Copper Harbor, Michigan

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A gift shop in Copper Harbor

Copper Harbor is a small, unincorporated community (about 75 year-round residents) in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is within Grant Township in northeastern Keweenaw County, in the Keweenaw Peninsula that juts from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Superior. The town's name alludes to the former use of its harbor as a port for shipping copper mined from local deposits during the mid-19th century. That economic activity no longer exists, and the town's harbor is most used for recreational use and for a ferry that connects Isle Royale National Park to northern Michigan.

The town is in an area of spectacular scenery; it is the northern terminus of US 41 and the eastern terminus of M-26. Both approaches to Copper Harbor, the shore-hugging M-26 from Eagle Harbor and the more inland, rugged US 41 offer dramatic views, as does the Brockway Mountain Drive overlook. Nearby is Fort Wilkins Historic State Park, a restored 1844 frontier army base originally built to protect the port in the early years of the copper mining boom. Also, one can follow Manganese Road from the town's center to Manganese Falls and the Estivant Pines, among the oldest and tallest remaining strands of virgin white pines located in Michigan.