Hiking Keweenaw Nature Sanctuaries
A week ago this past Sunday our hiking group headed up toward Copper Harbor to hike a handful of nature sanctuaries including Keweenaw Shores, Upson Lake, and Klipfel/Helstrom. Starting the first hike at Esrey Park on Lake Superior, we initially took some time to marvel at the waves rolling in on the big lake!
See it in motion at this link on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reel/276777761981407
The Keweenaw Shore Sanctuary trail starts across M-26 just to the west of Esrey Park. This is a really nice forested hike that gains a little elevation before crossing into a swamp on a narrow boardwalk where you will see pitcher plants along the trail.
This trail meets up with Brockway Mountain Drive. A short distance east of that point the Upson Lake Trail loops into the woods to the south.
After crossing through a pine forest the trail crosses over a beaver dam on Upson Creek.
Once across the beaver dam, the trail makes a loop through a beautiful forested loop. Located along the way is the biggest yellow birch tree we have ever seen.
The nice blend of trees found on this loop provides a great forest walk experience!
Once we backtracked over the Keweenaw Shores Sanctuary, we drove on top of Brockway Mountain to hike the Klipfel and Helstrom Sanctuaries. The trees in this area seem stunted, possibly given the elevation and facing northward toward Lake Superior.
You can see my GoPro video from these hikes on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:
Monday would turn out to be a huge day for Chassell. I attended the Houghton County Recreation Authority meeting as Chassell Township’s representative. As the meeting was getting ready to wrap up, I received an email with the press release for Michigan Department of Natural Resources SPARK Grant awards. Thirty-one awards were made and Chassell Township was one of four highlighted in the release. This $495,000 grant will be game changing for accessibility in Centennial Park! Garrett Neese with the Daily Mining Gazette contacted me later that afternoon to do a story on the award. You can read about it here: https://www.mininggazette.com/news/local-news/2023/10/495k-grant-to-fund-centennial-park-upgrades/
Do you embrace winter and have the ability to work remotely? Consider locating in the Keweenaw where you will find ubiquitous natural beauty, no congestion, and lower crime! Not sure? Come UP for a workcation to check it out! Learn how at Visit Keweenaw at https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/plan/trip-ideas-itineraries/workcations/ Visit Remote Workforce Keweenaw at https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com Learn about those making the decision to locate here by following the Remote Workforce Keweenaw Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RemoteWorkforceKeweenaw.