175 - Helpful Area Information
The Keweenaw Convention & Visitors' Bureau is between Calumet and Laurium at the light on U.S. 41 at Lake Linden Rd./M-26. (906) 337-4579. Open year-round. Weekdays from 9 to 6, Sat. 9-5. Off-season hours are Mon-Fri 9-5. Office well stocked with travel info & maps. . . . The Keweenaw Peninsula Chamber of Commerce (906-482-5240; 866-304-5722) is on U.S. 41/College Avenue just coming in to downtown Houghton. Hours are Mon-Fri 9-5:30. . . . Another quite informative website is Keweenaw Now.
For the L'Anse-Baraga-Skanee-Huron Mountains/Covington area, contact the Baraga County Tourist & Recreation Association at (800) 743-4908, (906) 524-7444. Its L'Anse office, clearly signed, is E. Broad at U.S. 41, open weekdays 9 to 5. Helpful director, Tracey Barrett goes out of her way to share her wealth of local knowledge. The office itself is the best place around to purchase local history books on Baraga County communities.
The Copper Harbor Improvement Association publishes a helpful area map, available at local businesses.
Some rock and mineral-related web sites are quite outstanding, e.g. www.copperconnection.com . Keweenaw Gem and Gift (906-482-8447) on the Houghton commercial strip of M-26 is the handiest walk-in source of maps and collecting info for rockhounds.
PUBLIC LAND
South of M-38 (the highway from Baraga to Ontonagon) are large areas of public land, mostly in the Ottawa National Forest. Campgrounds 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 www.fs.fed.us/r9/ottawa/ . Scattered areas of state land, including several campgrounds, are part of the Copper Country State Forest. State land is near Twin Lakes and in southern Baraga County. 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 www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails for campground and trail locations. For additional info or to buy hunting or fishing licenses, call or stop by the DNR Baraga office 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 locator map 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 Michigan Welcome Center. North of the Portage Waterway most developed state land is part of McLain State Park 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.
FISHING GUIDES, CHARTERS, RENTALS, and OUTDOORS STORES
Lake Superior is famous for its Lake Trout. Keweenaw streams may have steelhead, smelt, and brook, rainbow, and brown trout. There's good fishing in many inland lakes. Visit keweenaw.info or call Keweenaw Convention & Visitors Bureau (above) for some details. . . .The charter season is from May into October. Fred's Charters (906-289-4849) is based in Copper Harbor. . . .Four charters are in Lac La Belle
Fish On II Inland & Great Lakes Charters (906-289-4481)
Hooked UP Charter Fishing (906-370-4450);
Lucky Strike Charter Fishing (906-289-1017)
Sand Point Charters (906-370-2257 or 906-482-2424). Sand Point also offers sightseeing cruises, one to Bare Bluff at the Keweenaw tip with a look at Gull Rock lighthouse, another taking in three lighthouses: Gull Rock, Mendota, and Manitou. . . . Walleye Guide Service (906-296-9725) is based at Rice Lake outside Lake Linden. . . .Sunset cruises on the Isle Royale Queen IV leave the in-town ferry dock in Copper Harbor in July and August. Reservations advised. (906) 289-4437 . . . The Keweenaw Adventure Company in Copper Harbor rents kayaks and mountain bikes. It leads kayak tours of Isle Royale, and kayak and mountain bike tours to rugged, roadless areas between Copper Harbor and Keweenaw Point. This 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. Guided Eco-Tours are a new addition. Sociable Thursday-evening rides (intermediate and advanced) leave from the shop at 6 p.m. No charge . . . In downtown Houghton, Down Wind Sports at 303 Shelden Ave. near the Lift Bridge rents cross-country skis, mountain bikes, kayaks, and snowshoes and fields questions about many area sports. Kayak demos weekly in season. (906) 482-2500. . . . . In Calumet at Cross Country Sports at 506 Oak between Fifth and Sixth rents cross-country skis and snowshoes, and in summer, mountain bikes. Call (906) 337-4520. Good advice available here.
EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS
The Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau has a good general calendar at Keweenaw Events. . . . Bridgefest on the third weekend in June, by the Lift Bridge, kicks off the summer in Houghton and Hancock. . . . . The Fourth of July is a big homecoming event with parades in South Range, Lake Linden, and Dollar Bay. Fireworks over the harbor at Copper Harbor are in a spectacular natural setting. . . . . Keweenaw Krayons Arts Alive brings summer music and more to Mohawk, Eagle Harbor, and Copper Harbor. Visit http//Xkeweenawkrayons.com/
PICNIC PROVISIONS and PLACES
Pat's Foods on U.S. 41 in L'Anse is a competent supermarket. So is Larry's Market on U.S. 41 in Baraga.
In Houghton Jim's Food Mart 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 The Bakery (see Houghton Restaurants). . . . The Keweenaw's big supermarkets, all with good produce sections, are Festival Foods and Econo Foods on the M-26 strip in Houghton, Pat's Foods off U.S. 41 on Hancock's Quincy Hill, another Pat's in Calumet on the Sixth Street Extension just west of U.S. 41, and Louie's Super Valu on M-26 between Lake Linden and Hubbell.
In Keweenaw County the Mohawk's Superette on U.S. 41 is a small grocery with fresh meat and produce. In Copper Harbor the Gas Lite General Store does a good job for the end of the line, and offers fresh meat in summer. Jamsen's Fish Market (seasonal) is by the Isle Royale ferry dock. Truly gourmet takeout fare is available in HOUGHTON at Victoria's Kitchen (formerly Marie's Deli) and in Hancock at the Keweenaw Co-op, 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. Popular Peterson's Fish Market is outside Hancock, (482-2343), easy to find on U.S. 41 on Quincy Hill.
Just south of Alberta on U.S. 41, Canyon Falls Roadside Park is a first-class picnic area near a beautiful woodland walk to a waterfall. L'Anse's downtown Front Street Parka has it all: picnic area, great view, play equipment, and path to nearby waterfalls. If you stop at Baraga County Tourist and Recreation Association on U.S. 41 and ask its director, she can direct you to other appealing spots that fit in with your plans.
Alongside the Baraga County Historical Museum on U.S. 41 in Baraga are picnic tables with a fine view of Keweenaw Bay.
Just north of the community of Keweenaw Bay, the Michigan Department of Transportation roadside park by U.S. 41 has beautiful bay view.
Chassell's Centennial Park off U.S. 41 also has a swimming beach on Portage Lake.
Houghton's waterfront has pretty, improved picnic areas behind the Super 8 on Lakeshore Drive, Bridgeview Park on the downtown waterfront behind the Ambassador and Surplus Outlet, and by the chutes and ladders playground by Houghton Beach. For the beach, look for the road along the water where M-26 turns and begins to go up the hill.
McLain State Park west of Hancock on M-203 has two beautiful picnic areas in natural settings, near the waterfront with sunset views over the lake.
Lake Linden's waterfront park and picnic area lacks shade but offers swimming and a playground.
Off U.S. 41 at Phoenix a picnic table is by the little church.
In Eagle Harbor, a most scenic picnic area is on a sunny, rocky promontory next to the Eagle River Lighthouse.
M-26 between Eagle Harborand Copper Harborhas 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. Esrey Park comes first, five or six miles east of Eagle Harbor. A way's farther, just three miles west of Copper Harbor, is Hebard Park. Both parks have tables and grills.
Just east of Copper Harbor, part of Fort Wilkins State Park, is a delightful picnic area where Fanny Hooe Creek enters the harbor, opposite the Copper Harbor Lighthouse.
Coming down the steep hill from U.S. 41 to Lac la Belle, turn right at the lake and in half a mile you'll see Haven Falls to your right. Here Haven Park has picnic tables and grills.
On the Gay-Lac La Belle Road, Brunette Park on Lake Superior had a sandy beach and picnic area. The Tobacco River Park near GAY itself is on the river.
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