|
|
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. ...
more
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. ...
more
Front Street Park. Fine view of L'Anse Bay, fishing pier, marina, shipwreck, beach, playground and "train," summer concerts, picnic pavilion, horseshoes, waterfall trail. ...
more
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. ...
more
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. ...
more
Shrine of the Snowshoe Priest. A stature and shrine dedicated to the kindly priest in who in the 1830s ministered to the local Indians ...
more
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. ...
more
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." ...
more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Front Street Park
|
The L'Anse waterfront, no longer an active port, now has quite an attractive marina, pier, and park, plus lots of features that all add up to a very pleasant picnic spot for a driving break to stretch your legs and enjoy a beautiful view of L'Anse Bay. Pick up a sub from Subway, deli takeout from Pat's Supermarket, or Mexican takeout from the Canteen across from the park on Front Street, and you'd be set.
L'Anse's uninterrupted public frontage on L'Anse Bay at the Falls River mouth was a gift from the Ford Motor Company when it sold the adjacent Falls River mill. Ford's lumber operation had used the waterfront for its own shipping and for decking logs.
For the best bay view, walk out to the end of the barrier-free pier alongside the marina. (It's directly opposite the lighthouse attached to Indian Country Sports.) There's an excellent boat launch ($2 fee) at this natural deepwater harbor. Various platforms have picnic spots, but anglers mostly fish off the pier's end for salmon, steelhead, perch, and most any kind of Great Lakes fish. (A fish-cleaning station across from Indian Country Sports is a new addition.) A green buoy marks the end of the existing dock; off it lie the remains of the Northerner, an easy dive for scuba divers. The 20-slip, self-registration marina offers boaters lights, water, pumpout, and gas.
The adjacent Front Street beach and playground are magnets in good weather. There's a 1,500-foot lighted walkway with benches, a large pavilion, and restrooms. Summer concerts, from hymns to rock, are held Thursdays at 7 at the bandshell from early July into late August. It's become a tradition for the extremely popular folk music group Whitewater to close out the season.
At the park's west end, toward the big ceiling tile plant, there's a sand volleyball court, a horseshoe court, two covered picnic areas, and a fun little train for kids to play in. Here too an informal nature trail curves south along the Falls River alongside a striking series of easy-to-reach waterfalls (see Falls River, Lower and Middle Falls).
Since 1990 or so, business and civic leaders and village government have worked together to develop the waterfront into a well-thought-out marina-park complex. State and federal grants and a Downtown Development Authority with tax-increment financing have augmented the village's limited budget. Everybody appreciates the way the park has transformed drab city property formerly used for parking. (—April, 2008)
From U.S. 41 at the main Y intersection, head down Broad Street. Proceed a block past the Main Street business area to the park. Or turn off 41 at Burger King, then take a left onto Broad and proceed to park. Wheelchair accessible.
Return to L'Anse
|
|
