Michigan’s Higher Peninsula, which sits above Wisconsin and separates Lake Superior from Lake Michigan, is an often-overlooked haven. Its mixture of rugged mountains, lush forests, coastal surroundings, and wealthy historical past make it one in all my favourite locations to discover. There are tons of of miles of winding roads – each paved and unpaved – that make the U.P. best for motorcycling.
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The Keweenaw, a smaller peninsula extending from the U.P.’s northern shore, is quintessential and absolutely embodies the character of the area. From its mining heritage to its pure magnificence, Keweenaw has a lot for guests to discover and revel in. That is very true when on two wheels.
The Keweenaw Peninsula is a beloved place for me. It’s the place I lived for just a few years whereas ending my undergraduate diploma. It’s additionally the place I took some unforgettable tenting journeys and the place I met and later married my spouse. I’m not the one one who holds an affinity for the area; it appears that evidently everybody who experiences the Keweenaw comes away with fond reminiscences.
If you end up on the lookout for a weekend getaway, the Keweenaw is a superb candidate vacation spot. It’s additionally a must-visit space throughout longer explorations of the U.P. For these contemplating a visit, I like to recommend studying David Mac Frimodig’s e book Keweenaw Character: The Basis of Michigan’s Copper Nation, which provides an fascinating historical past of the area.
Mining is likely one of the most defining historic influences on the area, actually operating proper by means of the panorama. There was a time within the early twentieth century when the area, nicknamed “Copper Nation,” was the most important copper producer on the planet. There are numerous excursions, historic websites, museums, and mines that educate guests concerning the technical, cultural, and environmental impacts of this period. The stamp-sand seashores close to the city of Homosexual are collisions of nature and historical past, the place mine tailings stay from the high-volume manufacturing.
The sister cities of Houghton and Hancock, which sit on reverse sides of the Keweenaw Waterway in the course of the peninsula and are related by the Portage Lake Raise Bridge, are the proper house base for any U.P. journey. The historical past and appeal of the realm are all the time on show. Resort choices vary from fundamental to fancy, and there are distinctive bars, eating places, and outlets. Excursions of the Quincy Mine, Michigan Tech hockey video games on the MacInnes Scholar Ice Area, and pizza on the Ambassador Restaurant are only a few of my favourite actions.
From Houghton/Hancock, circling the Keweenaw by hugging the shoreline as intently as attainable on paved roads is a 200-mile journey. All the route is scenic, however the stretches on Homosexual Lac La Belle Street, M-26 out of Copper Harbor, and M-203 alongside the Portage Canal are particularly pleasant. Site visitors is normally minimal, and highway surfaces are predictable.
Beginning on the Keweenaw’s western flank in Ontonagon, M-38 takes you east to M-26, a state freeway that runs the size of the peninsula. For 37 miles, M-26 winds its approach by means of rolling hills and the Baraga State Forest Space and passes the dual lakes of Roland and Gerald earlier than reaching Houghton. After crossing the Keweenaw Waterway, turning west on M-203 hugs the waterway’s shore because it turns north towards Lake Superior and passes by means of FJ McLain State Park.
M-203 then turns east to Calumet, a small village that was as soon as the middle of Michigan’s copper business and is another choice for in a single day stays on the peninsula. For lodging, Rider contributor Chuck Cochran recommends the AmericInn, which has clear, fairly priced rooms and is inside strolling distance of eating places, outlets, and the Keweenaw Nationwide Historic Park, which highlights the realm’s 7,000-year historical past of copper mining.
Persevering with north on U.S. Route 41 for just a few miles to Ahmeek, turning west on Wright Avenue and proper on Bollman Avenue places you on 5 Mile Level Street, which runs north for just a few miles earlier than hugging the northwest shore of the peninsula and becoming a member of M-26 close to Eagle River, a former mining group with a lighthouse that operated from 1854 to 1908. The spectacular Eagle River Falls are seen from the M-26.
From Eagle River, M-26 follows the shore of Lake Superior, and it’s just a few miles to Jacob’s Falls, one other scenic waterfall on the peninsula. Remember to cease on the Jampot (open seasonally), the place monks from Poorrock Abbey promote a wide range of all-natural merchandise constructed from regionally sourced substances. They had been even featured on an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s Uncharted TV present!
Experience just a few extra miles to George Hite Dunes and Marshes Protect after which the city of Eagle Harbor. Because the Keweenaw Peninsula bends to the east – its total form seems to be like a dolphin’s dorsal fin or a cresting wave – the M-26 runs due east to Copper Harbor, one other nice vacation spot city close to the peninsula’s tip.
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Though house to solely 136 residents, Copper Harbor is an all-season vacationer and journey city that caters not solely to motorcyclists but additionally to hikers, mountain bikers, boaters, anglers, snowmobilers, skiers, birdwatchers, and rockhounds. It’s additionally a launch level for boat journeys to Isle Royale Nationwide Park. The village has outlets, eating places, a microbrewery, and a common retailer. The Mariner North is a full-service resort in Copper Harbor with a lodge, motel, cabins, restaurant, and recreation room.
Close to Copper Harbor is Brockway Mountain Drive, a favourite highway that offers an accessible window onto the distinctive panorama of the U.P. Claimed to be the very best above-sea-level drive between the Rockies and the Alleghenies, this nine-mile highway alongside the ridge of Brockway Mountain climbs to 1,320 ft above sea degree, which is 720 ft above the floor of Lake Superior. Widespread amongst sightseers and birdwatchers, the highway was constructed within the early Nineteen Thirties as one in all President Roosevelt’s public works initiatives to supply employment at a time when the native mining business was in decline and the Nice Despair had the economic system firmly in its grip. The Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps adopted the mission, and the outcomes are nonetheless loved right this moment.
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To finish the shoreline loop, from Copper Harbor take U.S. 41 south to Man Lac La Belle Street, which works south to Mount Bohemia, a 1,465-foot peak that’s a preferred place to snow ski, and Haven Falls, a small waterfall that’s surrounded by picnic tables, making it the proper place to cease for lunch. The highway hugs the shore of Lac La Belle and passes by means of the Bete Grise Wetlands Protect on its method to the southern shore of the Keweenaw Peninsula. At Traverse Bay, Rice Lake Street takes you to Torch Lake after which M-26 at Lake Linden for the previous few miles again to Hancock.
Crossing the Portage Lake Raise Bridge once more, U.S. 41 follows the southern shore of the Keweenaw Waterway, which incorporates Portage Lake. It then runs alongside the sting of Keweenaw Bay to L’Anse.
A tour of your entire Higher Peninsula takes a number of days or longer. There are numerous extra miles of using alongside the shores of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, intensive state and nationwide forest areas, distinctive locations such because the Pictured Rocks Nationwide Seashore and Tahquamenon Falls State Park, and vibrant cities corresponding to Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, and Escanaba.
The Keweenaw is a particular place to me. Its geographic location lends itself to putting surroundings and panorama. Getting there in just a few hours is feasible from bigger Midwest cities like Minneapolis, Inexperienced Bay, Madison, Milwaukee, Duluth, and Grand Rapids. Its historical past provides it character, a tradition solely distinctive that also emanates from its communities. The reminiscences I’ve been lucky sufficient to make there are a few of my most cherished. It’s no surprise why it’s such an important place to be on a bike. I hope you may expertise it from behind your handlebar. Perhaps you’ll fall in love with the Keweenaw too.
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Michigan Bike Experience Assets
A Midwest-based bike fanatic and freelance writer, Joel Komurka combines a ardour for traditional bikes with storytelling. Specializing in writing about bike tradition, journey, and historical past, he brings a singular perspective to the world of classic bikes by means of his participating articles and private experiences.
