Norway - Michigan's Upper Peninsula

<html> <head> <title>Norway - 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="Profile of Norway, with candid descriptions of attractions, recommended restaurants, lodgings, campgrounds."> <base href="http://hunts-upguide.com/"> <link href="/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">  <script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-16592122-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); </script>  <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> </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=209 style="border: 3px solid #000000; " > <tr> <td valign="top"> <B> JUST OUT!</B> A new edition of <I>Hunts' Mapguide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula</I>. 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 <A HREF="http://www.hunts-upguide.com/up_travel_map.html">UP MAP GUIDE</a> </td> </tr> </table> <br> <p>  <a target="_top" href="http://www.wunderground.com/US/MI/Norway.html?bannertypeclick=bigtemptr"> <img src="http://banners.wunderground.com/weathersticker/bigtemptr_both/language/www/US/MI/Norway.gif" border=0 alt="Click for Norway, Michigan Forecast" height=94 width=185></a> <br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=20 height=3 alt="---"><br>  <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">  <table width="100%" cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0 border=0 bgcolor="#306799"> <tr> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#306799"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b> <a class="sidebar" href="/" target="_top">Home</a><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="85" height="5"><br> <a class="sidebar" href="iron_river__iron_mountain___the_menominee_range.html" target="_top">Back to Iron River, Iron Mountain & the Menominee Range</a> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="85" height="20"><br> </b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100%"> <table width="100%" border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=10 bgcolor="#FFE09B"> <tr> <td align="left"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=100 height=10 alt="-"><br> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"> <center><font color="#C82F2C"><b>NORWAY<br>POINTS<BR>OF INTEREST</b></font><br> </center> <font color="#263692" size="-2"> <p> <a name="e898"><b>Piers Gorge.</b></a> An estraordinary sight created by a dramatically deep gorge of the Menominee River. The water roars for a mile and half ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/norway_piers_gorge.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e900"><b>Iron Mountain Iron Mine.</b></a> Go in a train 400' underground along 2,600' of tunnels to experience mining in this gloomy, dark and drippy setting. See demonstrations of the noisy drilling. ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/norway_iron_mountain_iron_mine.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e895"><b>Downtown Norway.</b></a> Check out specialty shops in the center of this pleasant town: an antique & quilt shop, Northern Expressions with many U.P. products and crafts, and a Scandinavian import shop ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/norway_downtown_norway.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e896"><b>Strawberry Lake & Kids' Kingdom Playground.</b></a> A caved-in mine has turned into a delightful pond with loons, ducks, a fishing platform, playground, picnic area and paved trail circling the lake ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/norway_strawberry_lake___kids__kingdom_playground.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e897"><b>Marion Park & Oak Crest Golf Course.</b></a> A beautiful hillside park with a canopy of majestic oaks, picnic area, playground, volleyball, horseshoe courts. Next to it is a golf course and restaurant ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/norway_marion_park___oak_crest_golf_course.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e899"><b>Falls at the paper mill in Niagara, Wisconsin.</b></a> High buffs along the Menominee River made of massive dark rocks loom over a little mill town ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/norway_falls_at_the_paper_mill_in_niagara__wisconsin.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <p>   </font> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td>   </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center">  <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> <td valign=top width="1%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="9" height=500 alt="|"> </td> <td valign=top width="63%">  <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0> <tr> <td valign=top align=center bgcolor="#018650" colspan=2> <center> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="30" height=8 alt="-"><br> <b><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"><a class="whitelink" href="iron_river__iron_mountain___the_menominee_range.html" target="_top">Region: Iron River, Iron Mountain & the Menominee Range</a></font></b><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="100%" height=3 alt="-"><br> <h1>NORWAY</h1> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="30" height=8 alt="-"></center></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="63%">  <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=8 border=0> <tr> <td align="left">  <font face="Georgia"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=6 alt="-"><br> Norway is an attractive town of 3,000. It makes a good impression on visitors who pass through it on U. S. 2 on the way to Piers Gorge and the Iron Mountain Iron Mine. Norway has trim, early 20th-century houses and tree-lined streets. It's a welcome contrast to the massive commercial sprawl spreading east from Iron Mountain along U.S. 2.<br><br>Sizable models of a <B>Viking ship</B> greet motorists on both U.S. 2 entrances, a symbol of the Norwegians and Swedes who came to work in the Norway area logging camps and iron mines. But a lot of Germans, Irish, Cornish, English, Italians, and Poles arrived as well. Still, Norwegian is the theme, and everyone promotes it. Next to each Viking ship is a sign announcing that Norway is <B>"The City of Trails."</B> It's an impressive accomplishment that a small group of energetic community leaders have raised tax dollars and grant money to build asphalt<B> bike and walking paths</B> connecting the town with outlying parks. <br><br> <table align="right" cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=200> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/685.gif" width=200 height=127 alt="Norway Spring" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Just west of Norway is this artesian well. Locals claim it supplies the best water you can drink and fill their bottles from the faucet on the back. The spring emerged in 1903 when a 1,094-foot exploratory hole was sunk by an iron mining company.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> Norway's small-town charm also comes from the unnerving fact that the town has been moved - <I>twice. </I>Iron deposits were so extensive here that the town was undermined to the point that streets collapsed and houses sank. Photographs from the 1890s show a much bigger and more impressive downtown where there's now a field, north of the present downtown. The first Norway was farther north on Main, up the hill, where a few streets of simple cottages remain between the two sunken pits. <br><br>Remnants of Norway's first phase survive in radically different forms. The <B>Aragon Mine</B> is now <B>Strawberry Lake and park</B>. (See below.) The farms and back roads here in the valley north of U.S. 2 are lovely. For a scenic shortcut to Iron Mountain's north side, turn north onto CR 396, which ends up at Lake Antoine.<br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=399> <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> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/686.gif" width=399 height=252 alt="Ray's Feed Mill" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Norway's feed mill on 9th Avenue may seem out of place in a region not known for agruiculture. But its main function is serving the many people around Norway with horses, which number well over a thousand.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> By 1900, when the need for a third move to escape cave-ins had become obvious, Norway had matured beyond its rough and tumble boom years and was willing to plan for amenities of settled town life. Major buildings were built again over the next ten years. <br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=349> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/688.gif" width=349 height=814 alt="Aragon shafthouse 2" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>The Vulcan Mine just west of Norway was the big iron ore producer in the area, but the Aragon Mine on Norway's north side was also active. The concrete skeleton of its shafthouse, still shedding chunks, is off Central Avenue in what is now a staging area for logging trucks.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> Today Norway's biggest employer is a label-printing factory, part of the Milwaukee-based North Star Print Group. The 95 who work here in Norway make millions of labels, many of them on metallicized paper, for beer bottles, household chemical products such as "Snuggle," and food cans.<br><br>The<B>Jake Meneghini Museum</B>, a standout among local museums for its wonderful stories of Norway life, has now moved into a large new building on West U.S. 2. It's behind the unusual, European-looking house of Anton Odill, the Luxemburger who drilled the first tests for Norway's mines and stayed to build up the community. Some day museum board members hope to restore the house. <p align="right"><a href="iron_river__iron_mountain___the_menominee_range.html" target="_top">Back to Iron River, Iron Mountain & the Menominee Range</a></p> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="37%" valign="top"> <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=8 border=0> <tr> <td height="4" width="37%">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=1 alt="-"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center" bgcolor="#C7302D" width="37%">  <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" color="#FFFFFF"> <b> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> <font size="-1"> NORWAY<br> RESTAURANTS,<br> LODGINGS<br> & CAMPGROUNDS </font> <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=6 alt="-"><br> <font size="-2">These are our choices, not ads.</font><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> </b> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign=top bgcolor="#FFE09B" width="37%">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>NORWAY<br>RESTAURANTS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> <a name="e889"><b>RIALTO LANES & RESTAURANT</b></a><br> (906) 563-9919 <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> A reader from Norway took us to task for overlooking<B> </B>the Rialto<B> </B>- easy to do, since this third-generation business hardly has a sign. It's a breakfast spot, a bar, a dinner restaurant, a six-lane bowling alley that's straight out of the 50s, and a place for clubs to meet. It is also a meeting place for all who have left our great little town and come back for a visit. The first stop morning or night is the Rialto.<br>    The VanWolvelaere family are hands-on owners. The place really hums on weekends with bowlers and diners of all ages. The menu includes hot dogs, burgers, Mexican, Italian, and steaks, plus homemade pies and, for vegetarians, gardenburgers and portobello mushroom sandwiches. There are several soups each day. Daily sandwich and soup or salad specials are $5, special hot lunches are $6.50. There's also a full menu. The really good buffets draw crowds: Friday fish ($12 includes five kinds of fish, shrimp, and crab legs plus chicken) and Saturday evening ($9.50). <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>In downtown Norway on Main St. just south of U.S. 2, next to Northern Expressions gift shop. Kitchen open Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., bar open until 1 a.m. Closed Sunday. Wheelchair-accessible. Family-friendly. Full bar.</i> <p> <a name="e890"><b>CORNER HOUSE</b></a><br> (906) 563-5496 <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> This vintage small-town café and bar has long enjoyed a reputation for its fruit and cream pies ($1.95/slice) and rich concoctions like peanut butter luster (with a shell on top), pecan pie. Hamburgers ($4.50 and 6.75 with fries, pasties and the sandwich menu are available any time. Daily specials ($5.25 to $9) might be Swedish meatballs and noodles, gnocchi with red sauce, or lasagna. Other favorites are prime rib ($12) and on Fridays pan-fried walleye that's out of this world, according to one customer. There's a big breakfast and morning coffee business. Vegetarians order a la carte, have the gardenburger or the salad bar. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>512 Seventh Ave./U.S. 2 a block east of downtown Norway.. Open 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wheelchair-accessible. Family-friendly. Full bar.</i> <p> <a name="e894"><b>THIRSTY WHALE BAR & GRILL</b></a><br> (906) 563-5466 <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> This remodeled old roadhouse just west of Norway has become a community hangout because of its personable owner, Paula Pierpon, its good sandwiches, and its games - volleyball leagues in summer, Saturday trivia games in winter. The menu, based on a grill and fry basket, is big on <B>burgers</B> (the legendary half-pound burger is $4.25), club sandwiches, cudighi (that Upper Peninsula Italian sausage patty, $3.25), soups, and <B>fish and chips</B> ($5), with a chef salad for greens. Of course, there's a <B>Friday fish fry</B> (under $9), featuring perch, walleye, shrimp, or cod dinners with fries, slaw, and baked beans. There's a <B>patio</B> for nice weather. The nautical theme came inland from Escanaba. On a snowmobile trail. It's one room, none too large, so expect some smoke. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>825 Murray Road/U.S. 2 just west of Norway, across from the AmeriInn. Open with food Mon-Sat 11 a.m. to closing, often 2 a.m. Wheelchair-accessible. Not really for kids when busy. Full bar.</i> <p> </font> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#CDCCAD" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>NORWAY<br>LODGINGS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> <a name="e892"><b>AMERICINN</b></a><br> (906) 563-7500; reservations (800) 396-5007; americinn.com/hotels/MI/Norway <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> For visitors who want a big, beautiful indoor pool, hot tub, and sauna, and possibly a whirlpool room with fireplace, this newish motel on the west edge of Norway is a pleasant alternative to most of Iron Mountain's motels with pools, stuck in sprawl. The 45 rooms look out onto the town of Norway or, in back, onto woods. The Thirsty Whale bar with food is across U.S. 2. AmericInns have soundproof construction. Each has a big lobby with massive fireplace, comfortable seating, and tables used for the enhanced continental breakfast in the morning, or for evening cards and hot drinks. This AmericInn has meeting rooms and interesting local photographs,too. Standard doubles in mid July and are $84. All rooms have coffeemakers, wireless internet, and coffeemakers. Guest laundry. <i> March, 2008</i> <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>W 6002 West U.S. 2 a mile west of downtown Norway. Wheelchair access: some rooms ADA accessible. Children: 12 & under free with parents. Pets: some rooms. Call. </i> <p> <a name="e893"><b>VIKING MOTEL</b></a><br> (906) 563-9245; vikingmotelmi.com <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> This homey, 2-story motel is perpendicular to U.S. 2, adjoining a pleasant neighborhood, 2 blocks from downtown restaurants and bars. Its 20 rooms are $39 and $49/night for 2 (1 or 2 double beds). They are tastefully appointed in a 1960s way: plaster walls, Scandinavian modern/ northwoods decor, flower baskets. Phones in room. No internet. Air-conditioned. Coffee in office. The owners' exotic accents aren't Norwegian; Frank and Gabriella Cescolini are Italian. They hope to sell the motel and retire. <i> March, 2008</i> <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>705 Norway St./U.S. 2 at U.S. 8, 2 blocks west of downtown Norway. Some rooms ADA accessible. Children: 12 & under free with parents. Pets in some rooms. Call. </i> <p> </font> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#B6DBA4" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>NORWAY<br>CAMPGROUNDS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> </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 © 2010 Midwestern Guides</font> </center> </td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>