Brockway Mountain Drive is an
scenic roadway just west of
Copper Harbor in the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
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 t ...
in the United States. Drivers can access the road from State Highway
M-26 on either end near
Eagle Harbor to the west or Copper Harbor to the east in the
Keweenaw Peninsula
The Keweenaw Peninsula ( , sometimes locally ) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of "Copper Country." As o ...
. The drive runs along the ridge of Brockway Mountain on the
Keweenaw Fault
The Keweenaw Fault is a reverse fault that bisects the Keweenaw Peninsula of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The fault thrusts lava flows of the Midcontinent Rift System onto sedimentary rocks of the Jacobsville Sandstone. The fault is part of the ...
and climbs to above sea level, above the surface of
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
. Several viewpoints along the route allow for panoramas of Copper Harbor, Lake Superior, and undeveloped woodland. On a clear day,
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 ...
is visible approximately in distance from the top of the mountain.
Brockway Mountain was named for Daniel D. Brockway, one of the pioneer residents of the area. The road was constructed by the county road commission with funding through
Depression-era work programs in 1933. It was briefly used as a connection for the parallel state highway after it opened. Since it opened, Brockway Mountain Drive has been recognized nationally and locally in several media outlets for its picturesque qualities, usually in profiles of
Keweenaw County
Keweenaw County (, ; , ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, the state's northernmost county. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the ...
, the Upper Peninsula or other scenic drives.
Route description
The road can be accessed from either Eagle Harbor or Copper Harbor and serves as a scenic loop off M-26. The western end starts at M-26 near Lake Bailey and Agate Harbor. Brockway Mountain Drive ascends along the ridgeline of the Keweenaw Fault. Immediately south of the road, Upson Creek runs parallel to the cliff face as it drains Lake Upson.
[ from the western end, there is a parking area for the Oren Krumm Trail, part of the Brockway Mountain Audubon Sanctuary.] The drive is lined with low stone walls, built as part of the original construction of the roadway.[
Upon reaching the top of the mountain, drivers are greeted with a full panoramic view of the surrounding area, allowing views of Lake Superior, Copper Harbor, Eagle Harbor and the surrounding lakes and forests. Freighters occasionally can be seen traversing Lake Superior, and on clear days ]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 ...
can be spotted nearly in the distance.
Continuing eastward, the drive descends down the mountain toward Copper Harbor. The roadway twists and turns as it alternately climbs and descends several smaller hills along the ridgeline. Along the drive, several viewpoints provide the opportunity to pull off and take in the surroundings. A few of them lie directly adjacent to the face of the bluff where the mountain quickly rises from the surrounding land. Near the eastern end, there are two sharp hairpin turn
A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...
s, the first of which has a scenic overlook and parking area. This spot overlooks Copper Harbor and the nearby Copper Country Trail National Scenic Byway portion of US Highway 41
U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...
(US 41) just to the east. From here, the road makes its steep descent down from the ridge, through the second turn and ends at M-26 on the western edge of town.
This road is one of the highest scenic roadways above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
in the US between the Rocky
''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess M ...
and Allegheny mountains.[ During the winter, Brockway Mountain Drive is closed to cars as the Keweenaw County Road Commission does not plow the road; instead the drive is used as a snowmobile trail.][ According to the commission, 200 vehicles per day use the roadway on average.] There are no posted speed limits along the roadway, however in the words of a former Keweenaw County Sheriff's Department deputy, "the nature and design of the road was such that the 'problem' of people driving too fast ... was basically 'self-correcting'."[
]
History
Brockway Mountain is a volcanic landform on the Keweenaw Peninsula
The Keweenaw Peninsula ( , sometimes locally ) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of "Copper Country." As o ...
of Michigan about west of Copper Harbor. The top of the mountain is above the level of Lake Superior. The peak was named for Daniel D. Brockway, local pioneer settler, postmaster and state road commissioner. Brockway moved to Copper Harbor in 1846 at the beginning of the area's copper boom. He built the first permanent structure in the community, a hostelry named The Brockway House, which was used by the miners and scientists in the area. By the time of his death on May 9, 1899, the ridge west of town had been named in his honor.[
A road to the summit of Brockway Mountain was first proposed in the 1920s by ]Warren H. Manning
Warren Henry Manning (November 7, 1860–February 5, 1938) was an American landscape designer and promoter of the informal and naturalistic "wild garden" approach to garden design. In his designs, Manning emphasized pre-existing flora through a ...
, a renowned landscape architect. Manning was in the Keweenaw at the time to design Agassiz Park in Calumet
Calumet may refer to:
Places United States
*Calumet Region, in northern Illinois and Indiana
**Calumet River
**Calumet Trail, Indiana
** Calumet (East Chicago)
* Calumet, Colorado
*Calumet, Iowa
* Calumet, Michigan
*Calumet, Minnesota
* Calumet ...
and suggested the road while visiting the area. The road was designed in 1932 with three different options considered. The first involved the construction of the current road from near the Silver River on the west to the summit. It followed a route used by the previous Military Road
{{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019
The following is a list of military roads worldwide.
Australia
* Part of the A8 (Sydney) between Neutral Bay and Mosman
* Military Road, part of Route 39, Melbourne
* Military Road, off Wanneroo Road just north ...
that connected Fort Wilkins
Fort Wilkins Historic State Park is a historical park operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources at Copper Harbor, Michigan. The park preserves the restored 1844 army military outpost, Fort Wilkins, which was placed on the National ...
to Fort Howard; traffic would have to turn around to descend Brockway Mountain. Another option included a route from the summit southwest across the Upson Creek Valley to a second summit on the nearby Mount Lookout, a total of about . The third option was that of the current route down the mountain to the west.[
Construction of Brockway Mountain Drive began in early 1933 by the Keweenaw County Road Commission with federal highway funding designed to provide meaningful work to the many copper miners who became unemployed during the ]Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Rather than provide welfare, the government provided work for the jobless.[ The ]Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a government corporation administered by the United States Federal Government between 1932 and 1957 that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgag ...
was the agency on the federal level responsible for the project. Up to 300 laborers were employed for a wage of 25 ¢/hr (equivalent to $/hr in ). The work required to build the road was carried out by manual labor, with the assistance of a team of horses,[ in a project designed to maximize the numbers of men employed.] The grading and leveling of the road surface was done by hand; no survey instruments were used to level the roadway.[ The road was opened for public use that October 14,][ at a preliminary cost of $30,000 (equivalent to $ in ).][ That same year, the Skytop Inn opened on top of the mountain.][ During 1934, additional work was done to the roadway to build the stone walls. Motorists were restricted to one-way traffic, and the road was only open to the public on Sundays and holidays.] In the interim, the road was temporarily used as a connection between completed segments of the parallel state highway, numbered M-129 at the time. This highway, now part of M-26, was built starting in July 1933 but was not completed through the area until October 1934. The KCRC declared the road initially finished on June 14, 1935, at a cost of $40,000 (equivalent to $ in )
According to historian LeRoy Barnett, "this county highway quickly became one of the most popular motoring destinations in the Midwest." The ''Ironwood Daily Globe
The ''Daily Globe'' is a daily newspaper based in Ironwood, Michigan.
The ''Daily Globe'' serves Gogebic and Ontonagon counties in Michigan and Iron County in Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wi ...
'' reported that in December 1938, "at least one million persons" had traveled on Brockway Mountain Drive in the first five years it was open, sparking a tourism boom in the area. The eastern end of the roadway was paved in 1938, with the final done in 1940. The first Skytop Inn was built at the summit of Brockway Mountain in 1935. A replacement structure was built in 1965. During the winters of 1946/47 and 1947/48, a ski hill was operated down the roadway on the western end.[
In February 2013, ]Eagle Harbor Township
Eagle Harbor Township is a civil township of Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 308 at the 2020 census. The township is located on the Keweenaw Peninsula and also includes the southwestern portion of Isle Royale N ...
purchased at the top of Brockway Mountain with plans to refit the Skytop Inn to serve as a visitors center. The building was the oldest gift shop in Keweenaw County and owned by the same family from the time of its construction until it was sold in 2013.[ The following August, Governor ]Rick Snyder
Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previ ...
helped to dedicate the summit as part of the Keweenaw Coastal Wildlife Corridor, a protected area in the raptors' annual migration flight path. The area is now owned by the township after assistance by The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
and local donors.
Scenic opportunities
During the spring, particularly in April, hawks migrate along the length of the Keweenaw Peninsula headed across Lake Superior. They flock together along the cliffs and ridges of Brockway Mountain. The top of the mountain is a semi-alpine climate
Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate.
Definition
There are multiple definitions of ...
with strong winds, and guide books advise visitors to bring windbreaker jackets, even in the summer.[ The peak is also known as an excellent star-gazing location because there are no electric lights to interrupt the darkness.] The surrounding mountainsides are privately owned, mostly by Champion International Paper Champion International was a large paper and wood products producer based since 1980 in Stamford, Connecticut. It was acquired by International Paper in 2000.
From 1893 it had been based in Hamilton, Ohio, expanding to plants in Texas and Western N ...
. The company receives reduced taxes in exchange for keeping the land open for recreational uses. The Michigan Nature Association
Michigan Nature Association is a nonprofit conservation organization established in 1952. It has 176 nature sanctuaries in 58 counties throughout Michigan under its jurisdiction.
History
In 1951, a bird study group in the Macomb County
Mac ...
owns of property on Brockway Mountain itself. There are over 700 species of flowers including trillium
''Trillium'' (trillium, wakerobin, toadshade, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes "wood lily") is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. ''Trillium'' species are native to temperate regions of No ...
and orchids
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
. The peak bloom is in June, and some of the wildflowers on display are not found elsewhere in the state.[ ''Motorcycle Cruiser'' magazine featured a piece on Copper Harbor in February 2010 that suggested visiting Brockway Mountain at dawn saying that "the vista at the peak is amazing and it's worth the early morning rise."] The area is renowned as a fall foliage destination;[ color season starts by the second week of September and ends in October.][
]
Awards and recognition
Many locales in the Keweenaw Peninsula are frequently praised for their beauty and pristine appearances and Brockway Mountain Drive is no exception. The road has been recognized in numerous publications, dating back to the 1950s. The ''Milwaukee Sentinel
The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...
'' profiled the "famous Brockway Mountain Drive" in 1956 in an article about a tourism boom to the region. More attention was focused on the roadway when Milwaukee's other newspaper, the ''Milwaukee Journal
The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...
'', spotlighted the region in 1961 stating, "the road along the Brockway Mountain fault follows the Keweenaw Peninsula above Lake Superior, past ghost copper mines owardrestored Fort Wilkins".
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' had similar praise in 1962, saying "a side trip that should not be missed is the Brockway Mountain Drive ... for a panoramic view of the forest and the blue waters of Lake Superior." The ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' called the overlook "breathtaking" in 1986, and the ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' said that fall color views from Brockway "rival dany in New England" in 1990. The ''Pioneer Press
The Pioneer Press publishes 32 local newspapers in the Chicago area. It is a division of Tribune Publishing, and is based in Chicago.
The community newspapers are the main source of local news in Illinois communities such as Winnetka, Highland ...
'' of St. Paul profiled the area in 2005 saying that the tourists "cruise along Brockway Mountain Drive, renowned for fall color." The staff of ''MLive'', the online news presence of Booth Newspapers
MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers, or Booth Michigan, is a media group that produces newspapers in the state of Michigan. Founded by George Gough Booth with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers was sold to Advance Publicatio ...
in Michigan, highlighted the height of the roadway, the view to Isle Royale, and the birdwatching opportunities in a profile of the area in 2007.
In April 1994 and April 2001, the route along US 41 and Brockway Mountain Drive was selected as "one of the best fall color views and mountain biking areas" by ''Michigan Living''. It was also named the "most beautiful bike ride in the United States" by ''Bicycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bike ...
'' magazine in February 1995. The ''Star Tribune
The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...
'' in Minneapolis said that a visit to the drive "is worth the whole trip by itself, with a twisting road leading up to the crest, with panoramic views of fall colors."
The drive was also included in the coverage of the Copper Country Trail, a designation applied to the neighboring US 41 by the Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
as a part of the National Scenic Byway
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...
program. NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
's ''Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
'' featured Brockway Mountain Drive in September 2007 as part of a segment on "great and unusual fall foliage destinations". In May 2010, local residents of the Upper Peninsula chose the road as the region's "favorite natural wonder" in a poll conducted by WLUC-TV
WLUC-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Marquette, Michigan, United States, serving the Central and Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan as an affiliate of NBC and Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Owned by Gray Television, the statio ...
. Brockway Mountain Drive was added to the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on July 24, 2017.
Major intersections
See also
*Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive
The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is a scenic route within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, in western Northern Michigan in the United States. The roadway, with its "scenic vistas and gentle curves", is located off state highway M-109 bet ...
, a similar scenic drive in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a United States National Lakeshore located along the northwest coast of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan in Leelanau and Benzie counties near Empire, Michigan. The park covers a stretch of Lake Michig ...
*River Road National Scenic Byway
The River Road National Scenic Byway (also called the River Road National Forest Scenic Byway) is a National Scenic Byway and National Forest Scenic Byway in the US state of Michigan. This byway follows M-65 and River Road; it extends eastward ...
, another county-maintained scenic byway in the Huron National Forest
The Huron National Forest is a National Forest in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It was established in 1909 after the logging era began to decline. In 1945, it was administratively combined with the Manistee National Forest, to create the Hur ...
References
External links
Brockway Mountain Drive
at Pure Michigan Travel
at Michigan Department of Natural Resources
*A Drive in the Mountain
Part 1
an
Part 2
from Copper Country Explorer
Brockway Mountain Drive Web Tour
from Cable America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brockway Mountain Drive
County roads in Michigan
National Register of Historic Places in Keweenaw County, Michigan
Scenic highways in Michigan
Transportation in Keweenaw County, Michigan
Tourist attractions in Keweenaw County, Michigan
Works Progress Administration in Michigan
Transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan