The Black River National Forest Scenic Byway is a

National Forest Scenic Byway The National Forest Scenic Byways are roads that have been designated by the U.S. Forest Service as scenic byways. Many are also National Scenic Byways (NSB). The program was initiated in 1987. __TOC__ List The following roadways were listed by t ...

that runs along the Black River in the

Ottawa National Forest The Ottawa National Forest is a national forest that covers in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It includes much of Gogebic and Ontonagon counties, as well as slices of Iron, Houghton, Baraga, and Marquette counties. The ...

in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. The byway follows County Road 513 (CR 513) through Gogebic County in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

. As a

county road A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...

, it is maintained jointly by the Gogebic County Road Commission (GCRC) with assistance from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The byway provides access to several waterfalls and other visitor attractions in the area. The route of the byway first existed as a wagon road in the 1840s and as a county road in the 1920s. The byway designation was instituted on June 20, 1992, and the byway was dedicated later that year.

Route description

While CR 513 (Black River Road) extends further south to connect with US Highway 2 near Bessemer, the National Forest Scenic Byway designation starts at the intersection with CR 204 (Airport Road) west of the Gogebic-Iron County Airport and north of the Big Powderhorn Mountain. From this southern starting point, the roadway runs northward along the Black River through the

. CR 513 runs along the western side of the river, staying shy of the banks as it passes through the woods. The woods through which the roadway passes contain pine, hemlock and hardwood trees. The Royal Palm Ranch, a nationally known equestrian school is located along the road on of land next to the river. The byway curves away from the river near

Copper Peak Copper Peak is a ski flying hill designed by Lauren Larsen and located in Ironwood, Michigan, United States. It was built in 1969 and inaugurated one year later. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and designa ...

, the tallest

ski flying Ski flying is a winter sport discipline derived from ski jumping, in which much greater distances can be achieved. It is a form of competitive individual Nordic skiing where athletes descend at high speed along a specially designed takeoff r ...

hill in the world. The 18-story facility allows visitors on clear enough days to see in the distance to places like

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Isle Royale Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan. ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. North of Copper Peak, the road once again roughly parallels the river, but staying away from the river's course. The road provides access to five sets of waterfalls. The first is Great Conglomerate Falls, followed by Potawatomi, Gorge, Sandstone and Rainbow falls. The falls are connected to the road by four separate hiking trails. The byway continues past these landmarks before terminating at Black River Harbor. The harbor is the site of a 1920s fishing village, one of only two harbors in the National Forest System. The area was also host to three taverns built by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

during the Great Depression and a pedestrian suspension bridge used by the

North Country Trail The North Country National Scenic Trail, generally known as the North Country Trail or simply the NCT, is a footpath stretching over from Middlebury in central Vermont to Lake Sakakawea State Park in central North Dakota in the United States; ...

to cross the mouth of the river.

History

According to the surveys of William A. Burt in 1848, a wagon road ran south from the modern site of the Black River Harbor to Chippewa Hill, the location of Copper Peak. A wagon road was built by the State of Michigan in 1904 to connect the waterfront with Bessemer. The county had purchased the land around the waterfront in 1924 for a park, and a county road running parallel to the Black River was in place by 1927. The residents of the fishing village were forced to move and settled at Black River Village. The roadway was improved to a gravel surface by 1930, and fully paved in late 1949 or early 1950. In 1967, the Gogebic County exchanged the park land along the river, including the harbor, with the USFS for other land in the area, and the harbor has been under federal maintenance since. Local officials originally proposed the

designation for the road in April 1991. The desire was to "showcase a special part of the National Forest" and boost tourism to the area, according to the park ranger in charge of handling the application. The designation was conferred by the USFS on June 20, 1992, with a dedication ceremony on September 19 that year.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=inline, title
Black River Harbor
at the US Forest Service
Black River Scenic Byway
at America's Byways (Federal Highway Administration) County roads in Michigan National Forest Scenic Byways Scenic highways in Michigan Ottawa National Forest Transportation in Gogebic County, Michigan Tourist attractions in Gogebic County, Michigan

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links