Keweenaw Lodging ';experience'; choices... hmmm...

Hi Again!

Thank you again so far for the insights about our potential UP Finn quest! :-)

So I%26#39;m looking at lodging for the Hancock Houghton area, and I guess I%26#39;ll need to decide what kind of experience we want.

Seems there%26#39;s everything from a very nice B$B like the Dapple Gray up in Copper County, various cabins for rent, hotel type places like Ramada Waterfront, or The Country Inns and suites...

There%26#39;s a Houghton B%26amp;B in town called ';Sheridon on the Lake'; that sounds nice, but I can%26#39;t seem to find any reviews.

I%26#39;m a little torn between staying right in Hancock or Houghton to experience the town and locals, but I have no idea if there%26#39;s anything to do in the evening especially with our son like a movie theater, coffee shops etc. I know some small towns just shut down after 8 pm which makes me wonder if we might want a more rustic experience out of town where you might here some nature?

I%26#39;ve got to say though I don%26#39;t like toooo remote! I get the willies! As far as cabins go, I wouldn%26#39;t need anything fancy at all as long as there%26#39;s hot water and a phone to call 911 if we were invaded by bears or something! ;-)

Well, thanks for hearing me think out loud! :-)

Cheers!

Keweenaw Lodging ';experience'; choices... hmmm...

Your to much podo944. You had me falling out of my chair laughing with your 911 - invading bears comment.

I bet poster 24fan will be able to help you out with info in that area.

Houghton is the 5th largest town in the UP.

You might like reading this -

http://www.mgh.org/uphec/up_info.html

Check out under ';Heritage'; for more Finish info.

Keweenaw Lodging ';experience'; choices... hmmm...

If it were me deciding on a visit to the Keweenaw Peninsula (which really begins in the Houghton/Hancock area and ends at Copper Harbor) I would look to headquarter in one of the towns...I have stayed on both sides of the Portage Canal and would prefer Houghton. More of a ';downtown'; (BTW: this is a college town so it doesn%26#39;t shut down after 8:00).

From Houghton there are numerous places to visit. A day trip to Copper Harbor should be on the list. The drive is great and once at the tip of the Keweenaw you can visit the Estivant Pines...Fort Wilkins and apprecite the small town charm.

http://www.copperharbor.org/index.html

In Hancock you can visit the Quincy Mine museum and actually go down into the (inactive) copper mine there.

http://www.quincymine.com/

The nearby village of Calumet is a national Historic Park. If you are there when there is a show at the Calumet Theatre you wil be in luck.

http://www.calumettheatre.com/

YOu may walso want to chekc the schedule for another performing arts venue the Rosza Center at Michigan Tech University

http://www.rozsa.mtu.edu/

In Houghton/Hancock there is intersting shopping and good restaurants (I prefer the Ambassador) and plenty to keep you busy in town or the outlying area.

What to do will really depend on when you go...in summer there is Mtn biking, hiking, fishing, boating (you can take a boat to Isle Royale in Lake Superior).

Winter has snow sports (downhill and x-country skiing) and MTU%26#39;s Winter Carnival (Michigan Tech is an engineering school so think of the most intricate and well built ice sculptures)

I%26#39;ve really only scratched the surface and if the Keweenaw and the Copper Country are a ptential destination there%26#39;s lots of sites out there for more info...

Oops...forgot to metion the U.P. bears are usually quite friendly, but even at that, most of them don%26#39;t roam through the towns too often :-)

Thanks 24fan for all the links!

Yup, I%26#39;m thinking staying in town would be a good idea for a base, and taking day trips from there.

As for when, we still have to work that out and see where our budget is, etc.

Thanks for the link Yooperbacker! I%26#39;m looking forward to gaining 10 pounds eating pasties!!

It%26#39;s why I don%26#39;t make them very often myself, they%26#39;re addicting.

BTW, I%26#39;m married to a Brit, and we go to a British restaurant that has a nice cornish pasty, but it%26#39;s not exactly what I grew up on. They smother it in gravy and it%26#39;s loaded with peas and carrots. I was raised with the kind you can stuff in a pocket. A rather dry hearty crust, served with a bottle of ketchup and a jug of milk! :-)

Guess I don%26#39;t see it as an either/or proposition. While planning our August %26#39;09 UP visit (first-time Copper Country trip for wife and son, then to Iron Mountain area where I grew up and still have some relatives), in the Copper Country I found a fair variety of lodging types:

http://www.coppercountry.com/lodging.php (click on green headers of lodging type for list)

http://www.keweenaw.info/lodging.aspx

or a place such as vrbo:

vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/…upper-peninsula

A decent compromise might be a property on/near one of the lakes or the canal just outside of Houghton/Hancock proper, or a Portage Lake resort in a place such as Chassell. Many are a short drive from town (not much more drive to get to the business district at the edge of town), and would offer things such as fire pits, boats, and fishing, as well as kitchen facilities.

Another great resource with highlights and picks--:

http://hunts-upguide.com/

natural makeup