13 Keweenaw Peninsula
Brockway Mountain Drive,
Fort Wilkins State Park
and
Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary
wildlife viewing
| directions and facility information
Photo: MI DNR
The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northernmost
portion of the Michigan mainland and
reaches almost halfway across Lake Superior
toward the Canadian border. There are myriad opportunities for wildlife
watchers in the small area between Eagle
Harbor and Copper
Harbor; three of the best are Brockway Mountain Drive,
Fort Wilkins State Park,
and Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary. Brockway Mountain Drive
is the highest American road between the Alleghenies and the Black Hills
of South Dakota. It has numerous pullouts and vistas from which you can
look out upon Lake Superior and the
surrounding “copper country.” Fort
Wilkins State
Park is a long, narrow spit of wooded land that lies
between Lake Superior’s Copper
Harbor and Lake
Fanny Hooe, with additional state-owned land on
the south side of Lake Fanny Hooe. The Lake Superior coastline here is one of the most
beautiful stretches of shoreline in the state. Estivant
Pines Nature Sanctuary is one of the few remaining tracts of virgin white
pine left in Michigan and is owned by the Michigan Nature Association.
For additional information on these sites and other wildlife viewing
attractions on the Keweenaw Peninsula,
contact the Keweenaw Tourism Council at 1-800-338-7982. Another excellent
source is the Keweenaw National Historic
Park, National Park Service,
(906) 337-3168, headquartered in Calumet.
This historic park preserves and interprets the copper mining industry
and communities that flourished in the 1800s and 1900s in what’s still
called the Copper Country.
 Wildlife
Viewing
Photo: © Dave Case
Wildlife Viewing along Brockway Mountain Drive: This scenic
drive offers some of the best scenery in the state. Be sure you bring
your camera, especially during fall color season. The biggest wildlife
attraction here is the migration of birds-of-prey. From mid-April through
mid-June, (mid-May is best), watch migrating hawks, eagles, falcons, and
vultures ride the updrafts of air that come across Lake Superior and are
forced up the mountainside. Crows, hawks, and ravens also nest on these
cliffs. Visitors can look for wildlife and an assortment of forest and wetland
types in the following 5 sanctuaries along or near Brockway Mountain Drive: Brockway Mountain
and Lake Bailey
wildlife sanctuaries, both owned by the Michigan Audubon Society; and Esrey Park, Upson Lake,
and James Klipfel Memorial nature sanctuaries,
all owned by the Michigan Nature Association .
Various facilities are offered along the route and in Eagle Harbor
and Copper Harbor.
Wildlife Viewing at Fort Wilkins
State Park: This
park is best known for its 1840s-era wooden fort, but the wildlife viewing
opportunities available here are significant as well. Black bears are
fairly common in the park and the local area. DO NOT FEED THE BEARS! Red
foxes, coyotes, and snowshoe hares live here year-round and may be seen
occasionally. Loons may be observed on both Lake
Superior and Lake Fanny Hooe.
Flying squirrels are common residents of the park. These small, shy
squirrels are often seen at dusk in the large red pines located in the
east campground. Although flying squirrels are fairly common throughout Michigan, there
are not many locations where they can be easily seen because they are
almost strictly nocturnal (active only at night). Watch for them here at
dusk as they scamper up trees and launch themselves into gentle glides
between trees.
Wildlife Viewing at Estivant
Pines Nature Sanctuary: A walk on the trails at this site is like a trip
back in time. See a remnant of the 100-foot tall white pines that once
covered much of Michigan.
Large, colorful, pileated woodpeckers find
homes in hollow cavities they create in the huge pines. The sanctuary
also boasts 23 species of ferns and 13 species of wild orchids, so this
site is a botanist’s dream.
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