Keweenaw Peninsula - Michigan's Upper Peninsula

<html> <head> <title>Keweenaw Peninsula - Michigan's Upper Peninsula</title> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <META Pragma: No-Cache> <META name="Pragma" No-Cache> <META Cache-control: No-Cache> <META HTTP-EQUIV="expires" CONTENT="Wed, 26 Feb 1997 08:21:57 GMT"> <META name="description" content="Regional profile, map, useful traveler info. Links to town profiles & candid descriptions of attractions, restaurants, lodgings, & campgrounds."> <base href="http://hunts-upguide.com/"> <link href="/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <center> <table width="100%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0> <tr> <td width="45%" colspan=2 height=82 bgcolor="#306799" valign="top"> <table width="100%" cellpadding=22 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td align="left" class="tinyfont"> We welcome your feedback & experiences.<br> <a class="whitelinkunderlined" target="_top" href="http://hunts-upguide.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/dehunt/feedback.pl">E-mail us</a> <br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=10 height=8 alt="---"><br> If you feel an ad<br> is inappropriate,<br> please say so! </b> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="63%" height=82 bgcolor="#306799" align="center" valign="top"> <table cellpadding=22 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td align="center"> <img src="/images/online_words.gif" width=386 height=13 alt="The online version of the popular regional travel book""><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=500 height=2 alt="---"><br> <nobr><font color="#FFFFFF" size="+2" face="Georgia,Times New Roman,Times"><b>Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA</b></font></nobr><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=500 height=7 alt="---"><br> <img src="/images/candid_words.gif" width=391 height=13 alt="A candid guide to enjoying and understanding the U.P."> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td valign=top width="1%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5" rowspan=3>  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=9 height=25 alt="|"></td> <td width="18%" rowspan=3 valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#99CCFF" cellpadding=6 width=160 height=418 style="border: 3px solid #000000; " > <tr> <td valign="top"> </td> </tr> </table> <p>  <center> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=5 width="100%" height=9> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=790 height=9 alt="---"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="17%">  <table width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td width="100%" valign="top">  <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/small_maps/keweenaw_peninsula.gif" width=167 height=93 alt="keweenaw peninsula" border=0><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="15" height=15 alt="-"><br> <table width="100%" cellpadding=22 cellspacing=0 border=0 bgcolor="#306799"> <tr> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#306799" align="left"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b> <a class="creamlink" href="/" target="_top">Home</a><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="85" height="3"><br> <a class="sidebar" href="http://hunts-upguide.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/dehunt/search.pl" target="_top">Search</a><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="85" height="3"><br> <a class="greensidebar" href="u_p__maps.html" target="_top">U.P. 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Enveloped by <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a>, its sharp, forested hills offer wonderful views. Its economic zenith, visually reflected in mammoth structures of crumbling concrete and metal dotting the landscape, once had a national importance far greater than its faded appearance today would suggest. <b><font size="-1">...continued below...</font></b> </font> </td> </tr>  <tr> <td colspan=2 align="center"> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 bgcolor="#000000"> <tr> <td rowspan=2> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="5" height=15 alt="-"></td> <td align="center"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="50" height=5 alt="-"><br> <A target="_top" href="http://hunts-upguide.com/maps/keweenaw_peninsula.map"><img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/maps/keweenaw_peninsula.gif" width=391 height=473 alt="keweenaw peninsula" ISMAP border=0></a> </td> <td> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="5" height=15 alt="-"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#000000"> <b><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1">Click on any town in red on the map above<br> to get its profile, points of interest, and recommended<br> restaurants, lodgings, and area campgrounds</font></b><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="50" height=14 alt="-"><br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=3 width=401 align="center"> <table border=1 bgcolor="#306799"> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1" color="#FFFFFF"> <b>Towns & Maps:</b> <a class="townlink" href="/ahmeek.html" target="_top">Ahmeek</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/alberta.html" target="_top">Alberta</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/assinins.html" target="_top">Assinins</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/aura.html" target="_top">Aura</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/baraga.html" target="_top">Baraga</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/calumet.html" target="_top">Calumet</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/calumet_laurium_map.html" target="_top">Calumet-Laurium map</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/central.html" target="_top">Central</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/chassell.html" target="_top">Chassell</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/copper_harbor.html" target="_top">Copper Harbor</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/copper_harbor_map.html" target="_top">Copper Harbor map</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/covington.html" target="_top">Covington</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/delaware.html" target="_top">Delaware</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/dollar_bay.html" target="_top">Dollar Bay</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/eagle_harbor.html" target="_top">Eagle Harbor</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/eagle_harbor_map.html" target="_top">Eagle Harbor map</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/eagle_river.html" target="_top">Eagle River</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/eagle_river_map.html" target="_top">Eagle River map</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/freda.html" target="_top">Freda</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/gay.html" target="_top">Gay</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/hancock.html" target="_top">Hancock</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/houghton.html" target="_top">Houghton</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/houghton_hancock.html" target="_top">Houghton-Hancock</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/hubbell.html" target="_top">Hubbell</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/jacobsville.html" target="_top">Jacobsville</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/kearsarge.html" target="_top">Kearsarge</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/kenton.html" target="_top">Kenton</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/keweenaw_bay.html" target="_top">Keweenaw Bay</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/l_anse.html" target="_top">L'Anse</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/lac_la_belle.html" target="_top">Lac la Belle</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/lake_linden.html" target="_top">Lake Linden</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/laurium.html" target="_top">Laurium</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/m_26_hancock_to_lake_linden.html" target="_top">M-26 Hancock to Lake Linden</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/mohawk.html" target="_top">Mohawk</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/north_country_trail_hike.html" target="_top">North Country Trail hike</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/painesdale.html" target="_top">Painesdale</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/pequaming.html" target="_top">Pequaming</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/phoenix.html" target="_top">Phoenix</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/sidnaw.html" target="_top">Sidnaw</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/skanee.html" target="_top">Skanee</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/south_range.html" target="_top">South Range</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/tapiola.html" target="_top">Tapiola</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/three_lakes.html" target="_top">Three Lakes</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/toivola.html" target="_top">Toivola</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/trout_creek.html" target="_top">Trout Creek</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/twin_lakes.html" target="_top">Twin Lakes</a> · <a class="townlink" href="/zeba.html" target="_top">Zeba</a>  </font> </td> </tr> </table> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=2>  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=4 alt="-"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="63%" align="left">   <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=300 height=1 alt="-"><br> <font face="Georgia"> <br><br>The Keweenaw is also called "Copper Country" for its glory days when it was the world chief supplier of that important metal. The many mines here drew tens of thousands of European immigrants, especially from Finland, Italy and the Balkans. Their cultures have added exotic foreign touches to a place already full of striking features. <br><br>Telling the copper mining story is the mission of the Keweenaw National Historical Park. It's an industrial national park, centered on two locations: the Quincy Mine above Hancock (an outstanding mine tour, underground and on the surface) and Calumet (home of Calumet & Hecla Mining, the area's largest mine). Twenty-five years ago, Calumet looked as bad as the most abandoned parts of Detroit; now it's a center of specialty shops and art, though still with its share of derelic buildings. In addition, Calumet has fabulous restored architecture circa 1900: the Calumet Theater, several churches, many homes and storefronts, and two stunning restored historic saloons, Shute's and the Michigan House. (Houghton has two more dazzling saloons, the Ambassador and Douglass House.) Houghton is also year-round headquarters for Isle Royale National Park across Lake Superior near Thunder Bay, Ontario, reached by boat from Houghton and Copper Harbor, Michigan and Grand Portage, Minnesota. <br>The many mines here employed tens of thousands of European immigrants, first mining specialists from Cornwall and Ireland, later unskilled labor from Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, and Finland. Their cultures have added unusual foreign touches to a place already full of striking features. (Google "An Interior Ellis Island" to find the Michigan Tech/Copper Country Archives' fascinating web site about area ethnic history with reference to twelve ethnic groups. In 1870, it points out, the percentage of foreign-born Houghton County residents — 70% — was third-highest in the entire U.S.)<br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=349> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/210.gif" width=349 height=118 alt="Lift bridge" border=0> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"><b>...continued below...</b></font> <br clear="all"> <hr> <center> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> <hr> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>The unusual lift bridge between Houghton and Hancock. It's the only way vehicles can cross the Portage Waterway separating the northern Keweenaw from the rest of the U.P. Here you see it in up position as the Ranger III passes underneath on her way to Isle Royale.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> Keweenaw is Ojibwa for "place of the crossing," referring to a shortcut, a natural waterway that sliced almost entirely through the peninsula, passing between today's Hancock and Houghton. It allowed Indians in canoes to avoid the peninsula's tip, shielded from <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a>'s ferocious storms. Traveling west from Keweenaw Bay, Ojibwa canoes went across this Keweenaw Waterway, then made a short portage to <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a> south of present-day <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/hancock_mclain_state_park.html" target="_top">McLain State Park</a>. <br><br>In 1873, when massive amounts of copper were being shipped from the region, the PORTAGE CANAL was cut through the remaining two miles of land. The canal made an island of the peninsula's northernmost part—"Copper Island," a name occasionally used. Today the upper Keweenaw is linked to the rest of the U.P. only by the impressive Portage Lake Lift Bridge between Houghton and Hancock. Most, but not all, of the old copper mines and the area's most scenic attractions are north of the bridge. <br><br>This and other Great Lakes mining regions are worlds quite different from the Midwest's typical surface landforms. The Keweenaw Peninsula has the advantage of having a great deal of shoreline — and five lighthouses. And it has a distinctive institution of higher education, MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School. (Of course, Marquette has a stunning in-town waterfront and a larger university, Northern Michigan University, with roots as a teachers' college.) Tech is committed to creating a well-rounded cultural environment for its 6,000 students, over half of whom are engineers. It has been able to import performing talent in music and drama. Local talent, especially in music, is considerable, too. The early summer Pine Mountain Music Festival brings a month of good classical and other music, culminating in one or two operas, to the Copper Country from mid June through mid July. <br><br>Over a thousand million years ago, repeated volcanic eruptions deposited numerous lava flows in the area of the Keweenaw Peninsula, forming a dark, volcanic rock known as basalt. During dormant periods between the eruptions, erosion resulted in the deposition of sand and cobbles that eventually hardened into beds of the sedimentary rock known as conglomerate. Together, these two rock types form the bulk of the rocky spine along the Keweenaw's central axis. Today forests soften the jutting spine of hard rock, but occasional dramatic rocky outcrops are visible to motorists along M-26 and U.S. 41 from Mass City (in Ontonagon County to the south) to Copper Harbor at the Keweenaw's northern tip. <br><br> <table align="right" cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=250> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/908.gif" width=250 height=637 alt="Copper strip 5" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right"> <font face="Gill Sans Light,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-3"> Based on Tauno Kilpela's "The Native Copper Mining Era of the Keweenaw Copper Country." This fascinating map is available at Copper World in Calumet. </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Although hundreds of shafts were dug across the Keweenaw, over 94% of the mined copper came from this little 3x26 mile strip from the modern copper mining era's beginning in 1846 until its end in 1968. </b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> A thousand million years ago, repeated volcanic eruptions deposited mineral-rich lava that forms a rocky spine along the Keweenaw's central axis. Today forests soften the jutting spine of hard, dark rock. But occasional dramatic rocky outcrops are visible to motorists along M-26 and U.S. 41. These highways follow the Keweenaw's rugged fault line from Mass City (in Ontonagon County to the south) to Copper Harbor at the Keweenaw's northern tip. <br><br> The ultimate place to take in the breath-taking sweep of this uplift is at the top of <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/copper_harbor_brockway_mountain_drive.html" target="_top">Brockway Mountain Drive</a> near Copper Harbor. There you can see the rocky spine extend for many miles and tilt down into <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a>. On a clear day, Isle Royale, out in Superior at the other rim of the volcanic basin, can be seen almost 50 miles away.<br><br> Those ancient eruptions brought copper to the surface - masses of pure copper in some areas. For hundreds of years Native American miners mined these surface deposits and worked the copper into prized ornaments and tools. These prehistoric products of Keweenaw copper have been found as far away as the Gulf of Mexico. Mineralizing solutions filtered through the rocks long after they were laid down. Some resulted in copper deposits containing huge masses of pure, metallic, native copper – larger than any found elsewhere in the world. <br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=500> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/946.gif" width=500 height=446 alt="Rocks for sale" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right"> <font face="Gill Sans Light,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-3"> Don Hunt </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Next to the scenic turn-out on US-41 heading north out of Hancock scavergers sell fragments of copper they've found around abandoned mine sites. Most are only a few dollars. The wonderful old pure copper ingots the mining companies shipped far and wide now sell for several hundred dollars. </b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> Early French, British, and American expeditions learned about the copper locations from the Ojibwa they met. In the 1840s and 1850s, American investors from the East Coast and Lower Michigan started mining the metal, the demand for which began to soar as indoor plumbing and electricity grew in importance. At that time the remote region was well beyond any other American settlements. To supply the mines, export the copper, and feed the miners required lengthy and often treacherous Great Lakes boat shipments. <br><br>This remote region was well beyond any other settlements, and the federal government invested in two major projects to promote shipping. It created the Soo Locks, completed in 1855, and soon started building lighthouses at critical locations for maritime safety. The Keweenaw Peninsula has two lighthouse museums (in Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor), two lighthouse bed and breakfasts (Sand Hills south of Eagle River and Jacobsville), and two pier lights (at McLain State Park and Jacobsville), in addition to a private lighthouse at Bete Grise. The Keweenaw Star offers all-day Keweenaw lighthouse cruises, including hard-to-visit island lighthouses, in late July and late September (fall color time). <br><br>Demand for copper soared, first with armaments for the Civil War (1861-1865), and then for copper indoor plumbing pipes and eventually for copper wire to carry electricity. By the 1870s this wild, snowy region was settled and busy mining, smelting, and shipping pure copper in ingots. Mining companies had created a string of mining towns along the two-to-four-mile-wide fault from Central and Phoenix to Houghton. It was becoming clear that the greatest production and profits lay in processing huge amounts to low-grade amygdaloid and conglomerate ore, not mass copper. <br><br>But the demand was so great that by the 1870s this wild, snowy region was settled and shipping billions of pounds of pure copper in hefty ingots . Mining companies had created a string of mining towns along the two-to-eight-mile-wide fault from Copper Harbor to Houghton. It was dangerous and unpleasant work for those who toiled long shifts down dark shafts, some of which extended almost two miles deep. That depth spelled the eventually doom of Keweenaw mining. Huge deposits of copper remain here, but for decades it has been much cheaper to strip mine the ore, first in Montana and Arizona, now in places like Chile, Australia, and Peru.<br><br> <table align="right" cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=249> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/915.gif" width=249 height=362 alt="Snow thermometer" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right"> <font face="Gill Sans Light,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-3"> Don Hunt </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Keweenaw's iconic snow thermometer, a way of almost bragging about the humungous amount of snow that blows off Lake Superior, approaching 400 inches some years. </b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> Beginning in the 1860s the demand for Keweenaw copper was so great that Eastern owners of the most successful Keweenaw mines had to recruit workers from Europe to work in their mines. The Cornish — and some Irish from mining areas — were seasoned miners from the spent-out tin mines of Cornwall in southwestern England, were mining professionals who accepted its risks with stoicism and a measure of fatalism. They typically rose to management ranks. <br><br>Other ethnic groups disliked working underground and got out of mining when they could get better jobs, working above-ground in stamping mills or smelters, or getting a small business or farm. The mining companies' corporate paternalism, apparently generous and high-minded, came to be seen by workers as arrogant and manipulative, with good reason. Thus mining companies had to find fresh generations of underground workers from new waves of poor immigrants without prospects. After the Cornish came the Irish, Germans, and Scots, then various Scandinavians including the earlier wave of Finns, followed by Italians, Slovenea, Hungarians, Croatians, and more Finns after 1900.<br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=449> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/935.gif" width=449 height=342 alt="Hayfield" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right"> <font face="Gill Sans Light,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-3"> Don Hunt </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Forests dominate Keweenaw's landscape, but small patches of hayfields and pastureland remain. Houghton County was actually once the state’s leading potato producer. Many dairy farms operated as late as the 1980s until Copper Country Dairy folded (3 dairy farms remain). Pelkie had an active farmers’ co-op and Paulding was home to a beef association. Having a farm was the dream of many of the Europeans who immigrated to work in the copper mines. They established farmsteads as soon as they could buy land. But the rocky soil and short growing season have caused a steady decline in farming over the past half century. Now hayfields predominate the meager agriculatural scene up here With one cutting a year in the Keweenaw versus two or three for acreage elsewhere, it's tough.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> The countryside throughout the western U.P., where it isn't forested, consists largely of 80-acre Finnish farms with their typical array of small, specialized outbuildings. (The sauna typically was built first.) The Quincy Mining Company, up Quincy Hill in Hancock, recruited the first Finnish immigrants to the district. Hancock and Quincy Township were an ethnic enclave that came to dominate census records by the second quarter of the 20th century.<br><br>Today Finns give the western U.P. much of its distinctive character, from the Finnish contribution to the regional accent to the area's many backyard saunas. The metaphoric meaning of Finnish rag rugs (utilitarian, often handsome, sometimes quite artistic) about waste is appreciated by natives and transplants alike. <i>Sisu</i>, that Finnish character trait combining guts, endurance, and bravery — not whining about the weather or much else — has rubbed off on many transplants from completely different backgrounds.<br><br>Hancock is home to the only American college with Finnish roots, formerly Suomi College, founded by Lutherans in 1896. Now it's FINLANDIA UNIVERSITY. Hancock can lay claim to being the premiere Finnish-American cultural center of the U.S. It even has a Finnish sister city, Porvoo.<br><br>Finns became the largest immigrant group and today give the western U.P. much of its distinctive character, from the still-common Finnish accent to the many backyard saunas in the region. Copper Country is the Finnish-American heartland for hundreds of thousands of far-flung Finns scattered from Massachusetts to Montana and Arizona. Hancock is home to the only American college with Finnish roots, formerly Suomi College, now Finlandia University. <br><br>After reaching its peak around the beginning of the 20th century, copper mining died slowly here. The last mines closed in 1968. But competition from Western U.S. mines meant that Keweenaw copper was already declining by the time of the bitter 1913 strike. It was brought about by workers' resentment of mining companies' efficiency measures to maintain profits in the face of rising costs. As mining declined, Copper Country became more and more a depressed backwater. Many went off to earn their fortunes elsewhere.<br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=400> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/966.gif" width=400 height=300 alt="Sturgeon R. roadside park" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right"> <font face="Gill Sans Light,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-3"> Don Hunt </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>One of the most delightful state rest stops is on the south side of US-41 10 miles west of Michigame and 7 miles east of the US-141 junction. In addition to toilets and picnic tables, a short path winds down to the briskly moving still-small Sturgeon River which eventually empties into Keweenaw Bay all the way up near Chassell.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> Big money was made in Keweenaw copper, especially between 1890 and 1905, creating fortunes for the fortunate shareholders of the few mines that proved highly profitable. Some copper money stayed in the Keweenaw, in ornate buildings like the Calumet Theatre, downtown business blocks, and large Victorian homes owned by well-to-do mine managers and business people. But most of the money went east to Boston. While the money made here helped build the coffers of wealthy institutions like Harvard University and the Boston Symphony, relatively few Keweenaw families became part of America's growing upper middle class. <br><br>After reaching its peak around the beginning of the 20th century, copper mining died slowly here. The Quincy Mine reopened during World War Two but closed at war's end. Calumet & Hecla's last mines closed in 1968. But competition from Western U.S. mines, where copper was closer to the surface, meant that Keweenaw copper was already declining by the time of the bitter 1913 strike, the area's defining event. The strike itself was brought about by workers' resentment of mining companies' efficiency measures (especially the one-man drill) to maintain profits in the face of rising costs. <br>The first economic refugees from the Copper Country took Henry Ford's first $5/day jobs in 1914, the year after the 1913 strike dampened their faith in copper's future. Successive waves of young people here went off to earn their fortunes elsewhere, typically in the Detroit area. Burroughs Adding Machine Company, for example, loved U.P. applicants because of their strong work ethic. In the post-World War II auto boom, the Finnish neighborhood around Davison and Livernois had a pasty shop and a U.P. cruising scene. Young people who hailed from ten miles of each other back home met and married in Detroit. As the Copper Country, like most of the U.P., became more and more a depressed backwater in the 1950s, it reshaped itself in Detroit—and came back whenever possible, to vacation or retire. <br>However, the area began to revive as Tech expanded and diversified in the 1970s. Now Calumet, long the most visibly depressed area, shows the effects of the Keweenaw National Historical Park and Main Street revitalization programs. The Copper Country has become an attractive place to live, not only for people who fish and hunt and snowmobile but for artists and musicians and technical writers and botanists. <br>In the Copper Country the housing can be just about free ($20,000-$30,000) to anyone willing to live in a less convenient location (Calumet, Mohawk, perhaps Painesdale) in a company house that needs some work. (Many company houses can be quite comfortable.) And $60,000 to $70,000 can buy quite a nice house — except that it may be on a very steep street, or have front yard midwinter snow banks four feet high and up. Houghton County had Michigan's highest percentage of housing built before 1940 in the 2000 census. New housing is being built, in the hills and woods near Houghton (for example, "Shopko Heights," an expensive neighborhood behind the big box retailer Shopko) and along shorelines. <br>Lately one of the big issues (along with the state's budget problems) has been that of public access to land: undeveloped woods, shorelines, and other natural areas. The big landowners (first the mining companies, who sold to forest products companies) owned vast amounts of the "commercial forest reserve" land, open to all for hunting and fishing, in return for lower taxes. Local people considered it their own,, even though they really knew it was owned by landowners who could sell it whenever they wanted, for development or other purposes. Two land conservancies (Keweenaw Land Trust and North Woods Conservancy) have raised funds, bought up important natural areas, and been given others. See their web sites (<a href="http://keweenawlandtrust.org" target="_new">keweenawlandtrust.org</a> and <a href="http://northwoodsconservancy.org" target="_new">northwoodsconservancy.org</a>) for info and directions to their interesting individual conservancies. The state of Michigan was able to buy up much of the Keweenaw's choice eastern tip, east of Copper Harbor and Lac La Belle. (Low-level development plans have not been finalized.) And the citizens of Copper Harbor were able to aggressively raise funds from summer visitors and local people to buy part of their beloved Hunter's Point peninsula facing Lake Superior by the marina. But the problems of public access to land are by no means over. 2006 has merely shifted the focus to the Upper Peninsula Power (UPPCO) lands around its dams farther south (Prickett Dam near Baraga, Bond Falls in Ontonagon county, and others), being sold off by Naterra Land, nationwide specialists in marketing power companies' tracts of recreational land. <br>In a country and age without roots, the Copper Country has a way of drawing people back. Many people born here and their children and grandchildren return, in one way or another: a vacation home, a retirement home, holding on to the simple family home, going to Tech, just making an annual camping trip to the same beloved campground. <br>A surprising percentage of graduating Tech students would like to live here, a survey showed, if only they could get jobs. Lately, there's more and more entrepreneurial activity on campus and off, as reflected by members of the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance. One former automotive engineer, for instance, is using mechanical engineering undergraduates to design aircraft parts — keeping these jobs in the U.S. and giving students valuable experience to put on their resumes. A chemical engineer, concerned about antibiotics in lake water and drinking water, started "Vesitech innovative analysis and technologies for drinking water."<br>Then there are the transplants of all kinds who move here without any prior connection, because they love nature and outdoor sports, or they've had it down below—too much traffic, or too fast a pace, or too much materialism, or too much pretense, or too high a cost to live in a safe neighborhood with pretty good schools. <br>A Standard and Poor's study of "outperforming school districts" in Michigan, defined as schools whose students perform better on tests than their income status suggests, shows schools in the Western U.P. way overrepresented. Of the 30 statewide outperforming schools for three consecutive years, 2002 to 2005, 10 were in the U.P. and six in the Copper Country: Adams Township (Painesdale, South Range), Calumet/Laurium/Keweenaw, Chassell, Dollar Bay/Tamarack City, Hancock, and Houghton/Portage Township. The other U.P. schools were Carney Nadeau (northern Menominee County), Ewen/Trout Creek, Ironwood, and Rapid River. But this study only reflects what's widely known up here: that there's not a lot of money here, and that income or job isn't the measure of the person or his or her education or intelligence.<br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=399> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/355.gif" width=399 height=131 alt="Logging truck" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>A common sight in the western half of the U.P. Experts say the forests continue to grow larger, but you wouldn't know it from the volume of logs being hauled to paper and saw mills.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> Just south of the Keweenaw is the DIFFERENT WORLD OF BARAGA COUNTY, one more thinly populated and much less developed than the Keweenaw. One can drive or snowmobile here and see nothing but forests for miles. It includes the Huron Mountains (Michigan's highest land), the Sturgeon River Gorge (Michigan's deepest valley) and also lots of old Finnish farming country around the villages of Covington, Pelkie, Aura, and even the high ground of Herman, often Michigan's cold spot.<br><br>Baraga County claims the oldest (1854) and largest (54,000 acres) Indian reservation in Michigan, a complicated patchwork of ownership and jurisdiction centered around the tribal headquarters. There former tribal leader Fred Dakota started a fateful bingo game in his garage that led to the legalization of Indian gambling in Michigan. Today the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, with over 3,000 members, has become a driving force in the local economy - along with the Baraga supermax prison, built in 1993 outside Baraga. The tens of millions of dollars the Ojibwa Casino in Baraga has raked in since the 1990s has quickly created a big economic splash. The tribe now owns two radio stations, a tire company, a construction company, and agas station/convenience store.<br><br>The south shore of <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a> had been a natural north-south route for the Ojibwa people in the centuries before European settlement. Attracted by the good fishing and protected Keweenaw and L'Anse Bays, some Ojibwa from the <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/sault_ste__marie__michigan_sugar_island.html" target="_top">Sugar Island</a> band at Sault Ste. Marie had moved into the area by 1660.<br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=299> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/759.gif" width=299 height=213 alt="Dreamland Bar" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Along an isolated stretch of Jacobsville Rd, this folkloric bar was once a popular destination for passenger boats.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> Many Finns have intermarried with Ojibwa members of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, creating new generations of so-called "Finndians" who may have blond hair or blue eyes. It's not such an improbable combination, considering how in these parts both groups share a closeness to the land and love of fishing, hunting, and the woods. Baraga and L'Anse schools may be unique in providing enrichment classes in both Ojibwa and Finnish. Residents with French blood are almost as common as the Finns. About a third of county residents claim some Native American ancestry, not always Ojibwa. French, Ojibwa, and other Catholics are numerous, too, and the impressive granite Sacred Heart Church on the Sixth Street hill going into L'Anse is the area's most striking historic building. <i>(—February, 2008)</i> <p align="right">Return to <a href="regions.html" target="_top">Home/Guide to Upper Peninsula Regions</a></p> <br> </font> </td> <td valign=top width="37%">  <table width="100%" cellpadding=8 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td valign=top bgcolor="#FFE19B"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"> <center><font color="#C7302D" size="+1"><b>HELPFUL AREA INFORMATION</b></font></center> <B>TO FIND OUT MORE</B><br>For the <B>L'Anse-Baraga-Skanee-Huron Mountains/Covington area</B>, contact the <B><a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/l_anse_baraga_county_tourist___recreation_association.html" target="_top">Baraga County Tourist & Recreation Association</a> </B>at (800) 743-4908, (906) 524-7444, or <a target="_top" href="http://www.baragacountytourism.com">www.baragacountytourism.com</a> . Its L'Anse office, clearly signed, is at 755 E. Broad at U.S. 41, open weekdays from 9 to 5. Its helpful, obliging director, Tracey Barrett, goes out of her way to share her wealth of local knowledge with a very wide variety of visitors. Information is mailed, and e-mail queries are answered. In addition to stocking an unusual variety of free publications, phone books, etc., the office itself is the best place around to purchase local history books on Baraga County communities.<br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br></STYLE></STYLE> <B>Keweenaw and Houghton counties</B> are now served by two organizations, in one of those complicated local political disputes that can pop up. The more established place, whose staff is experienced in area tourism, is the Calumet office in on U.S. 41 at the light (Lake Linden Road), now known as the <B>Keweenaw Conventiono & Visitors' Bureau</B> (906-337-4579; 800-338-7982). Supported by lodging room taxes, it publicizes all lodgings and attractions, rather than members only. The office is open year-round, from mid-June into September and again in fall color season weekdays from 9 to 6, Saturdays 9-5. Off-season hours are Mon-Fri 9-5. well stocked with travel info and some mineral specimens, maps, and a few local history books for sale. Its helpful, well-organized color visitor guide is mailed upon request. A full list with directions of every local park and picnic area - very helpful to keep in your glovebox - is in the separate "Summer Outdoor Adventure Guide." The well-organized web site, <a target="_top" href="http://www.keweenaw.info">www.keweenaw.info</a> , has excellent <B>annotated lists with directions</B> for <B>cemeteries</B>, ghost towns, <B>lighthouses</B>, non-motorized areas, <B>waterfalls</B>, scenic drives, <B>local parks and picnic areas</B>, and more. . . . . Now that the <B>Keweenaw Council Chamber of CommerceE</B> (906-482-5240; 866-304-5722; <a target="_top" href="http://www.keweenaw.org">www.keweenaw.org</a> ) has split off from the CVB, it has its own visitor office on U.S. 41/College Avenue just coming in to <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/houghton_downtown_houghton.html" target="_top">downtown Houghton</a>. Hours are Mon-Fri 9-5:30. As a membership organization, it publicizes only its members.<br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br>Another quite informative website is <a target="_top" href="http://www.keweenawnow.blogspot.com">Keweenaw Now</a>.<br><br></STYLE> The <B>Copper Harbor Improvement Association</B> publishes a helpful area map, available at local businesses. Its website is <a target="_top" href="http://www.copperharbor.org">www.copperharbor.org</a> . <br><B>? Rock and mineral-related web sites</B>, some quite outstanding, are easily entered via the links at <a target="_top" href="http://www.copperconnection.com">www.copperconnection.com</a> . <B>Keweenaw Gem and Gift</B> (906-482-8447) on the Houghton commercial strip of M-26 is the handiest walk-in source of maps and colleting info for rockhounds. <br><br><B>PUBLIC LAND<br></B> South of M-38 (the highway from Baraga to Ontonagon) are large areas of public land, mostly in the <B>Ottawa National Forest</B>. <B>Campgrounds</B> are on the Sturgeon River near a wilderness area and on several small lakes. Weekdays you can call or stop at the Ottawa district office in on M-28 in Kenton (906-852-3501; TTY: 906-852-3618). Basic info is at <a target="_top" href="http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/ottawa/">www.fs.fed.us/r9/ottawa/</a> .<BR><br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br></STYLE> Scattered areas of state land, including several campgrounds, are part of the <B>Copper Country State Forest</B>. State land is <B>near Twin Lakes </B>and in <B>southern Baraga County</B>. Also, Big Eric's Bridge Campground near Skanee is in a beautiful, remote area near the Huron River mouth, the Huron Mountains, and several waterfalls. Visit <a target="_top" href="http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails">www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails</a> for campground and trail locations. For additional info or to buy hunting or fishing licenses, call or stop by the <B>DNR Baraga office</B> on U.S. 41 about half a mile north of M-38 (east side of road). It's open weekdays from 8 to 5. (906) 353-6651. The <B>locator map</B> of state forest campgrounds and trails in the Upper Peninsula is good for on-the-road travel decisions. Call for one, or pick it up at a <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/menominee_and_marinette_michigan_welcome_center.html" target="_top">Michigan Welcome Center</a>. North of the Portage Waterway most developed state land is part of <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/hancock_mclain_state_park.html" target="_top">McLain State Park</a> and Fort Wilkins State Park. Plans are not yet final for how to use the new state land at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. <br><br><B>GUIDES, CHARTERS, RENTALS, and OUTDOORS STORES </B> <br><B>Fisher Price Charters </B>(906-523-0044) based in Skanee offers <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a> fishing charters to area fishing hot spots and to Stannard Reef, an outstanding lake trout fishery 50 miles north of Marquette . . . <B>Fred's Charters </B>(906-482-0884) is based in Copper Harbor. <br><B>?</B> The 110-foot <B>Keweenaw Star</B> (906-482-0884) offers 2 1/2-hour cruises of the <B>Keweenaw Waterway</B> from Dee Stadium in Houghton, alternately to the North Entry by <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/hancock_mclain_state_park.html" target="_top">McLain State Park</a> and the Lower Entry by Jacobsville. It leaves evenings at 7, after Labor Day at 6 p.m. Tickets are $18, $10 for ages 5 to 12, or $36 for the Thursday dinner cruise (reservations preferred). . . . <B>Sunset cruises </B>on the <B>Isle Royale Queen IV</B> leave Copper Harbor at 8:30 p.m. in July and August. Call (800) 949-2026.<br><B><a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/l_anse_indian_country_sports.html" target="_top">Indian Country Sports</a></B> on the L'Anse harbor covers the bases from fishing and hunting to canoeing, kayaking, and camping. Steve Koski is extremely knowledgeable about the area. Call (906) 524-6518.<br><B>Keweenaw Adventure Company</B> in Copper Harbor rents kayaks and mountain bikes and leads kayak and mountain bike tours to rugged, roadless areas between Copper Harbor and Keweenaw Point. This extremely scenic, little-known area is the geological mirror of Isle Royale, with sea stacks and 600' cliffs. Call (906) 289-4303 or stop by the shop in downtown Copper Harbor. . . . In <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/houghton_downtown_houghton.html" target="_top">downtown Houghton</a>, <B>Down Wind Sports</B> at 303 Shelden Avenue rents cross-country skis, kayaks, and snowshoes at very reasonable rates, and fields questions about many area sports. (906) 482-2500. . . . Rick Oikarinen at <B>Cross Country Sports</B> at 506 Oak between Fifth and Sixth in Calumet, a leader in area bicycling and cross-country skiing, rents cross-country skis and snowshoes. Call (906) 337-4520.<br><br><B>EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS<br></B>Consult <a target="_top" href="http://www.baragacountytourism.com">www.baragacountytourism.com</a> and <a target="_top" href="http://www.Keweenaw.info">www.Keweenaw.info</a> for more complete events listings or call Baraga County Tourist & Recreation and Keweenaw CVB for details.. . . Varied <B>Thursday-evening summer concerts</B> are at <B>L'ANSE's waterfront park</B> and at <B>LAURIUM's Daniell Park</B> on Third at Pewabic. . . . <B>Covington</B> puts on a big Finnish Music Festival on July 3 for 2005 . . . . The <B>AURA Jamboree</B> - traditional-flavored acoustic music - is the third Saturday of July. . . . The <B>Keweenaw Bay Indian Community's powwow</B> in <B>BARAGA </B>is on the first weekend of August. . . . <B>Chassel</B>'s big event is the <B>Strawberry Festival</B> on the second weekend of July. . . . Michigan Tech in <B>HOUGHTON</B> has events throughout the school year; visit <a target="_top" href="http://www.mtu.edu">www.mtu.edu</a> and look for "entertainment" for its calendar. The <B>Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts</B> box office is (906) 487-3200. <B>The Parade of Nations</B> in late September is a fun international event with food from many countries and participation from Tech's sizable international community. . . . <B>Bridgefest </B>on the third weekend in June kicks off the summer in <B>Houghton and Hancock</B>. . . . .<B> Finlandia University in</B> <B>HANCOCK</B> hosts occasional music groups from Finland. Call North Wind Books, 906-487-7217 or try visiting <a target="_top" href="http://www.finlandia.edu">www.finlandia.edu</a> . . . . The <B>Fourth of July</B> is a big homecoming event with parades in <B>SOUTH RANGE</B>, <B>Lake Linden</B>, and <B>DOLLAR BAY</B>. Fireworks over the harbor at <B>Copper Harbor </B>are in a spectacular natural setting. . . . The <B>Pine Mountain Music Festival</B> has expanded into much of June and July, with high-caliber classical and other music, including two operas, at Houghton's Rozsa Center and in the Calumet Opera House. Call (877-746-3999) or visit <a target="_top" href="http://www.pmmf.org">www.pmmf.org</a> . . . . Rocks and minerals take center stage at the <B>Copper Country Rock and Mineral Club's Keweenaw Week</B> in early August. See <a target="_top" href="http://www.geo.mtu.edu/museum/">www.geo.mtu.edu/museum/</a> . . . . <B>Art in the Garden</B>, the Community Arts Center's big summer fundraiser, changes dates for different blooming seasons but always takes visitors to beautiful varied Copper Country gardens. The freewheeling yard art and wildflower component is fun and refreshing. Call (906) 482-2333. . . The July 22-23 and September 24 Keweenaw <B>Lighthouse Tours</B> offer a day-long cruise around all 10 Keweenaw lighthouses. The August 6-7 tour includes Isle Royale. Call (906) 482-0884. . . . . In <B>Calumet</B> the historic <B>Calumet Theatre</B> produces a historical play each summer and hosts many national musical acts; call (906) 337-2610 or visit <a target="_top" href="http://www.calumettheater.org">www.calumettheater.org</a> . . . . The village of <B>Calumet's Pasty Fest</B> with games, ethnic food, and a parade, is July 2, 2005 . . . Keweenaw Krayons Arts Alive brings summer music and more to <B>MOHAWK</B>, Eagle Harbor, and Copper Harbor. Visit <a target="_top" href="http://www.keweenawkrayons.com">www.keweenawkrayons.com</a> or ask around locally. . . . <B>Copper Harbor</B>'s website, <a target="_top" href="http://www.copperharbor.org">www.copperharbor.org</a> , details its many special-interest events. Fort Wilkins bustles with the <B>Civil War encampment</B> on the first weekend of August. <br><br><B>HARBORS with transient dockage<br></B> The <B>L'Anse</B> marina has a few overnight slips but no harbormaster. . . . . In <B>Baraga</B> (906-353-9916; off season 906-353-6237; lat. 46° 46' 39" N, 88° 28' 48" W) with showers. . . . On the Keweenaw Waterway in Coordinates for the <B>Keweenaw Waterway</B>: Upper Entry near <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/hancock_mclain_state_park.html" target="_top">McLain State Park</a>: lat. 47° 14' 08" N, long. 88° 37' 50" W. Lower Entry near Chassel: lat. 46° 57' 40" W. In <B>Ripley/Hancock</B> (906-482-6010; off-season 482-8307) the marina has showers. <B><a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/houghton_downtown_houghton.html" target="_top">Downtown Houghton</a></B> has moorings meant for day-use only. . . . . In <B>Eagle Harbor </B>(906-289-4416; alt. 906-289-4215; lat 47° 27' 52" N, long. 88° 09' 33" W) the marina has showers. . . . . In <B>Copper Harbor</B> (906-289-4966; alt. 906-289-4215; lat. 47° 28' 42" N, long. 87° 51' 50" W) there are showers, picnic tables. . . . In <B>Lac La Belle</B> (906-289-4215; lat. 47° 22' 30" N, long. 87° 57' 40" W). . . . On <B>Grand Traverse Bay</B> of the Keweenaw's south shore (twp. phone 906-296-8721; lat. 47° 11' 18" N, long. 88° 14' 00" W).<br><br><B>PICNIC PROVISIONS and PLACES<br></B> Pat's Foods on U.S. 41 in<B> L'Anse</B> is a competent supermarket. So is Larry's Market on U.S. 41 in <B>Baraga</B>.<br><B>?</B> In<B> Houghton Jim's Food Mart</B> off U.S. 41 by the MTU campus and Wells Fargo bank is convenient, manageable, and unusual, with imported food for foreign students and a good beer and wine selection. . . . Excellent bread and sandwiches are at <B>The Bakery </B>(see Houghton Restaurants).<br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br></STYLE>Copper Country's big supermarkets, all with good produce sections, are <B>Festival Foods</B> and <B>Econo Foods</B> on the M-26 strip in <B>Houghton</B>, <B>Pat's Foods</B> off U.S. 41 on <B>Hancock</B>'s Quincy Hill, another Pat's in <B>Calumet</B> on the Sixth Street Extension just west of U.S. 41, and <B>Louie's Super Valu</B> on M-26 between <B>Lake Linden</B> and Hubbell. <br><B>?</B> In Keweenaw County the <B>Mohawk</B> <B>Superette</B> on U.S. 41 is a small grocery with fresh meat and produce. In <B>Copper Harbor</B> the Gas Lite General Store does a good job for the end of the line, and offers fresh meat in summer. <B>Jamsen's Fish Market </B>(seasonal) is by the Isle Royale ferry dock. <br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br></STYLE>Truly <B>gourmet takeout fare</B> is available in <B>HOUGHTON</B> at <B>Victoria's Kitchen</B> (formerly Marie's Deli) and in <B>Hancock </B>at the <B>Keweenaw Co-op</B><B>,</B> with its famous deli with meats, cheeses, and salads, and its outstanding beer and wine selection. Fresh whitefish or lake trout is easy to grill. <B>Peterson's Fish Market </B>is outside <B>Hancock</B>, (482-2343), easy to find on U.S. 41 on Quincy Hill. <br><B>?</B> Just south of <B>Alberta</B> on U.S. 41, <B>Canyon Falls Roadside Park</B> is a first-class picnic area near a beautiful woodland walk to a waterfall.<br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br></STYLE>The <B>L'Anse Waterfront Park</B> downtown has it all: picnic area, great view, play equipment, and path to nearby waterfalls. If you stop at Baraga County Tourism on U.S. 41 and ask its director, she can direct you to other appealing spots that fit in with your plans. <br><B>?</B> Alongside the <B>Baraga County Historical Museum</B> on U.S. 41 in <B>Baraga</B> are picnic tables with a fine view of Keweenaw Bay. <br><B>?</B> Just north of the <B>Community of Keweenaw Bay</B>, the Michigan Department of Transportation roadside park by U.S. 41 has beautiful bay view.<br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br></STYLE> <B>Chassell</B>'s <B>Centennial Park</B> off U.S. 41 also has a swimming beach on Portage Lake.<br><B>?</B> <B>Houghton</B>'s<B> waterfront</B> has pretty, improved picnic areas <B>behind the Super 8</B> on Lakeshore Drive, <B>Bridgeview Park</B> on the downtown waterfront behind the Ambassador and Surplus Outlet, and by the chutes and ladders playground by <B>Houghton Beach</B>. For the beach, look for the road along the water where M-26 turns and begins to go up the hill.<br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br></STYLE> <B><a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/hancock_mclain_state_park.html" target="_top">McLain State Park</a></B> west of <B>Hancock </B>on M-203 has two beautiful picnic areas in natural settings, near the waterfront with sunset views over the lake.<br><B>?</B> <B>Lake Linden's</B> waterfront park and picnic area lacks shade but offers swimming and a playground.<br><B>?</B> Off U.S. 41 at <B>Phoenix</B> a picnic table is by the little church.<br><B>?</B> In <B>Eagle Harbor</B>, a most scenic picnic area is on a sunny, rocky promontory next to the <B>Eagle River Lighthouse</B>. <br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br></STYLE> <B>M-26</B> between <B>Eagle Harbor</B>and <B>COPPER HARBOR </B>has two of the most charming picnic spots anywhere - masterpieces of 1930s picturesque rustic design, they were Civilian Conservation Corps projects on especially beautiful stretches of rocky shore. <B>Esrey Park</B> comes first, five or six miles east of Eagle Harbor. A way's farther, just three miles west of Copper Harbor, is <B>Hebard Park</B>. Both parks have tables and grills.<br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br></STYLE>Just east of <B>Copper Harbor</B>, part of Fort Wilkins State Park, is a delightful picnic area where Fanny Hooe Creek enters the harbor, <B>opposite the <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/copper_harbor_copper_harbor_lighthouse.html" target="_top">Copper Harbor Lighthouse</a></B>. <br>Coming down the steep hill from U.S. 41 to <B>Lac la Belle</B>, turn right at the lake and in half a mile you'll see Haven Falls to your right. Here <B>Haven Park</B> has picnic tables and grills.<br><STYLE TYPE="text/css"><br><br></STYLE> On the Gay-Lac La Belle Road, <B>Brunette Park</B> on <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a> had a sandy beach and picnic area. The Tobacco River Park near <B>GAY</B> itself is on the river.<br> For an even fuller view of local parks and picnic areas, visit <a target="_top" href="http://www.keweenaw.info">www.keweenaw.info</a> or pick up the "Summer Outdoor Adventure Guide" at the Keweenaw CVB on U.S. 41 at Lake Linden Road in Calumet. Mark these hidden treasures on a reference map or the large-format DeLorme <I><U>Michigan Atlas & Gazetteer</U></I>, and you'll be set for lots of backroads adventures. </font> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=5 align="center">  <br> <center> <font size="+1" color="#454545" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica">Copyright © 1997-2007 Midwestern Guides</font> </center> </td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>