With the leaves already starting to change around home, it may be too late to think about heading north for a fall folliage tour. But if you go, consider going all the way.
Copper Harbor, the northernmost point in Michigan’s Upper Pennisula, about 450 north of Chicago (head straight up through Wisconsin) was founded as a copper mining town in the mid-1800s. Today, it is a wide spot in the road surrounded by a couple of quaint diners (with very good food), a general store (with fairly high prices) and access to Lake Superior and a number of smaller lakes and historic sites, all within easy walking distance of town.
We stayed the first night four miles out of town at the Eagle Lodge in Eagle Harbor. It was the definition of rustic, with small, musty cabins nestled in sparse woods along the lakeshore. It was a tight squeeze for the eight of us (we were traveling with another family of four). Too tight. We moved the second night to The Pines. It was a block from the lake, but otherwise a big improvement—cabins were only 10 years old, they were in town so everything was walkable and they lacked that distinctive lake cabin smell.
Both accommodations were a bit pricey given the amenities, I thought. We paid $160-plus per night, based on a per-person charge that added $10 for each extra body.
Copper Harbor is home to a number of abandoned copper mines. We adults toured the Delaware Copper Mine ($10 per person). It included a walk down 100 steps into the mine, where the temperature was in the 40s. The damp air cut into us as we negotiated our way over the uneven ground and tried to imagine how grim life must have been for the miners who toiled in the poorly lit mine. The kids, ages 12 and 14, elected to stay in the cabin. I was sorry we didn't insist them come along to see how tough life would have been for these miners, who were paid just 12 to 14 cents an hour.
We took a sunset boat tour on the Isle Royale IV, the boat that spends its days ferrying visitors to Isle Royale, a three-hour ride each way. Our short stay prevented us from taking the trip, although I would have liked to have seen the island.
The highlight of the trip for all of us, kids included, was Fort Wilkins, a restored fort that was manned during the Civil War and again for a few years in the late 1860s. Actors dressed in period garb played their roles well, explaining to us what life was like during the brutal winters at this fort on the shores of Lake Fannie Hooe, named for the wife of one of the officers. The fort is a state park that has been beautifully restored. There was just enough information to enlighten us but not so much that it overwhelmed the children. The historic interpreters helped the kids appreciate the history in a way that simply touring the rooms would not have. Best of all, it was free.