Historic Brockway Mountain Drive
By the early 1900’s, the heart of the area’s mining operations had migrated further south to those at Calumet and Hecla and Quincy regions. Around that time, a new industry – tourism – was emerging. The National Park system, urbanization and mass production of affordable automobiles contributed to more families traveling on vacations. With plans developed by the Keweenaw County Road Commission – and with funding acquired from the Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps – construction began in 1933, increasing the Road Commission’s employment ten-fold. Upon completion, the “county highway quickly became one of the most popular motoring destinations in the Midwest,” wrote historian LeRoy Barnett. What’s more, with more than one million visitors within the first five years of opening, Brockway Mountain was credited for sparking the area’s tourism boom.
And most fortunately Brockway has stood the test of time, as Brockway Mountain Drive remains the most popular vacation destination in Copper Harbor. Making your way to the top is hands down a MUST DO while in the Keweenaw Peninsula.