The Keweenaw Waterway is a channel which cuts through the Keweenaw Peninsula in the northern region of Michigan state. Only three hundred feet wide in some places, the twenty-five-mile long channel separates Copper Island from the main landmass of Michigan. Along its route, the waterway runs through Portage Lake, spills over into Torch Bay and acts as a tributary to Torch Lake. There are two entrances to the waterway. One is situated on the eastern coast of the peninsula in Keweenaw Bay and the other adjacent to the McLain State Park on the shore of Lake Superior.
Once a small, natural river, the Keweenaw Waterway was expanded in the mid-nineteenth century to accommodate freight-carrying boats and allow them access to inland cities. The waterway has become a big draw in recent years for canoers and sea-kayakers who aim to complete the challenge of paddling around Copper Island. The nearest campgrounds suitable for RVs near the Keweenaw Waterway are located in the McLain State Park, the Baraga State Park and the Hancock Recreation Area. The waterway is perfect for a summertime beach getaway, hiking along nature trails and all kinds of boating and water sports activities. It's a fantastic location for scuba diving too, and there are half a dozen wrecks in the area for divers to explore. Whichever campground you pitch your RV at near the Keweenaw Waterway, you'll find something exciting and memorable to do close by.
It's a sure thing that, unless you're been touring around Copper Island or the Isle Royale National Park, you'll be heading up to the Keweenaw Waterway from the south of the state. You'll find it an easy and relatively stress-free drive along the US 45 and the US 26. You'll soon know why Michigan is known as the Land of the Lakes as you'll be passing many of the smaller ones along the way. You'll also be motoring past the edge of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. It's a scenic run so, unless you're behind the wheel, have your camera at the ready.
To get to the Hancock Recreation Area, once you reach Houghton cross over the Portage Canal Lift Bridge to Hancock and take the M203. You'll be at the campground in less than ten minutes. Once you're through the gates, you won't have any problems inside, as it's a campground made for RVs. If you're heading for a campsite and the beaches at the McLain State Park, just keep following the M 203 alongside the waterway for another ten minutes before you start unpacking your swimsuit.
To reach the campgrounds at the Baraga State Park, you'll need to take the right junction off the US 45 and on to the M 38 just after Mass City. Once you arrive, you'll be congratulating yourself on picking one of the best spots near the Keweenaw Waterway for RV camping and it's only fifteen minutes away from the waterway's lower entrance.
The campground at Baraga State Park lies a few minutes drive south of the Lower Entrance to the Keweenaw Waterway. The fifty-six-acre park overlooks Keweenaw Bay and has over one-hundred campsites for RVs. There are electric hook-ups but only fourteen campsites have electric, water and sewage hook-ups.
The campground at McLain State Park is open all year round for RVers and has campsites under the trees along the shores of Lake Superior. It's a single loop easily accessed campground with primitive campsites. The campground is fronted by two miles of sandy beach and has several decking areas with seats for viewing the spectacular sunsets on the lake. The campground amenities are minimal and amount to one block of showers and two of vault toilets.
The Hancock Recreation Area offers RV campers the choice of fifty-eight campsites alongside the Keweenaw Waterway from May through to October. The campground is located off Jasberg Street with the RV campsites being reached by a loop road leading to an internal loop where the pitches are. Care should be taken on the ground's roads as they are surfaced with gravel. It's a popular, first-come-first-served campground as there's a beach close by and lots of nature trails as well as easy access to the waterway. The campground also has good on-site amenities including laundry, free Wi-Fi, restrooms and showers.
If you're at the Keweenaw Waterway with your RV in springtime, you'll find it's the best time of the year to travel around the peninsula and see the regions different waterfalls. Park up then hike the mile and a half to the seven drops of the Hungarian Falls or view the stunning Eagle Falls from the pedestrian bridge off the side of highway M26. The impressive Haven Falls in the north of the peninsula near Lac la Belle is well worth the hour's drive to get there. They're a great spot for a scenic picnic lunch too.
Many RV campers pitched at the Keweenaw Waterway leave their rigs behind and hit the trails on two wheels. It's a fantastic area for mountain biking with both testing and easier rides to be had. Top favorites are the twelve miles of the Churning Rapids Trail which leads through forest where there are bogs and streams to contend with and the diverse challenges on the twenty-two miles of the Swedetown Trails.
There are more than two hundred miles of exciting trails for snowmobiling around the Keweenaw Waterway. The trails crisscross the entire peninsula and are groomed regularly to ensure maximum snowmobiling enjoyment. If you're RV camping at the Hancock Recreation Area, you'll have direct access to the trails from there.
Snowmobilers from out of state should be aware they need to acquire a Michigan Trail Permit before hitting the tracks. These can be obtained from the Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Center in Calmut.
If you're camping in your RV at the Keweenaw Waterway around the end of August to the beginning of September, head over to Houghton for the Keweenaw BrewFest. The annual one-day beer festival is held at the Kestner Waterfront Park and attended by over fifty of the state's top craft brewers, showcasing more than two hundred beers. There's live music all day long and plenty of food stalls. Dates of the beer fest vary slightly every year so if you're planning on going, check your vacation dates coincide before you book your campsite.
Just off the shores of the Keweenaw Peninsula is one of the best wreck diving spots in the north-east of the US. The Keweenaw Underwater Preserve contains six wrecks in depths from twenty-five feet to over one-hundred. Some of the wrecks still contain much of the equipment they sank with. The oldest wreck, the John Jacob Astor, dates back to the mid-nineteenth century while others like the Mesquite are more recent and sunk only thirty years ago.
Hit the Keweenaw Water Trail in your canoe, kayak or on your SUP and you'll be paddling in one of the best areas not just in Michigan, but in the entire USA. Start out near the McLain State Park and either head inland through Portage Lake or out onto Lake Superior. It takes several days to complete the full circuit of Copper Island and it's not without its hazards. Shorter jaunts are equally as rewarding as the coastal scenery is stunning from on the water.
