Perhaps one of the hardest places to get to in the Keweenaw, Keystone Bay is a solid hour's drive down less-than-maintained dirt roads and logging two-tracks. And that's on top of however long it takes you to get to the end of US-41. It's entirely worth the journey though, and I'd say this is one of my favorite places to camp in the area. The bay consists of a mostly sand beach over much of its length, with the eastern end of it turning to rocks after Union Creek. There are t

Photos coming soon! What's cooler than camping? If you were thinking "camping on an island", you are correct. Southwest of Copper Harbor sits Lake Medora, the fourth largest lake in the Keweenaw. Besides being a beautiful and easily accessible lake for boating, fishing and kayaking, Lake Medora also contains four islands, three of which are great for camping. The southernmost island is the smallest, and due to it's rockiness and rounded topography, you can maybe only fit one

Just off the highway between Houghton and Marquette is Canyon Falls Roadside Park. This area has everything you'd expect from a typical roadside park (bathrooms, water, picnic tables) with one added bonus: a well maintained walking path along one of the UP's most striking canyon-waterfall systems. The path itself is just under a half mile in length from the parking lot to the viewing area, with wooden walkways and areas to access the Sturgeon River's northern banks. The viewi

A short drive and hike east of Copper Harbor is Horseshoe Harbor, a rock beach-turned-bay by prominent outcrops of conglomerate rock. The beach area is beautiful in its own right, but walking along the conglomerate mounds offers a fantastic view of Lake Superior, and if you're lucky, the Northern Lights. The south side (near the beach) of this outcrop offers great wind protection and easy access to firewood makes this location a fantastic camping spot, particularly if you're

Located at the very tip of the Keweenaw peninsula, Highrock Bay is pretty far removed from civilization but easily accessible to those with adequate 4-wheel drive vehicles or ATVs. This is an incredibly beautiful place to camp and does not require much of a hike if your car can make it. Highrock bay consists of a stone beach with bedrock jutting out on the north side. You can camp here, or if already occupied by other campers, drive on the beach to the north a bit to reach an

Situated nearly 600 feet above lake level, this is hands down the best high-up view of Lake Superior in Michigan. It is a bit of a drive to get out here but it's well worth it. The hike to the top is moderate (about a half mile) but there are additional trails which are increasingly difficult if you'd like to see more than just the top of the bluff. I wouldn't recommend camping here as there isn't a lot of flat ground, though I'm sure if you have a smaller tent or hammock it

One of the more unusual entries in the Keweenaw's history is that of the Keweenaw Rocket Range. The facility was used from 1964 to 1971 by NASA and the University of Michigan as a launch site for meteorological research rockets. The bulk of these launches were small, though the site did see the launching of ~30 foot Nike Apache rockets. Today the only remnants of the facility are a concrete pad, a bent rail and a marker commemorating what research was done here 50 years ago.

Also known as North Canal Township Park, this is one of two beaches at the north mouth of the Portage Canal, the other being at McClain State Park. The cool thing about this beach in particular is that you can drive your car right up onto it. Due to its accessibility, it's not unusual to see bonfires all the way down the beach on summer nights. If you have a saw or axe, you can easily find enough wood for your fire by looking for downed trees in the clear cut right before you

Just down the road from Redridge is the town of Freda, MI. This place was once home to the Champion Stamp Mill which processed ore from the nearby Champion mines and offloaded it to freighters. It closed down in 1967 and its machinery was scrapped. Soon after the bulk of its structures were demolished, though there are still significant areas to explore. The main mill today is just a foundation. It's situated about 30 feet or so above the water on a cliff so naturally this ma

One of only a handful of steel dams built in North America, the Red Ridge dam was finished in the early 20th century to create a reservoir for the downstream Atlantic Stamp Mill and to allow ore trains to cross the Salmon Trout River. While no longer in use, the dam still holds back the Salmon Trout reservoir over a hundred years later. From the south it doesn't look like anything too special, but the truss work inside is incredible. After the dredge in winter, this might be