1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (60 page)

Houghton and Hancock are connected by the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, the heaviest aerial lift bridge in the world.

Raking off the back of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the 80-mile-long Keweenaw had always been an untamed place, a land of deep piney woods and rocky Lake Superior beaches. But that changed in 1840 when the copper rush began almost overnight, first with prospectors straggling through the wilderness, then with extensive mining enterprises. By the time the most accessible copper was played out, King Copper had generated $9.6 billion—10 times more than the California Gold Rush.

The national park sites are scattered throughout the Keweenaw, with most of them concentrated in the cities of Houghton, Hancock, and Calumet. In Hancock, the mammoth shaft house of the Quincy Mine is a monument to one of the largest, most lucrative copper mines in the world, in operation until 1967. A terrific tour takes you through the world’s largest steam hoist (used to haul miners nearly 10,000 feet underground) and 2,400 feet into the mine, where you get a feel for what it was like to work in this oppressive environment. Many Finns came to work in the mines, and their influence is still felt in the area today, down to its street signs and foods. At the Suomi Home Bakery, try the
pannukakku,
a Finnish pancake, or
nisu,
a yeast bread spiced with cardamom. Most bakeries also sell the ubiquitous Cornish pasty (PASS-tee), a potpie-type crust filled with beef, potatoes, onions, and rutabagas.

The largest mine was based in Red Jacket, now Calumet, a boomtown that roared with 50 steam hoists and 11,000 immigrant laborers. In this now-sleepy village, national park funds are helping restore the vestiges of the luxuries the copper rush created: a rococo opera house that attracted first-run celebrities like Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Houdini, and the Laurium Manor Inn, a 45-room mansion adorned with silver-leaf ceilings and elephant-hide wallcoverings that now welcomes guests as a B&B.

W
HERE
: Houghton and Hancock are about 550 miles northwest of Detroit.
Visitor info:
Tel 800–338-7982 or 906–337-4579;
www.keweenaw.info
.
K
EWEENAW
N
ATIONAL
P
ARK
: Calumet. Tel 906–337-3168;
www.nps.gov/kewe
.
L
AURIUM
M
ANOR
I
NN
: Laurium. Tel 906–337-2549;
www.laurium.info
.
Cost:
from $69.
B
EST TIMES
: early July for Calumet’s Pasty Fest; July–Sept for weather; early Oct for foliage.

Enormous Dunes and Endless Beaches

Michigan

If eastern Michigan is considered Michigan’s “Thumb,” then the Leelanau Peninsula in the northwest could be its pinkie, a narrow digit of land wagging up between Grand Traverse Bay (see p. 544) and the open waters of Lake
Michigan. The 28-mile-long peninsula is a delight of waterfront villages, gentle farmsteads, sandy beaches, lighthouses, vineyards, and nearly 100 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline rimmed with some of the tallest freshwater dunes in the world.

Glaciers and millennia of wind and water created the Sleeping Bear Dunes, grand hills of golden sand that rise directly from the lake nearly 500 feet into the sky. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (named for an Ojibwa legend) stretches along 35 miles of shoreline, protecting thousands of acres of stark dunescape, along with forest, beaches, and the North and South Manitou islands 17 miles offshore. The 7.4-mile Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive and a variety of hiking trails spiral out into the dunes, leading to the shore and panoramic Lake Michigan overlooks. North of the national park, M-22 traces the peninsula’s scalloped shoreline, linking together waterfront towns like Leland, where a jumble of 19th-century fish shanties have been preserved along the harbor. One commercial fishery, Carlson’s, remains in business, with snub-nosed boats tied up along the mouth of the Carp River, and a small shop that sells fresh and smoked trout and whitefish. Most of the other buildings now house gift shops and galleries; the fishnets drying in the sun are solely for the benefit of photo-snapping visitors. At Cove Bar, try a Chubby Mary, a Bloody Mary with a smoked chub (a local fish) replacing the traditional celery stalk. Inland, the Leelanau eases into a mellow patchwork of pastures, orchards, and vineyards. A growing number of Leelanau wineries—12 at last count—regularly produce award-winning vintages, especially Riesling, chardonnay, and pinot gris. Stop in for tastings at boutique vintners like L. Mawby Vineyards, known for its sparkling wines, and Black Star Farms, with a reputation for pinot gris and dessert wines that have been served at White House dinners. The Black Star Farms complex includes a grandiose tasting room, artisanal creamery, a championship equestrian facility, and an elegant B&B nestled between vineyards and horse pastures.

Along the Leelanau Peninsula, there are plenty of perfect spots for taking a refreshing dip in Lake Michigan.

W
HERE
: 250 miles northwest of Detroit.
Visitor info:
Tel 231–271-9895;
www.leelanauchamber.com
.
S
LEEPING
B
EAR
D
UNES
: Empire. Tel 231–326-5134;
www.nps.gov/slbe
.
L. M
AWBY
V
INTNERS
: Suttons Bay. Tel 231–271-3522;
www.lmawby.com
.
I
NN AT
B
LACK
S
TAR
F
ARMS
: Suttons Bay. Tel 231–271-4970;
www.blackstarfarms.com
.
Cost:
from $215 (off-peak), from $280 (peak).
B
EST TIMES
: June for Leland Wine Festival; July for the Suttons Bay Jazzfest; Oct for the wine harvest.

A Lakeside Resort Era Spanning the Centuries

Michigan

The cool northern air and beautiful teal waters of this Lake Michigan bay lured city residents north from Chicago and Detroit as soon as the railroad completed a line to the town of Petoskey in 1873, and by the turn of the
20th century, Petoskey’s downtown was filled with fine shops, wealthy patrons, and more than a dozen grand hotels overlooking the bay.

Though much has changed, much has also remained the same along Little Traverse Bay. The towns that curve along the bay—from Bay Harbor to Petoskey to Harbor Springs—are still exclusive enclaves, with upscale shops, restaurants, and deluxe resorts that appeal especially to golfers and boaters.

Over time, most of the big old Victorian hotels that once defined Petoskey (current population 6,200) were lost to fire. Thankfully, the 1899 Stafford’s Perry Hotel survives with all its grace and grandeur, along with a turn-of-the-century downtown known
as the Gaslight District. Elegant boutiques (the kind of retailers that list their locations as something like “New York–Petoskey–Palm Springs”) alternate with venerable throwbacks like Symons General Store, where you can buy penny candy and bulk pickles.

East of Petoskey, Bay View boasts 430 well-preserved Victorian homes, resplendent with gingerbread trim and gumball colors. At the bay’s north end, tony Harbor Springs may be the quintessential summer resort town. Old Money gathered here early, lining its clear, spring-fed harbor with million-dollar yachts and its shores with crisp white mansions on emerald lawns. Downtown is marked by white church steeples, overflowing flower boxes, and homegrown institutions like Juilleret’s, which has been serving soda fountain treats since 1895.

In a state with more public golf courses per capita than any other in the nation, the Little Traverse Bay region is quickly becoming one of Michigan’s preeminent golf regions. At the south end of Little Traverse Bay, Bay Harbor is a glittering resort community anchored by the Inn at Bay Harbor—its architecture reminiscent of the grand old Victorian hotels—and flanked by three Arthur Hills–designed golf nines: the Links, the Quarry, and the Preserve, boasting more waterfront holes than Pebble Beach.

Boyne Highlands draws golfers far and wide for its four courses, including the Heather, a highly regarded Robert Trent Jones Sr. design, and its state-of-the-art golf academy. The area’s best golf accommodations are found at Boyne’s nearby sister resort, Boyne Mountain, which recently completed its Mountain Grand Lodge, home to luxe lodgings, the 18,000-square-foot Solace Spa, an indoor water park, and yes, more golf.

W
HERE
: Petoskey is 260 miles northwest of Detroit.
Visitor info:
Tel 800–845-2828 or 231–348-2755;
www.boynecountry.com
.
S
TAFFORD’S
P
ERRY
H
OTEL
: Tel 800–737-1899 or 231–347-4000;
www.staffords.com
.
Cost:
from $80.
T
HE
I
NN AT
B
AY
H
ARBOR
: Tel 800–462-6963 or 231–439-4000;
www.innatbayharbor.com
.
Cost:
from $119 (off-peak), from $145 (peak).
B
AY
H
ARBOR
G
OLF
C
LUB
: Tel 231–439-4085;
www.bayharborgolf.com
.
Cost:
greens fees from $79.
J
UILLERET’S
: Harbor Springs. Tel 231–526-2821.
Cost:
lunch $15.
B
OYNE
H
IGHLANDS
G
OLF
: Tel 800-GO-BOYNE or 231–549-6000;
www.boynehighlands.com
.
Cost:
green fees from $30.
M
OUNTAIN
G
RAND
L
ODGE
& S
PA
: Boyne Falls. Tel 800-GOBOYNE or 231–549-6000;
www.mountaingrandlodge.com
.
Cost:
from $130 (off-peak), from $155 (peak).
B
EST TIMES
: mid-June for the Bay Harbor In-Water Boat Show; late July for the Little Traverse Bay Regatta in Harbor Springs; Sept for the Harbor Springs Cycling Classic.

A Victorian Fairy Tale Alive in the Great Lakes

Michigan

Mackinac Island boasts a rich history—as American Indian summering grounds, as the center of the North American fur-trading business, and as a colonial fortress—but it’s the gilded Victorian era the island
preserves like a living postcard. Horse-drawn carriages clip-clop down vehicle-free streets. Pedestrians stroll and bicyclists pedal past Main Street shops and cafés. Million-dollar Victorian “cottages” climb up hillsides, and storybook resorts like the world-famous Grand
Hotel gaze out over sparkling lake views. It can seem a bit touristy at first blush, but there’s no denying that Mackinac (pronounced MAK-i-naw) is also irrepressibly charming, especially if you venture away from downtown’s snarl of fudge and trinket shops, linger awhile, and succumb to the relaxed island vibe as if a vacationing mogul of yesteryear.

Mackinac Island lies in the Straits of Mackinac, where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet, and where the immense Lower and Upper Peninsulas of Michigan are linked by the man-made tether of the Mackinac Bridge. (One of the world’s longest suspension bridges, the 4-mile-long bridge is a marvel in its own right.) The clean lake air began drawing wealthy urbanites in the late 19th century by steamship and railroad. As the island’s popularity grew, farsighted locals banned the automobile almost as quickly as it arrived, and today more than 500 horses are stabled on the island all summer to pull carriages and haul freight.