PO Box 471, Calumet, MI 49913-0471
Phone: 906-337-3168 or 800-338-7982
Fax: 906-337-3169
Open All Year
Overview. Situated on Lake Superior, the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan is said to have a 7,000-year-old mining heritage, the oldest in the western hemisphere. This area helped to foster the Industrial Age in America: rich, abundant supplies of copper were available for electrical and communications systems, as well as other modern developments. Today, many descendants of the first miners still live here and offer their stories to park visitors. The park consists of 1,700 acres in two units; most of it is privately owned. Keweenaw was designated as a historic park in 1992, and its development is ongoing. Public areas are limited and will include visitor and interpretive centers; property owners who want to start preservation projects on their land are eligible for government grants. The Park Service predicts that this private-public relationship will become more common at historic parks and sites in the future. What to see and do. The Keweenaw Tourism Council, located in downtown Houghton and in Calumet, currently provides information to visitors on behalf of the Park Service. At this time, there are no interpretive centers or visitor facilities, but there are "cooperating sites" operated by a variety of public and private organizations, which tell several parts of the copper mining story. Nature lovers can take advantage of the many hiking and cross-country skiing trails that are available at Porcupine Mountains, Ft. Wilkins, and McLain state parks. These parks are also cooperating sites, and they have modern campgrounds. In the Houghton-Hancock area a traveler's information radio station provides information on current activities at the park, throughout the Keweenaw Peninsula, and at Isle Royale National Park. It can be found at 1610 on the AM dial. The climate tends to be mild here year-round, even during abundant snowfall. Transitional seasons are brief; nights tend to be cool in summer. It's best to dress in layers; call ahead for a weather report.
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