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L'ANSE
POINTS
OF
INTEREST
Baraga County Tourist & Recreation Association. Great weekday info center with local history books, terrific county map, savvy tips for exploring secluded area waterfalls, beaches, mountaintops, other backroad adventures. ...
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Falls River, Upper, Lower & Middle Falls. A wonderful, uncrowded place with complex waterfalls in a piney forest. One of the best U.P. waterfall walks, partly right in town. ...
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Front Street Park. Fine view of L'Anse Bay, fishing pier, marina, shipwreck, beach, playground and "train," summer concerts, picnic pavilion, horseshoes, waterfall trail. ...
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Indian Country Sports. Complete outdoors store (hunt, fish, canoe, kayak, camp, ski, snowshoe), info center, and working lighthouse. Lake trout tips from commercial fisherman's son. ...
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In the Mind's Eye. Regional gifts and art, art supplies, science and nature books for adults and children, one-hour photos — great for rainy days. ...
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Shrine of the Snowshoe Priest. A stature and shrine dedicated to the kindly priest in who in the 1830s ministered to the local Indians ...
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Powerhouse Falls
Hardly a mile south of L'Anse, this peaceful spot is a fine place to take a sandwich, sit, and enjoy the water rushing around you and the stone bluffs and trees across the Falls River. It's lovely in fall color season. This is not a fancy attraction.
The county tourism group has erected a simple shelter, but there's no toilet facility. The falls themselves are up behind the powerhouse, a peeling concrete block building. (An informal trail can take you back there.) A pleasant trail follows the river about a mile downstream. (—May, 2008)
From U.S. 41 a mile south of the turnoff into downtown L'Anse, turn west onto Power Dam Road at Reid's Funeral Home, an A-frame building. The little park is in ¾ mile. (906) 524-7444. No fee. Handicap access: gravel parking, flat terrain.
Little Mountain
Right outside L'Anse, this is one of those high places like Silver Mountain where a cap of resistant rock kept the hilltop from eroding away. A mostly quite gentle hike through woods ends up on a flat rock with a panoramic view of Keweenaw Bay and the Huron Mountains. Spectacular in fall! About 25 minutes up. (—May, 2008)
Off U.S. 41 about 2 miles south of L'Anse, or 9-10 miles north of M-28 junction near Covington. Take Golf Course Road 2 miles west to trailhead. Take left fork of trail if in doubt. (906) 524-7444. No fee. Not handicap accessible.
L'Anse Township Park & Campground. A serene bluff-top setting for park and modern campground, among pines and hemlocks overlooking Keweenaw Bay. Rocky beach is down below. ...
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Mount Arvon. In the Huron Mountains, Michigan's highest point has no view, but many take rugged logging roads to claim "I climbed Mount Arvon, Michigan's highest point." ...
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Region: Keweenaw Peninsula
L'ANSE
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 | | With over two dozen businesses, L'Anse has an uncommonly healthy downtown. | This town of 2,000 deserves more than the drive-through many travelers going to the Keweenaw give it. L'Anse's waterfront at the head of Keweenaw Bay makes a fine rest stop, thanks to continual improvements on and around Front Street Park: a marina, lighted harborfront walkway, picnic and play facilities, a path to the Falls River waterfalls, and now more paths to connect town and school. The park and especially the marina pier are uncommonly pleasant places to look out and enjoy the water.
At the head of 30-mile-long Keweenaw Bay, this unassuming village and county seat is one of Michigan's settlements with very old European roots. By 1660 a branch of the Sugar Island Band of Ojibwa had come here to fish. In that year they were joined by a French Jesuit priest hoping to save their souls. He built the first mission here. L'Anse, pronounced "LAHNce," is French for "the bay." The settlement later became a trading post and, in 1871, a station on the railroad line between Houghton and Marquette. With the railroad, the port, and trees to be logged in most directions, L'Anse boomed briefly in the 1870s before the national economy went into a tailspin. A good, short county history is online at www.baragacountyhistoricalmuseum.com . Lots of Baraga County historical photos are in one section of Clyde Elmblad's interesting site, highway41north.com .
 | | L'Anse's most visible landmark is the factory of its chief employer, Celotex ceiling tile manufacturer, now part of BPB. Locally it will always be the Celotex plant. Today It can be seen as far as 18 miles north in Jacobsville. | The social history of a community can be read in part through its churches. In L'Anse, the really large church building, from around 1900, is the impressive stone Sacred Heart Catholic Church, halfway up the Broad Street hill as you enter town. A cluster of interesting Protestant church buildings is up the Main Street hill. To get there, go downtown, then turn right onto Main Street.
A sawmill capitalized on the waterpower of the Falls River making a steep descent into Keweenaw Bay at L'Anse. The mill was already large when Henry Ford bought it in 1922, a time when automobile bodies were largely made of wood. The mill and Ford forests employed a thousand, according to Ford Bryan in Beyond the Model T: The Other Ventures of Henry Ford. The mill shipped as much as 180,000 board feet of lumber a day to its Iron Mountain parts plant. Bryan details a busy, crowded area by the mill and waterfront, with lumber yards "as large as any known," decked logs by today's Front Street Park, a railroad yard, derricks for loading the freighters that docked here, aided by steam tugs. Ford financed L'Anse's unusually impressive high school building up the hill off Fourth Street, now enlarged for grades K-12.
After Ford sold off its Upper Peninsula property, the mill was bought by Celotex to make ceiling tiles. The plant is now part of BPB, a large British-owned conglomerate. It still makes ceiling tiles, using mineral wool instead of wood pulp, and its stack is still a landmark visible most of the way up the Keweenaw Peninsula. Today the ceiling tile plant, the prison outside Baraga, and the Baraga casino are the area's largest employers. Some people commute to the Tilden and Empire iron mines outside Ishpeming, 60 miles away. In 2005 a good deal of the Baraga County timberland once owned by Ford has been purchased for further exploration by Kennecott Minerals, the firm that wants a controversial nickel sulfide mine near the Yellow Dog River blue ribbon trout stream.
Today the L'Anse harbor is again active, dredged for the recent municipal marina. It can handle the biggest Lake Superior pleasure boats, up to 40'. Keweenaw Bay is "the lake trout capital of the Great Lakes," said to have twice the lake trout population as anywhere else. Now sport fishing has replaced commercial fishing in the local economy, partly from visitors, partly in the form of second homes. Indian Country Sports, a good source of information about outdoor recreation in the area, has built a functioning lighthouse to publicize its business and the waterfront.
East of L'Anse Bay the topography quickly climbs to Michigan's highest elevations in the Huron Mountains, creating a number of scenic waterfalls in the process. Mount Arvon, 1,979 feet, is Michigan's high point. The Huron Mountains are eroded stumps of ancient mountains once higher than the Rockies. Today they seem more like hills. Mount Arvon offers no view; it's a tourist destination just so people can say they have visited Michigan's highest point. Members of the Highpointers Club ( www.highpointers.org ) come from afar in their quests to visit high points of every state. The Baraga County Tourist office is the best source of up-to-date information on getting to Mount Arvon (logging rods change) and to all the waterfalls open to the public. Just west of town are the red rock bluffs of Jacobsville sandstone, also known as brownstone, a favorite late 19th-century building material quarried here as well as the better-known quarries at Jacobsville on the Keweenaw Peninsula and near Marquette.
Back to Keweenaw Peninsula
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L'ANSE
RESTAURANTS,
LODGINGS
& CAMPGROUNDS
These are our choices, not ads.
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L'ANSE
RESTAURANTS
See also: Baraga, Keweenaw Bay.
Tony's Steakhouse is back — on U.S. 41 just south of L'Anse. Details to come.
NITE OWL CAFE
(906) 524-5455
This diner with booths, formerly known as Shabee's, is the locals' favorite gathering spot. It's known for big breakfasts (homemade bread makes the toast), good chili, pasties (sold Tuesdays only), tuna sandwiches, and a full homestyle menu with meal-size salads and daily specials. Anything on homemade bread is a hit: hoagies, reubens on sweet rye bread. Now no-smoking. Credit cards accepted. (—May, 2008)
11 South Main downtown. To reach downtown from U.S. 41, turn onto Broad at the curve by Subway and the "Welcome to L'Anse" sign. Go down the hill (northwest) to Main, then left. Open year-round. Mon-Sat 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sun 7-1. Wheelchair accessible. No alcohol.
CANTEEN BAR & GRILL
(906) 524-6211
Canteen Bar & Grill (906) 524-6211
Here you can sit at the bar, eat an excellent burger, and look out at Keweenaw Bay. A horizontal window behind the bar has a fine bay view. at this well-run, well-ventilated bar-restaurant. Its extensive menu includes good Mexican, salads, homemade soups, a variety of burgers and sandwiches, chili, and a few dinner steaks. Friday fish fry offers perch, walleye, whitefish, and all-you-can-eat cod for $10 to $11 or so. No credit cards. One room. Smoking not bad in summer. (—May, 2008)
On the L'Anse waterfront at 9 Front Street, a block north of downtown. Kitchen open Mon-Sat 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sun 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wheelchair-accessible. Family-friendly with highchairs, but bar atmosphere keeps some away. Full bar.
HILLTOP RESTAURANT
(906) 524-7858; sweetroll.com
For years this big, spiffy place on U.S. 41 has been a favorite stopping place for motorists en route to the Keweenaw because of its glazed donuts, famous cinnamon rolls (as big as a one-pound loaves of bread, and more like bread than rich, gooey cinnamon rolls), and large portions of homestyle fare, from spaghetti and lasagna to roast pork. It's a busy spot in a convenient location with a full menu, including weekend breakfast buffets and an extensive dinner menu with a big salad bar, alcoholic beverages, and one area that's really smoke free. (—April, 2008)
On U.S. 41 a mile south of L'Anse. From mid May thru mid Nov open daily 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Otherwise open daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Weekend morning buffet 9 a.m,-1 p.m. Sun year-round, Sat. July thru Sept. Wheelchair-accessible. Full bar.
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L'ANSE
LODGINGS
See also: Baraga, Keweenaw Bay, Skanee, Three Lakes.
Sometimes Baraga County lodgings fill up with conventions, snowmobilers, or gambling, so reservations are a good idea. The area may fill up for the fabulous Michigan Tech winter carnival in February, and for Tech graduation in May.
L'ANSE MOTEL & SUITES
(906) 524-7820; lansemotel.com
The two single-story buildings in this older concrete block motel sit well back from the busy highway, behind some mature willows and spruces and some picnic tables. The 21 very pleasant drive-up units have scrubbed pine furniture for a warm look. Rates for two in 2000: $40 and $46. Single-room suites ($56 for two) sleep up to 5 with a queen and double bed, sofa-sleeper microwaves and fridges. All rooms have phones, with free local calls, cable TV and free HBO. On snowmobile trail. Free casino shuttle service. This has not been updated.
On U.S. 41 just outside the village of L'Anse. Close to Hilltop Restaurant. On U.S. 41, half a mile south of downtown L'Anse. Open year-round. Some wheelchair-accessible rooms. Family-friendly; $2/extra person. No pets.
HILLTOP MOTEL
(906) 524-6321; superiorsights.com/hilltopmotel
Adjacent to the Hilltop Restaurant but under separate ownership, this well-maintained single-story motel has 20 drive-up units with a mix of bed configurations. Two-person rates in 2000 were $37-$43. Newer and older furnishings; new carpeting. Basic amenities are up-to-date: direct-dial phones with free local calls; cable TV with ESPN, Disney, and free HBO, air-conditioning. No-smoking rooms available. On snowmobile trail. No check-in after 11 p.m. (This has not been updated.)
On U.S. 41 a mile south of downtown L'Anse. Handicap access: call Family-friendly: $3/extra child; $5/extra adult. Dogs accepted in smoking rooms. Call first.
WATERSTONE SUITES
(888) 896-0825; (906) 524-2323; thewaterstonesuites.com
The unsold condos at the head of Keweenaw Bay have been turned into seven most attractive overnight and weekly rental units. Each has good views of the bay from the living room and outdoor sitting area. Each of these spacious rather elegantly furnished apartments has a fully equipped kitchen with dishwasher; living-dining area with gas fireplace; washer-dryer; and cable TV in the living room and roomy bedroom. 1 BR: $89/night, $500/week,. 2 BR $139/night, $650/week. Longer stay rates, too. Air-conditioned, with wireless internet. Each unit has a garage. L'Anse native Karen DeKleyn and her husband, Dan, are hands-on managers, active in local groups.
17579 Menge Creek Road off U.S. 41,just west of the Red Rocks and Shrine. Children welcome. Handicap access: 1 step. Wide doorways. Pets: possibly 1 unit. Call.
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L'ANSE
CAMPGROUNDS
See also: Baraga, Skanee, Sidnaw.
Baraga State Park often isn't full and the modern L'Anse Township Campground, scenic and quiet, never fills. Attractive rustic state and national forest campgrounds that seldom fill are between Skanee and the Huron Mountains and outside Sidnaw and Kenton along M-28.
L'ANSE TOWNSHIP PARK & CAMPGROUND
(906) 524-6985; lansetownship.org
The modern, 30-site campground in this bluff-top park overlooks Keweenaw Bay. It is a real find. It's quiet, pretty, and shaded by pines and hemlocks. Sites are grassy. To keep things peaceful, the park is supervised from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and then locked. Campers get keys to come and go as they wish. Rates are $12/night for tents, $15 for campers and trailers. 50, 30, and 20 amp electricity. A rocky swimming beach is down the hill and across the road. This campground offers the services of a state park (showers, electricity, flush toilets, dump station, playground) without the crowds. See L'Anse Township Park for details about the site. (—May, 2008)
2 miles northeast of downtown L'Anse. Look for entrance on west side of Skanee Rd. (the continuation of Main St.) Open mid-May thru last Sat. of Oct. Handicap access: call. Not ADA accessible. Works for many. Dogs permitted on 6-foot leash.
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