A Week at Tiny Copper Harbor, Michigan on the Keweenaw Peninsula

Tiny Copper Harbor, Michigan at the northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula is quite isolated from the city life most of us are accustomed to. There's a small market, a few small restaurants, one bakery, one gas station (very high prices), several souvenir shops, several small hotel/motel venues and several outdoor sports stores geared to what folks come here for--mountain biking, ORV trail running, hiking, kayaking, fishing, camping, etc. then in winter, snowshoe hiking, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, etc. Calumet, Michigan, larger but still a small town with limited resources is more than 45 minutes away on a good driving day. Houghton, Michigan, the next larger city with city type resources is more than an hour away. The year-round population is just over 100 people that nearly triples during the summer. The Fort Wilkins State Park Campground we stayed at closes down mid-October for the winter months. 

Other than a scenic drive as far as Calumet and to the Delaware Copper Mine, we didn't start the truck for the rest of the week, exploring the area by bike and on foot as well as just enjoying the outdoors from our campsite. Our first hike started from the campground and looped along Lake Fanny Hooe then crossing over the road to follow the Lake Superior shoreline. A chilly northwest wind whipped up Lake Superior making the 3.5 mile hike quite comfortable.

The trail from our campground leading to Lake Fanny Hooel.

Lake Superior side. Lighthouse in the distance.

Zoomed in on the lighthouse on the peninsula. Private property blocks land access.

It still seems so weird to have such chilly north winds blowing waves to the shore in August. Standing on these rocks in these conditions made us both remember similar winds and waves in the Bahamas but in mid-winter.

He's enjoying the sunshine and hiding from the chilly winds.

Rocky beaches here.

The next day, we rode our bikes through town to hike Hunter's Point Park, the peninsula across from the one the lighthouse was on. The channel into the harbor runs between these points. The town preserved this peninsula from private ownership and development adding hiking trails along each shore for public enjoyment. 

Part of it very rocky. 

The Lake Superior side. A little less windy that day than the day before.

The harbor side looking over to tiny Copper Harbor.

We climbed out on some rocks at the point, took a break for a snack. Looking back at the harbor with a tiny island blocking the view of the channel.

The channel is on the other side of the island.

Looking across the harbor at the State Park land where we hiked the day before.

Back around in town looking across to where we were on our hike.

Tiny Copper Harbor. We biked the whole town in minutes, then walked through and perused the stores.

We rode up some dirt/gravel roads to explore. First stop was the Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary. We hiked half of the trails to view the old growth Eastern White Pines, but headed back to the campground with plans to come back the next day with more time--and energy. 

Outside the main road, almost all the roads are dirt and gravel.

While these pines are no sequoias or redwoods, they are more than 300-500+ years old, and exist only because a French family owned the original 2400 acre tract they are on for decades until the 1940's. A mining company purchased the 2400 acres and let it sit until an energy company bought it in 1968. The lumber industry had cut all other old growth forests down by then. When the energy company bought the land with plans to harvest the pines, local groups along with the Michigan Nature Association fought to preserve the forest and eventually bought 200 acres to form this Sanctuary preserving some of the old growth forest. The rest, of course, was harvested. Unfortunately, it appears now some bug is infesting some of the pines as many were dead, but the ones that survive were amazing. 

After our hikes through the sanctuary, we went in search of the Clark Copper Mine ruins we had heard of. Eight shafts were dug over a 50 year period from 1853 with different owners, but the production here was quite small. We found the area, but the only thing visible was the powerhouse smokestack. We didn't venture into the wooded area as we didn't want to accidentally find any shafts. 

The smokestack in the trees.

Anyone need a perfect Christmas tree?

Back down the gravely roads into town, behind the town visitor center we found what felt like a Secret Garden. An area as large as the town itself, hidden by forest trees, we hiked through bearing fruit trees, a pine forest path, wildflower patches, a community garden, and a pond path with "reading benches" called Grandpa's Reading Room. Simply beautiful and fairyland like!

At the edge of the garden area is the small Copper Harbor School. A plaque outside honored a teacher's retirement after serving there from 1980 to 2017. With only 100+ people living here year round, I'm thinking only one or two educators work here. It reminded me much of the tiny Dauphin Island School I served at early in my career.  What a day! We felt like our bikes had taken us on a giant nature scavenger hunt. 

Our time at Copper Harbor came to an end sadly. Most of the people who visit here are from the Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. We see very few vehicles from further away. What a treat to visit places that few people from far away get to experience!