A trim, pleasant shopping district with an art supply/gift shop/book shop, a combination of shops in an big old department store, a mild-long trail along the Iron River ... more

Angeli's Central Market/Plaza Cinema. A terrific supermarket with quality, fresh produce, something hard to find in the U.P., as well as a good wine selection, meats, ethnic baked goods. ... more

Ski Brule winter and summer. In a scenic hilly setting is a resort with miles of cross-country skiing trails, two snowboard parks, Alpine skiing, and in summer mountain bike trails, horseback riding, canoeing and tubing ... more

Lake Ottawa Park/Ge Chi Ski Trail. This pleasant Ottawa National Forest park is on crystal-clear, 551-acre Lake Ottawa. It has hiking trails, a swimming beach, fishing pier, and a handsome CCC-era pavilion/bathhouse with fireplaces. ... more

Hiking path to "Treaty Tree" & Mile Post Zero. A short, secluded hike leads to the head of Brule River and the much-contested border between Michigan and Wisconsin ... more

George Young Recreational Complex. Open to the general public, this plush golf course and indoor swimming pool is sited on a 3,300-acre complex bordering 3 lakes. Foxes, deer, and eagles are not unusual sights for golfers here ... more

Wolf Track Nature Trail. A scenic 1.5-mile woodland nature trail with wonderful paintings and text to illuminate one's experience ... more

Pentoga Park. pened in 1922, this is one of Michigan's very first county parks, located at an Ojibwa burial ground. Take an old 3-mile Indian Lake to the Brule River, fish the deep, 1,100-acre Chicaugon Lake for walleye and muskie, or use the swimming beach and picnic area ... more

First Roadside Table. Michigan was a pioneer in providing pleasant rest stops for motorists, and this 1918 picnic spot may well be the very first ever ... more

IRON RIVER

Downtown Iron River

U.S. 2 bypasses by a block a surprisingly trim, comfy downtown. Until it lost its Penney's, it was a pleasant shopping contrast to the overwhelming, impersonal retail sprawl oozing east from Iron Mountain along U.S. 2. Small businesses and traditional downtowns are having a hard time holding on in the auto-oriented Upper Peninsula, where people are accustomed to driving long distances to shop. Downtown's future here may be in businesses oriented to visitors and second-home owners. There are several gift and antique shops. These points of interest deserve note:

' CENTRAL ARTS & GIFTS. Andy and Lillian Busakowski's personal destination shop offers an unusual mix of gifts, collectibles, jewelry, and paints and hands-on art supplies. There are sterling Pandora charm bracelets, and ones from Italy, too. Andy does a lot of custom framing, and there's a gallery of limited edition prints and sculpture reproductions by artists from around the world. Well chosen, colorful books for children and adults reflect the area's nature, history, and ethnic threads. There's a nice cookbook section, too. Collectibles include fabulous Russian porcelain, Byers' Choice Carolers, and Christopher Radko's Polish glass ornaments. A good place to head for on a rainy day.
216 W. Genesee downtown. (906) 265-2114. Mon-Fri 9-5 Central Time, to 4:30 Sat. Wheelchair-accessible.

' WARDO'S is a huge, multifaceted place occupying two levels of an old department store. There's a large crafts and quilting section (quilting classes are given), scrapbooking supplies, lots of Up North gift and d'cor items mostly made in China, a custom-framing department, and in the lower level artificial flowers and evergreen wreaths and swags. 215 W. Genesee downtown. (906) 265-2812. Open Mon-Sat 9 to 5 Central Time, Sun noon to 4. From January through April opens at 10. Wheelchair-accessible: main floor, not lower level.

• The IRON COUNTY CHAMBER of COMMERCE in the A frame overlooking the Iron River. A wide range of helpful area information is provided by a staff who enjoys answering questions about Iron County and the surrounding area. 50 E. Genesee St. in the heart of Iron River, just west of the river. (888) TRY IRON. www.iron.org (906) 265-3822 . Open Mon-Fri 8-4 Central Time, Wheelchair-accessible.

• The paved, wheelchair-accessible APPLE BLOSSOM TRAIL on one mile of a former railroad bed along the Iron River from the Chamber's A-frame to Caspian. In truth, there aren't many apple trees and the shrubs and trees are modest, but it's a good place for birding and it's been a big hit with local people, who like to walk, rollerblade, and bicycle there. It passes old mining waste on its way to the Iron County Museum. Improvements along the river, once heavily polluted with mining waste, represent a real victory for patient tourism and environmental leaders who wrote grants and worked with the Michigan Department of Transportation for years.

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