Marquette to Copper Harbor on the Keweenaw

Route description

Marquette, the largest town in the Upper Peninsula, has a huge ore dock, a lighthouse and Presque Isle Park, where locals jump off the Black Rocks into Lake Superior. Drive west on US-41 through the forests of the Huron Mountains, past Lake Michigamme to L’Anse on Keweenaw Bay.

Continue to the twin towns of Houghton and Hancock, linked by a lift bridge. Quincy Mine, above Hancock, has a huge steam hoist and underground tours; wear warm clothes, as it is chilly in the mine all year.

Calumet, once one of the richest towns in the country, has a sandstone downtown, an opera house and the headquarters of Keweenaw National Historical Park. Continue north on US-41 through the forest, or take the lakeside State Road 26 via Eagle River and Eagle Harbor.

Copper Harbor, at the tip of the peninsula, is where US-41 ends. Drive the Brockway Mountain Drive for views over Lake Superior, and camp or walk at Fort Wilkins. Late September to early October brings spectacular color; winter here is long and snowy.