NRK On The Go, western Upper Peninsula, MI, April 10 - April 12, 2026

Late Summer 2026 Trip Continued, Western Upper Peninsula, MI (Houghton to Copper Harbor, August16 - August 19, 2026

In August of 2025, we officially became empty nesters.  Soon after dropping our sons off at college, we took a trip to the Black Hills, SD.  We realized that traveling a little to delay the quiet of the empty house was a great route to go.  Earlier this summer we planned to travel to the U.P. during this timeframe.  After doing some research, we decided we wanted to visit the western portion this time.  Our summer is so busy at the shed shop and with online orders, it is hard to get away for longer than a few days.  

On Sunday, August 16th, we brought the camper to the shed shop and then left as soon as we closed that afternoon.  It was roughly a six hour drive to our camping spot in Houghton, MI.  If you've ever driven the north shore of MN, through northern WI and into the U.P., you know how beautiful of a drive it can be, and this trip was no different.  The temperatures were great, the skies were beautiful, and there was a magnificent sunset.  We could not have asked for better travel conditions.  

We arrived at our campsite just after 11:00 pm local time, and after a small hiccup with a truck parked on our site, we were able to set up and get some good sleep before our first day.  We had reservations at Keweenaw Waters Resort (17794 Houghton Canal Road, Houghton, MI 49931).  We stayed at pull through site F.  This RV park was constructed in 2025, and it is so sharp!  The resort is located right on the Keweenaw Waterway.  There is a small store with a cafe, a very nice shower house with bathrooms as well.  There is a wonderful boardwalk along the waterway with swings and chairs.  You can also rent Buzzy Boats from the resort, which are small electric boats you can explore the waterway with.  It is located in a semi residential area, so we were worried about noise, but it was so light at night that we never noticed any until the morning commute.  We would definitely recommend this RV Park to anyone if they were looking to stay in the area.  

On our first morning we woke up and went straight to Suomi (54 Huron Street, Houghton, MI 49931).  We were super excited to come here because of the Finnish food on the menu.  Jamie's grandparents were both immigrants from Finland, so she grow up eating so many of the dishes available here.  We shared pannukakku (Finnish oven pancakes with a raspberry sauce), nisu (sweet cardamom bread) French toast, a breakfast pasty and a couple other typical American foods.  Lately, we have started to share foods at restaurants so we can both try more from the menu.  It has been such a great system for us.  The restaurant is an unassuming diner style with 2 rooms in the dining room.  The service was excellent and it only took about 10 minutes to get our food.  We were super surprised because of how crowded it was.  Everything we got was excellent and so close to the way Jamie's grandma prepared everything, so it was such a great trip.

When we left there, we walked about a block to visit the Prickly Pine Cafe (524 Shelden Ave, Houghton, MI 49931) for a coffee.  Theo ordered the nisu (vanilla, cardamom, and a white mocha drizzle) and Jamie ordered the tea cookie (almond, vanilla, and a nutmeg topping).  The cardamom in the nisu was actual cardamom and not a syrup, so that was such a surprise.  The cafe is located in an old building typical to many American downtowns and had a great vibe.  The architecture was so fun... old stuff was so cool! Look up at the doorways around this shop - they were so neat.  They have food and bakery items available as well, though we only got the coffees.  If you are in the Houghton area, this would be a great place to visit.  

After grabbing coffee, we headed north about an hour to Copper Harbor.  Our first stop was the highly recommended to us Jamsen's Bakery.  This place was super cute and right on Lake Superior.  We shared thimbleberry frosted donuts (cake and yeast) and another pannukakku.  We also got some brewed coffees that were well done also. They have seating right on the water.  There were several ducks swimming around and some fairly well behaved seagulls, so that was fun.  The baked goods were both pretty good, so definitely worth the stop.  

After that we walked around a little bit and roamed in and out of many shops.  The town was pretty cute and there is a great selection of retail spots.  Some of the shops we wanted to see were closed on the days we were there, but as a small business ourselves, we totally get the need for a little time off to tie stuff up and get some respite.  Theo ended up buying a copper ring that is fun. 

After our morning baked goods, we were still wanting to get some more hiking in.  One of the spots we wanted to check out is called Estivant Pines Wildlife Sanctuary.  This sanctuary was over 500 acres and was so beautiful.  The spot is known for its virgin white pines (hence the name), but there was such a mixture of beautiful trees.  There were so many cedars, maples, oaks, birch and just a beautiful forest.  Because of the cedars it was dark, cook, and pretty much bug free.  There was a vault toilet, and a main trail with 2 loops to choose from at the end.  Between the main trail and one of the loops, we hiked right around 2 miles.  It was fairly easy with only a couple spots of descent incline climbs.  The main trail was smooth and very accessible, but the loops do go over rocks and tree roots, but it wasn't bad if you just take your time and watch your steps.  It's located only a few minutes outside of Copper Harbor and our GPS navigated us right there as well as pretty good signage as well.  We loved this hike and would go back again and again to keep exploring.  

After hiking we drove about 15 miles south to Eagle Harbor and went to the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse.  It was an $8 per adult admission (free for kids) and was a self guided tour of several buildings.  You can walk through the bottom 2 floors of the lighthouse.  There is also a commercial fishing museum and a couple of other exhibits.  There was a small gift shop on the property and just overall great views.  Definitely worth the stop on this one as well.  

When we got back to Copper Harbor, we took an early dinner at Harbor Haus Restaurant (77 Brockway Ave., Copper Harbor, MI 49918).  This place was AMAZING and one of the best places either of us have been.  We read that reservations were recommended, and it was definitely full.  Jamie got a beautiful cocktail and we shared a lump crab cake and crab stuffed risotto balls.  After the first couple of bites, we knew this was going to be great.  We ordered our entrees which also came with great salad choices.  Theo got a garden salad with house made blue cheese and Jamie got a beet salad that had beets, pickled red onions, feta cheese, and arugula - One of the best things she has ever had.  For our entrees Jamie got a maple salmon special and Theo got a variety of Lake Superior fish with different preparations.  Both meals were soooo good, and it was fun to try the different preparations of Lake Superior fish.  We both decided that this was maybe top 5 meals either of us had ever have.  

After dinner, we hit another extremely bright spot of the trip, the Nordic Spa at Mt. Bohemia (6532 Gay Lac La Belle Road, Mohawk, MI 49950).  We several videos and reviews and wanted to check it out.  It's at the bottom of a ski hill, and very picturesque.  We knew there was a hot tub, several different types, of saunas and steam rooms, a float pod room, a cold plunge and another pool.  When we showed up it wasn't exactly as we thought it would be because there was kids running around everywhere, no lockable lockers, and just not as "zen" as we were expecting.  After settling in and figuring everything out, we had such a great time.  There was also several food and beverages available.  We ended up spending a couple of hours here and are already planning to go back again.  When we were done here, we headed straight back to our campsite for some much needed rest.

The next morning, we woke up and decided to do something we don't usually do....retracing our steps.  Everything was so good, we ended up doing so many of the same things.  We had breakfast at Suomi, coffee at Prickly Pine, and donuts at Jamson's.  We walked around Copper Harbor some more and were able to visit some more shops as well. On our way back there, we did stop at a new place called the Wood'n Spoon (174 Stranton Ave, Mohawk, MI 49950).  They had so many unique jams and jellies and so many other cool rocks and minerals, stickers, kitchen utensils, and everything else you may want.  It was a cool spot for sure.    

When we were done we wanted to do some more hiking, so we visited Fort Wilkins Historic State Park.  There were several trails throughout and water on both sides of the park.  We ended walking along the rocks of Lake Superior for a couple of hours, and it was so relaxing.  They also had a self guided museum of the old fort that gives you an idea of what all the buildings were used for and a ton of graphics explaining and depicting the way of life at the fort.  This was really well done and we were both very impressed.  We drove through the park and went through all of the campgrounds.  When we go back to the area, we will be staying here.  

After the afternoon at the state park, surprise, surprise, we went back to dinner at Harbor Haus.  It was actually even better the second time.   We tried a pretzel fondue and a burrata appetizer.  Theo got filet mignon medallions and Jamie got a lake trout dish.  They were both great.  We decided to get dessert here because everything was so good.  We shared a flourless chocolate torte, and a maple sugar creme brulle.  We loved every bite again.

After dinner we decided to take a different way back to Houghton and drove through Eagle Harbor and Eagle River.  We drove by Jam Pot which is a roadside business selling jams made by the monks that live on site.  The buildings were all so beautiful and we were bummed that they were not open on the days we were there, but it's something to come back to for sure.  We also stopped at a couple of roadside waterfalls that were very pretty as well (Jacob's Falls and Eagle River Falls).  There was also a stop called steps to the beach which was pretty cool.  There are like 60 or 70 steps that go from the parking lot to the sand covered beach.  It was pretty windy, but so beautiful.  It actually reminded us of some of the California beaches, so it was pretty cool.  We got back to the campsite and just spent the rest of the evening visiting the camp store and walking around the campground.  

When we woke up on the following morning, we wanted to try a couple of new spots.  We went to Roy's Pasties and Bakery (305 W. Lake Shore Drive, Houghton, MI 49931) for some breakfast.  We shared breakfast pasties and a couple of bakery items.  The food was delicious and the pasties were top notch also.  We grabbed some frozen pasties to take home also, which will be such a treat later.  After we left there, we headed to Hancock and went to 5th & Elm Coffee House and Eatery, 426 Quincy Street, Hancock, MI 49930).  Jamie had a vanilla latte and Theo a caramel latte.  The drinks were both solid.  The shop is located in a theater, so it looks like a great hangout spot later in the day as well.

After breakfast and coffee, we headed back to the campsite and got everything ready for the road trip back.  It was a wonderful drive home with perfect weather again.  This trip was so fun and it was such a recharge for us.  We loved everything we did and saw, and will definitely go back to the area again in the future.  We're already planning!