Copper Harbor, Michigan

We had planned to spend the night in Houghton, Michigan, Tuesday.  Far too many people had the same idea and there were no rooms at any motel listed in our directories.  We ended up going on another fifty or so miles to Copper Harbor where we spent the night in this cabin.


The Next morning, we had a good breakfast at the one restaurant in town.  Copper Harbor might be described as "isolated."  Here is where it lies on a Google Map.  While it is in Michigan, I don't think many locals will be found reading the Detroit newspaper.


There was a sign in our room stating "there is an emergency phone located on the east side of the visitor center." A check of your cell phone or iPad will show the reason for the sign.


Now, describing Copper Harbor as "isolated" is a bit of an understatement.  The Hunt's Guide to the Upper Peninsula puts it this way:

By December the year-round population has dropped to about 80, mostly retirees. The school population in the one-room elementary schoolhouse swings between a dozen or more down to three or two. This year it's two. 

 And here is that school:



The winter isolation comes from snow.  About a third of the way between Calumet and Copper Harbor, we found this "snomometer."




Driving even farther east from downtown Copper Harbor brought us to an abrupt "Road Ends" sign. Another sign, though, notes that it is really a beginning. The road to Miami starts here.


There is a lighthouse nearby which is likely Copper Harbor's most photographed sight.


But the road from Houghton out to Copper Harbor is a beautiful drive during leaf season.  A yellow and orange canopy covers much of the last ten miles.  And there is a steep road up to the top of Brockway mountain with a scenic view of the town, Lake Superior, and more fall color.