Keweenaw Peninsula - Part 3 – M26 south to M41…

Having driven to the northern point of the Keweenaw Peninsula to Copper Harbor our next excursion was south. Our choice was taking M26 along the northern lakeshore line. Our first stop was Hunter’s Point Park where we found an exquisite little rocky beach. There were a couple of trails one of which wound through the woods along the rocky shoreline of Lake Superior. To get a real feel for this special little place read a naturalists viewpoint. Jim Rooks (now deceased) who wrote a very nice description of this special spot. We totally enjoyed strolling along the shoreline as we took photos, admired the striated sandstone and picked up an occasional rock hoping to find an agate…

Moving on down the Keweenaw Peninsula on M26 we drove by Brockway Mountain where there is a road that goes over the top of  the mountain where it that is said to have great views of the landscape. We chose to hug the shoreline as we could catch glimpses of the blue waters of Lake Superior knowing that soon we may not see it again. Before we knew it we entered Eagle Harbor, the home of the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse.

The red brick with white trim Eagle Harbor Lighthouse is at the entrance of the harbor and was built in 1851 and later replaced in 1871. We drove over to a small spit near the town where we could see the lighthouse standing guard to the harbor. We then drove past the lighthouse where we stopped and walked around the grounds a bit but if you want to get closer there is a small admission charge to see it. Just south of Eagle Harbor is the small town of Eagle River. It too has a lighthouse, the Eagle River Light Station established in 1854 but it is privately owned.

As we drove through the town of Eagle River we noticed the The Houghton Township Community Center in Eagle River. This white building with a bright red roof was very striking and nearby was the Eagle River Timber Bridge. This bridge has a wooden arch that supports highway M26  over the Eagle River. There is also a nice little falls near the bridge we thought was worth the stop all by itself.

As we continued south we once again came to the town of Calumet and next up were the towns of Hancock and of course Houghton where we just had to stop for a couple of cold crafted beers at the Keweenaw Brewing Company. Once back across the lift bridge there was one last stop we wanted to make on the peninsula at a place called Agate Beach.

Agate Beach is a short way over from Baraga on the west side of the peninsula and is said to be one of the best places for agate hunting in the state of Michigan. We pulled into a small campground there at Agate Beach and parked. Camping is only $5.00 per day here! As we strolled along the beach I met a nice lady asking what I was doing. I explained to her I was looking for agates and spent some time showing her how to spot them. She appeared to be nearing 80 and told me that she had always wanted to do what we were doing in our RV but her husband wouldn’t do it… Well he passed away and off she went as she now goes camping in a camper van on her own. Good for her! Get out there and live life to its fullest…

We enjoyed the rest of the day at Agate Beach and we even found a few agates as well as many beautiful rocks whose rough edges were all smoothed off by the power of mother nature who used  the sand grains and churning of the Lake Superior waters. Each stone, like a fingerprint, unique and different are each worthy of a look. We did take a few back with us but left many, many more beauties for others to rediscover…

We have really enjoyed our stay here and our visits to the Peninsula have been totally enjoyable but it is time for us to move on. Our next stop is Wakefield, Michigan which will likely be our last stop before moving into the state of Wisconsin.