COPPER HARBOR AND THE KEWEENAW PENINSULA

Anam Cara is situated in Michigan’s northernmost region - the wild and rugged Keweenaw Peninsula, providing four season relaxation and adventure.

Beachcomb for agates...explore miles of driftwood strewn sandy beaches along Lake Superior's coastline...gape at the ancient, towering white pines in the Estivant Pines sanctuary...marvel at the many waterfalls of the Keweenaw Peninsula. In nearby Copper Harbor, a storybook town lifted straight off the coast of Maine, there’s world-class mountain biking. And there’s more…!

There are historic mines and ghost towns to explore, cliffs to rock climb, scores of different kinds of berries to pick, art shops, award winning restaurants, and lonely roads to bike. Enjoy a round of golf at the historic Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. Kayak or canoe on uninhabited inland lakes or protected Lake Superior bays and harbors.

A typical Copper Harbor scene. You can rent watercraft at Keweenaw Adventures in town.

We’ve got thirst-quenching craft breweries. Copper Harbor is also the gateway to Isle Royale (the least visited of all National Parks...and the most re-visited!). There’s the world famous tunnel of trees along US Highway 41, emerald green in summer, blazing orange, red and gold in fall, white sugar confection in winter. Ah.... winter. There’s no place more magical than the Keweenaw, one of the most snowy locales in the US. You can find world class downhill skiing at Mount Bohemia (perennially listed as one of the top 10 downhill ski areas in North America), and miles upon miles of ski and snowshoe trails.

Can you believe it?!! This is US Highway 41.

“Copper Harbor is more northern exposure than Northern Exposure.” That’s what one of our guests said after spending her honeymoon in our cabin. A big fan of the TV series, she fell in love with Copper Harbor. It’s easy to understand why. Located at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, it’s Michigan’s northernmost community and houses around 100 year-round residents. You have to love a town that’s been declared the furthest town from a US Interstate Highway in the lower 48 states, a town where you can ski down the middle of a US highway (Highway 41) during the height of winter, a town where a moose might walk down the main street...or if not a moose, a bear, coyote, wolf or porcupine. There’s actually an entire body of cult-like literature devoted to what we might call Copper Harbor/Keweenaw “Tourist Porn”. Here’s a sample: https://www.mlive.com/entertainment/erry-2018/04/4a7f0b149f2882/copper_harbor_is_not_the_edge.html

And here’s David’s contribution to that esteemed body of literature:

A Dozen Reasons Why I Love Copper Harbor,

the Northernmost Town in the Upper Peninsula:

1) Copper Harbor is the furthest town in the continental United States from an Interstate Highway (251 driving miles)…"and it looks the part, like an artist's sketches for Hemingway's stories of the Upper Peninsula.”

http://www.citylab.com/commute/2012/10/how-far-can-you-live-interstate-highway/3449/

2) Copper Harbor is one of the snowiest towns in the continental United States, averaging 208” per year. You can actually ski down its main street, US 41, during long stretches of the winter. I know, because I’ve done it.

3) Copper Harbor has the oldest continuously operating one-room schoolhouse in Michigan, perhaps even in the continental United States. If enrollment ever drops below one student, it will have to permanently close its doors.

4) Copper Harbor is the end of US Highway 41, which originates 2000 miles away in downtown Miami. The final several miles run through a tunnel of maple trees which completely shade the road. It’s a riot of color in fall, and the trees look like sugared confections in winter. It’s literally the “end of the road”. Oh, and I’ve done that drive. I started in downtown Miami, on a sweltering late-April afternoon and pointed north. I finished on May 1st amidst snow flurries at the termination, a forest turnaround of US 41, located just a few miles north of Copper Harbor. Afterwards, I skied across Lake Medora, still frozen, for a celebratory dinner at our cabin. That’s life at the end of the road. Or perhaps the beginning...depending upon one’s perspective.

5) But it’s not quite the end of the road, because from Copper Harbor you can take the Isle Royale Queen, a passenger ferry, 3 hours across Lake Superior to Isle Royale National Park, the least visited and most isolated national park in the continental United States. But also the most re-visited of all the national parks.

6) Copper Harbor’s 100 year around residents are some of the friendliest, most artistic, handy, eccentric, iconoclastic folk around. We have more PhD’s per capita than most college towns. And it has a great general store - The Gaslight - owned by Stacy, who’s not only friendlier than the fictional Ruth Ann, the crusty general store owner in the fictional Cicely of Northern Exposure, but she’s also more diversified, as she owns Copper Harbor’s sole miniature golf course, Into the Woods MiniGolf. Stacy, all by herself, would be a reason to love Copper Harbor! And an ex-employee of The Gaslight, started the town’s only brewery - The Brick. That’s owned by Jason, who now is the town’s resident brewer. Stop in for a cold brew and get a growler for later...back at the camp. (Camp is the term for cabins /cottages / lean-tos up in the U.P.)

7) Dressing up in Copper Harbor means putting on a freshly laundered flannel shirt. Some of the vehicles are more dressed up than their owners.

8) Lake Superior is clearly superior to any other freshwater lake. It’s the largest lake in surface area in the world, and the cleanest and clearest of all the Great Lakes.

I had the greatest conversation with this U.P. resident and artist one late summer evening.

9) Mount Bohemia, the most exciting ski slope between the Rockies and New England, is just several miles away. And it is one of the last ski areas that is non-corporate. When Lonnie, the owner of Mount Bohemia learns you’re new to the area, he greets you with a smile and offers to ride the lift to the top with you to show you around. The “resort” is a series of interconnected yurts. It regularly shows up in Top-10 lists for best ski resort destinations in North America. And its outdoor spa is one of the most amazing spa experiences in the midwest.

10) Copper Harbor is more northern exposure than that famous TV show, “Northern Exposure”. You might see a moose walking down its main street. For sure, I’ve seen a porcupine ambling down the street. It has one flashing red traffic light…apparently just for the heck of it, because there is no traffic, unless there’s a festival in town.

11) The mountain biking is incomparable. Copper Harbor has silver-level ride center status with the International Mountain Biking Association, and ranks as one of the top 20 mountain biking destinations in the world.

Whooping it up on the Keweenaw Point Trail.

12) Copper Harbor is located in Keweenaw County, the most “watery” of counties in all the US, since it also contains Isle Royale National Park and the intervening watery acreage in between. It’s also one of the least densely populated counties east of the Mississippi.

So please explore Copper Harbor. By the way, there’s a great playground for the kids, but if your lil’ ones are feeling lethargic, stop by the local candy shop on the main street and amp ‘em up with a bit of sugar. Meanwhile, the adults can indulge themselves with some interesting local shopping, a drink at the local brewery, or a meal or snack at one of the town’s restaurants. The Mariner is a casual restaurant and one of our favorites.

Check out Fort Wilkins, a historical state park located on beautiful Lake Fanny Hooe, named after the beautiful Fannie Hooe who spent the summer of 1844 at the fort, and supposedly either drowned in the lake or got lost in the woods while picking blueberries and was never seen again. Please don’t get lost in the woods yourself, but do explore the grounds and some of the trails. The trail along the Lake Superior shoreline is one of our favorites. But we also like to stroll through the campground area and check out the latest in camping and RV paraphernalia. There is a great gift shop at the park, and there are weekly evening programs. And speaking of evening programs, there are also free weekly music performances in Copper Harbor’s town park, which is highly recommended.

Of course, if you’re into hiking and natural beauty, there is almost too much to choose from. We love the Hunter’s Point Trail, at the south end of Copper Harbor. Or if you want to stretch your legs and get stiff-necked at the same time, check out the gigantic virgin pines at Estivant Pines Sanctuary. Or head a few blocks out of town and check out Manganese Falls, one of the many picturesque waterfalls in the U.P.

And speaking of a different kind of exploration...of the interior mindscape….you can purchase legal cannabis in the Keweenaw.

If you want to venture further afield, check out Lac La Belle and Bete Grise. There are some great beaches if you drive along the south shore of the Keweenaw. There are also some points where you’ll be pinching yourself as you gaze at the scenery and wonder how you suddenly got transported to the north coast of California. Then for a different shoreline, check out the north shore of the Keweenaw. It has rocky coves, long sandy beaches, quaint towns (Eagle Harbor and Eagle River), and a Byzantine Catholic Monastery along the shoreline, which operates its own famous bakery, the Jampot. If you want a higher, non-shoreline route, check out Brockway Mountain Drive, one of the highest roads between the Black Hills and the Smoky Mountains. Beautiful views up there...on a clear day you might see Isle Royale.

Here are some resources to further whet your appetite:

https://www.keweenaw.info (a great resource!)

https://go.lunarcow.com/publication/?m=60409&l=1 (online brochure - beautiful, thorough and well-organized)

https://www.nathaninvincible.com/map (Nathan is one heck of an intrepid adventurer)

https://www.copperharbor.org (website for our favorite town!)

https://copperharbortrails.org (for mountain bikers)

https://www.keweenawoutdoorrecreation.org (creating the future for the Keweenaw)

https://www.facebook.com/CopperHarborMI/

https://www.facebook.com/HuntersPointPark (one of our favorite trails)

https://theways.org/story/lake-superior-whitefish.html (Peterson Fish Market in Hancock, MI has delicious fresh fish - here’s the story behind it)